1985 British Open Winner and Scores

The 1985 British Open was the 114th time the tournament was played. The winner was a Scotsman who had previously posted only one Top 10 finish in any of the four major championships.

Winner: Sandy Lyle, 282

Where it was played: Royal St. George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England

Tournament dates: July 18-21, 1985

Leader after first round: Christy O'Connnor Jr., 64

Leader after second round: David Graham and Sandy Lyle, 139

Leader after third round: David Graham and Bernhard Langer, 209

What Happened at the 1985 British Open

As the 1985 British Open got under way, it had been 16 years since any Briton won the Open Championship. Sandy Lyle put an end to that streak.

The Scotsman was a 10-time winner on the European Tour and had three appearances in Ryder Cups, but had posted only one Top 10 finish in a major at this point in his career. Bernhard Langer — who won the 1985 Masters a couple months earlier — and 2-time major winner David Graham were the leaders entering the final round, three strokes in front of Lyle.

But it was Lyle, not the previous major winners, who held his nerve. Graham and Langer both carded final-round 75s and finished tied for third. Lyle got round Royal St. George's in 70, holding off a charging Payne Stewart (68) for the win.

Lyle held a one-stroke lead as he reached the final hole, but his approach shot missed the green. His chip then failed to get over a hump and the ball rolled right back down to his feet. Lyle made bogey and waited to see what those golfers still behind him would do.

But Graham and Langer made multiple bogeys each over their final few holes, while Stewart's charge came up short.

Lyle later added a second major at the 1988 Masters. For future 3-time major winner Stewart, this was his best finish in a major to date. He also was runner-up in the 1990 Open.

The 1985 British Open was the last one with a double cut (one cut after the second round, another cut following the third round). In ensuing years, the tournament used only a single cut after the second round.

The last Briton prior to Lyle to win the Open was Tony Jacklin in 1969, and young Lyle was in the gallery that day around the 18th hole, watching as Jacklin clinched the win.

1985 British Open Final Scores

Sandy Lyle	68-71-73-70—282
Payne Stewart	70-75-70-68—283
Mark O'Meara	70-72-70-72—284
Jose Rivero	74-72-70-68—284
David Graham	68-71-70-75—284
Bernhard Langer	72-69-68-75—284
Christy O'Connor Jr.	64-76-72-72—284
Tom Kite	73-73-67-72—285
D.A. Weibring	69-71-74-71—285
Anders Forsbrand	70-76-69-70—285
Peter Jacobsen	71-74-68-73—286
Jose Maria Canizares	72-75-70-69—286
Gary Koch	75-72-70-69—286
Fuzzy Zoeller	69-76-70-71—286
Eamonn Darcy	76-68-74-68—286
Greg Norman	71-72-71-73—287
Sam Torrance	74-74-69-70—287
Ian Woosnam	70-71-71-75—287
Simon Bishop	71-75-72-69—287
Jaime Gonzalez	72-72-73-71—288
Ian Baker-Finch	71-73-74-70—288
Graham Marsh	71-75-69-73—288
Lee Trevino	73-76-68-71—288
Mark James	71-78-66-73—288
Kris Moe	70-76-73-70—289
a-Jose Maria Olazabal	72-76-71-70—289
Philip Parkin	68-76-77-68—289
Manuel Pinero	71-73-72-73—289
Gordon J. Brand	73-72-72-72—289
Robert Lee	68-73-74-74—289
David Frost	70-74-73-72—289
Mike Cahill	72-74-71-72—289
Wayne Riley	71-70-77-72—290
Ove Sellberg	71-78-70-71—290
Andy Bean	72-72-73-74—291
Ben Crenshaw	73-75-70-73—291
Bob Shearer	75-73-68-75—291
Hugh Baiocchi	75-74-71-71—291
Jeffrey Pinsent	73-74-72-73—292
Seve Ballesteros	75-74-70-73—292
Corey Pavin	70-74-72-76—292
Magnus Persson	71-73-76-72—292
Tony Johnstone	68-72-80-72—292
Ronan Rafferty	74-73-71-75—293
David A. Russell	74-72-71-76—293
Peter Senior	70-71-80-72—293
Denis Watson	72-74-75-73—294
Mark Mouland	72-75-74-73—294
Bernard Gallacher	73-76-71-74—294
Gordon Brand Jr.	69-74-77-74—294
Howard Clark	70-71-76-77—294
Tom Watson	72-73-72-77—294
Nick Faldo	73-73-75-74—295
Emilio Rodriguez	71-70-77-77—295
Larry Nelson	70-75-75-77—297
Peter Fowler	70-79-70-78—297
David Whelan	69-74-75-80—298
David Williams	74-71-74-81—300
Vaughan Somers	76-72-73-80—301

Previous and next:
1984 British Open - 1986 British Open