1996 British Open Golf Tournament Winner and Scores
The 1996 British Open was the 125th time the tournament was played. The winner was a first-time major champion who'd had multiple near-misses in majors in the previous half-dozen years.
Winner: Tom Lehman, 271
Where it was played: Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club, Lytham St. Annes, England
Tournament dates: July 18-21, 1996
Leader after first round: Paul Broadhurst, 65
Leader after second round: Tom Lehman and Paul McGinley, 134
Leader after third round: Tom Lehman, 198
What Happened in the 1996 Open Championship
Tom Lehman was one of the most consistent PGA Tour golfers of the mid-1990s, seemingly always in contention in the top tournaments. During one stretch, he played in the final pairing of the U.S. Open four consecutive years, but without winning any of them. To this point he had finished third and second in The Masters in 1993 and 1994; and third and second in the U.S. Open in 1995 and 1996.Lehman's major championship frustration came to an end in the 1996 British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, the course where Bobby Jones won in 1926 in the first Open Championship played at this venue. It proved to be his only win in a major, though, and was the third of his five career PGA Tour wins.
Lehman opened 67-67, then scorched the course for a third-round 64, opening a six-stroke lead over the field. And that margin served him well when he produced a pedestrian 73 in the final round. Ernie Els and Mark McCumber mounted charges, shooting 67 and 66 respectively, but finished tied for second two strokes behind.
In his second British Open appearance, 20-year-old amateur Tiger Woods finished tied for 22nd place. Woods earned low amateur honors; in fact, he was the only amateur to make the cut. At the other end of the spectrum, 56-year-old Jack Nicklaus was one stroke off the lead after opening 69-66. But Nicklaus couldn't sustain that play and finished 45th.
1996 British Open Final Scores
| Tom Lehman | 67-67-64-73—271 |
| Mark McCumber | 67-69-71-66—273 |
| Ernie Els | 68-67-71-67—273 |
| Nick Faldo | 68-68-68-70—274 |
| Jeff Maggert | 69-70-72-65—276 |
| Mark Brooks | 67-70-68-71—276 |
| Peter Hedblom | 70-65-75-67—277 |
| Fred Couples | 67-70-69-71—277 |
| Greg Norman | 71-68-71-67—277 |
| Greg Turner | 72-69-68-68—277 |
| Alexander Cejka | 73-67-71-67—278 |
| Darren Clarke | 70-68-69-71—278 |
| Vijay Singh | 69-67-69-73—278 |
| Mark McNulty | 69-71-70-69—279 |
| David Duval | 76-67-66-70—279 |
| Paul McGinley | 69-65-74-71—279 |
| Shigeki Maruyama | 68-70-69-72—279 |
| Michael Welch | 71-68-73-68—280 |
| Padraig Harrington | 68-68-73-71—280 |
| Loren Roberts | 67-69-72-72—280 |
| Rocco Mediate | 69-70-69-72—280 |
| Mark James | 70-68-75-68—281 |
| Jay Haas | 70-72-71-68—281 |
| a-Tiger Woods | 75-66-70-70—281 |
| Steve Stricker | 71-70-66-74—281 |
| Carl Mason | 68-70-70-73—281 |
| Ben Crenshaw | 73-68-71-70—282 |
| Tom Kite | 77-66-69-70—282 |
| Paul Broadhurst | 65-72-74-71—282 |
| Corey Pavin | 70-66-74-72—282 |
| Peter Mitchell | 71-68-71-72—282 |
| Frank Nobilo | 70-72-68-72—282 |
| Eduardo Romero | 70-71-75-67—283 |
| Tommy Tolles | 73-70-71-69—283 |
| Scott Simpson | 71-69-73-70—283 |
| Eamon Darcy | 73-69-71-70—283 |
| David Gilford | 71-67-71-74—283 |
| Mark O'Meara | 67-69-72-75—283 |
| Hidemichi Tanaka | 67-71-70-75—283 |
| Brad Faxon | 67-73-68-75—283 |
| Mark Calcavecchia | 72-68-76-68—284 |
| Phil Mickelson | 72-71-72-69—284 |
| Klaus Eriksson | 68-75-72-69—284 |
| David Frost | 70-72-71-71—284 |
| Peter Jacobsen | 72-70-74-69—285 |
| Billy Mayfair | 70-72-74-69—285 |
| Craig Stadler | 71-71-75-68—285 |
| Todd Hamilton | 71-70-74-70—285 |
| Bradley Hughes | 70-69-75-71—285 |
| Payne Stewart | 70-73-71-71—285 |
| Richard Boxall | 72-70-71-72—285 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 69-66-77-73—285 |
| Nick Price | 68-73-71-73—285 |
| Jim Furyk | 68-71-72-74—285 |
| Jesper Parnevik | 72-69-69-75—285 |
| Jim Payne | 72-71-73-70—286 |
| Sandy Lyle | 71-69-73-73—286 |
| Robert Allenby | 74-68-71-73—286 |
| Stephen Ames | 71-72-69-74—286 |
| Michael Jonzon | 69-73-73-72—287 |
| D.A. Weibring | 71-72-72-72—287 |
| Jeff Sluman | 72-70-70-75—287 |
| Brian Barnes | 73-70-69-75—287 |
| Carl Suneson | 73-69-74-72—288 |
| Costantino Rocca | 71-70-74-73—288 |
| Gordon Law | 74-69-71-74—288 |
| David A. Russell | 70-72-74-73—289 |
| Brett Ogle | 70-73-73-73—289 |
| John Daly | 70-73-69-77—289 |
| Howard Clark | 72-71-76-71—290 |
| Bob Charles | 71-72-71-77—291 |
| Domingo Hospital | 75-68-77-72—292 |
| Rick Todd | 74-69-73-76—292 |
| Curtis Strange | 71-72-72-77—292 |
| Roger Chapman | 72-70-70-80—292 |
| Retief Goosen | 72-71-74-76—293 |
| Arnaud Langenaeken | 72-71-77-78—298 |
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1995 British Open - 1997 British Open
