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

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