1981 British Open Results
The 1981 British Open was the 110th time the tournament was played. And the winner had a friend to thank.
Winner: Bill Rogers, 276
Where it was played: Royal St. George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England
Tournament dates: July 16-19, 1981
Leader after first round: Nick Job and Vicente Fernandez, 70
Leader after second round: Bill Rogers, 138
Leader after third round: Bill Rogers, 205
Notable Notes: The story goes that Bill Rogers only played this tournament because his friend Ben Crenshaw talked him into making the trip to Scotland. So when Rogers took a 1-stroke lead after a second-round 66, it's somehow appropriate that it was Crenshaw in second place. Crenshaw fell away over the final two rounds, but Rogers didn't — he led by five after Round 3 and won by four.
Final Scores
| Bill Rogers | 72-66-67-71—276 |
| Bernhard Langer | 73-67-70-70—280 |
| Mark James | 72-70-68-73—283 |
| Raymond Floyd | 74-70-69-70—283 |
| Sam Torrance | 72-69-73-70—284 |
| Manuel Pinero | 73-74-68-70—285 |
| Bruce Lietzke | 76-69-71-69—285 |
| Ben Crenshaw | 72-67-76-71—286 |
| Howard Clark | 72-76-70-68—286 |
| Brian Jones | 73-76-66-71—286 |
| Isao Aoki | 71-73-69-74—287 |
| Lee Trevino | 77-67-70-73—287 |
| Nick Faldo | 77-68-69-73—287 |
| Sandy Lyle | 73-73-71-71—288 |
| David Graham | 71-71-74-72—288 |
| Nick Job | 70-69-75-74—288 |
| Brian Barnes | 76-70-70-72—288 |
| Eamonn Darcy | 79-69-70-70—288 |
| Peter Townsend | 73-70-73-73—289 |
| Jerry Pate | 73-73-69-74—289 |
| Graham Marsh | 75-71-72-71—289 |
| Gordon Brand Jr. | 78-65-74-72—289 |
| Arnold Palmer | 72-74-73-71—290 |
| Mark McNulty | 74-74-74-68—290 |
| Tony Jacklin | 71-71-73-75—290 |
| Simon Owen | 71-74-70-75—290 |
| Tom Watson | 73-69-75-73—290 |
| Hubert Green | 75-72-74-69—290 |
| Nick Price | 77-68-76-69—290 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 83-66-71-70—290 |
| Greg Norman | 72-75-72-72—291 |
| Trevor Powell | 75-68-73-75—291 |
| Des Smyth | 77-67-73-74—291 |
| John Morgan | 77-72-73-69—291 |
| Jumbo Ozaki | 75-72-71-74—292 |
| Tommy Horton | 75-73-73-71—292 |
| Billy Dunk | 76-67-77-72—292 |
| Bob Charles | 77-71-71-73—292 |
| Rodger Davis | 74-71-74-74—293 |
| Neil Coles | 74-73-73-73—293 |
| Seve Ballesteros | 75-72-74-72—293 |
| Johnny Miller | 71-73-73-76—293 |
| Florentino Molina | 78-68-74-73—293 |
| Ken Brown | 74-72-74-74—294 |
| Terry Gale | 73-73-71-77—294 |
| Ron Streck | 78-70-72-74—294 |
| Mark O'Meara | 74-73-73-75—295 |
| Jaime Gonzalez | 76-70-76-73—295 |
| a-Hal Sutton | 71-77-73-74—295 |
| David Thorp | 76-69-74-77—296 |
| David Jones | 77-71-74-74—296 |
| Brian Waites | 75-69-74-78—296 |
| Eddie Polland | 75-75-72-75—297 |
| Garry Cullen | 78-70-73-76—297 |
| Mike Ferguson | 75-72-71-79—297 |
| Noel Hunt | 74-73-75-76—298 |
| Warren Humphreys | 76-71-74-77—298 |
| John O'Leary | 73-74-75-77—299 |
| Payne Stewart | 73-75-74-77—299 |
| a-Geoffrey Godwin | 75-71-72-81—299 |
| Dick McLean | 75-73-72-83—303 |
