1963 British Open: Lefty Kiwi Wins It

The 1963 British Open was the 92nd time the tournament was played, and it ended with a playoff and its first lefty winner.

Winner: Bob Charles, 277

Where it was played: Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lytham St. Annes, England

Tournament dates: July 10-13, 1963

Leader after first round: Peter Thomson and Phil Rodgers, 67

Leader after second round: Phil Rodgers, 135

Leader after third round: Bob Charles, 206

Notable Notes: Bob Charles and Phil Rodgers shot 71 and 69 respectively, tying after 72 holes (with Jack Nicklaus one shot behind). That required a playoff, and in 1963 the British Open playoff format was 36 holes. Charles took a 3-stroke lead after the first 18 holes of the playoff, then pulled away over the second 18, eventually winning by eight shots (140 to 148). Charles was the first left-handed golfer to win a major championship.

Final Scores

Bob Charles 68-72-66-71—277
Phil Rodgers 67-68-73-69—277
Jack Nicklaus 71-67-70-70—278
Kel Nagle 69-70-73-71—283
Peter Thomson 67-69-71-78—285
Christy O'Connor Sr. 74-68-76-68—286
Gary Player 75-70-72-70—287
Ramon Sota 69-73-73-72—287
Jean Garaialde 72-69-72-75—288
Sebastian Miguel 73-69-73-73—288
Bernard Hunt 72-71-73-73—289
Alex King 71-73-73-72—289
Sewsunker Sewgolum 71-74-73-72—290
Brian Allen 75-71-71-74—291
Brian Huggett 73-74-70-74—291
Hugh Lewis 71-77-69-74—291
Ian MacDonald 71-71-74-75—291
Peter Alliss 71-74-77-70—292
Frank Phillips 70-73-75-74—292
Neil Coles 73-75-72-73—293
Max Faulkner 77-71-71-74—293
Harold Henning 76-68-71-78—293
Malcolm Leeder 76-73-74-70—293
John A. MacDonald 73-75-75-70—293
Brian Wilkes 70-77-74-72—293
Jimmy Hitchcock 75-73-70-76—294
Arnold Palmer 76-71-71-76—294
Doug Sewell 75-72-73-74—294
Dave Thomas 74-74-75-71—294
Ken Bousfield 73-75-71-76—295
Tom Haliburton 68-73-77-77—295
Tony Jacklin 73-72-76-74—295
Bruce Devlin 74-71-74-77—296
Denis Hutchinson 74-71-74-77—296
Ted Large 78-71-76-71—296
Fred Boobyer 76-70-74-77—297
Stewart Davies 76-69-79-73—297
Walter Godfrey 75-74-75-73—297
Tony Grubb 77-72-74-75—298
Geoffrey Hunt 71-76-75-76—298
Lionel Platts 74-75-78-71—298
Anthony Moore 72-74-75-78—299
Dai Rees 72-77-75-75—299
Donald Swaelens 70-75-77-78—300
Robert Walker 75-73-75-78—301
Hedley Muscroft 72-77-81-75—305
Fred Bullock 75-74-82-74—305

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