1970 British Open: Nicklaus Wins in Playoff
The 1970 British Open was the 99th time the tournament was played, and Jack Nicklaus won it in an 18-hole playoff.
Winner: Jack Nicklaus, 283
Where it was played: The Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland
Tournament dates: July 8-12, 1970
Leader after first round: Neil Coles, 65
Leader after second round: Lee Trevino, 136
Leader after third round: Lee Trevino, 208
Notable Notes: Lee Trevino led by two entering the final round, but shot 77 in Round 4 to fall back. Instead, the fourth-round battle was between Jack Nicklaus and Doug Sanders, and Sanders took a 1-stroke lead to the final tee. He needed to sink a putt of around 2 1/2 feet to win ... but missed. In the 18-hole playoff, Nicklaus eked out a 1-stroke victory over Sanders, 72 to 73.
Final Scores
| Jack Nicklaus | 68-69-73-73—283 |
| Doug Sanders | 68-71-71-73—283 |
| Harold Henning | 67-72-73-73—285 |
| Lee Trevino | 68-68-72-77—285 |
| Tony Jacklin | 67-70-73-76—286 |
| Neil Coles | 65-74-72-76—287 |
| Peter Oosterhuis | 73-69-69-76—287 |
| Hugh Jackson | 69-72-73-74—288 |
| Tommy Horton | 66-73-75-75—289 |
| John Panton | 72-73-73-71—289 |
| Peter Thomson | 68-74-73-74—289 |
| Arnold Palmer | 68-72-76-74—290 |
| Maurice Bembridge | 67-74-75-76—292 |
| Bob Charles | 72-73-73-74—292 |
| John Richardson | 67-72-76-77—292 |
| Bert Yancey | 71-71-73-77—292 |
| Roberto Bernardini | 75-69-74-75—293 |
| Billy Casper | 71-74-73-75—293 |
| Clive Clark | 69-70-77-77—293 |
| Roberto De Vicenzo | 71-76-71-75—293 |
| Christy O'Connor Sr. | 72-68-74-79—293 |
| Walter Godfrey | 71-75-74-74—294 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 70-74-72-78—294 |
| Guy Wolstenholme | 68-77-72-77—294 |
| Bruce Devlin | 72-76-72-75—295 |
| Graham Marsh | 75-72-74-74—295 |
| Ronnie Shade | 72-75-69-79—295 |
| Stuart Brown | 73-73-71-79—296 |
| Bobby Cole | 71-76-71-78—296 |
| Brian Huggett | 68-78-73-77—296 |
| Tom Shaw | 73-71-73-79—296 |
| Peter Alliss | 69-74-78-76—297 |
| Brian Barnes | 69-74-75-79—297 |
| Gay Brewer | 69-74-74-80—297 |
| Eric Brown | 73-72-74-78—297 |
| Dale Douglass | 75-71-73-78—297 |
| David Graham | 72-72-74-79—297 |
| Florentino Molina | 67-75-78-77—297 |
| Kel Nagle | 71-74-73-79—297 |
| Dave Thomas | 70-72-76-79—297 |
| Alex Caygill | 74-72-74-78—298 |
| Tony Grubb | 72-77-71-78—298 |
| Dave Marr | 71-71-74-82—298 |
| a-Steve Melnyk | 69-74-76-79—298 |
| Jimmy Hume | 72-75-76-76—299 |
| Peter Townsend | 72-73-74-80—299 |
| George Will | 69-78-74-78—299 |
| Guy Hunt | 72-70-80-78—300 |
| Jimmy Martin | 71-74-75-80—300 |
| Tommy Aaron | 68-74-79-80—301 |
| a-Warren Humphreys | 73-73-76-79—301 |
| Tomas Lopez | 70-72-75-84—301 |
| Norman Wood | 73-73-77-78—301 |
| Derek Small | 69-74-80-79—302 |
| Davis Love Jr. | 71-74-73-85—303 |
| Richard Livingston | 75-73-75-81—304 |
| Sandy Walker | 70-78-75-84—307 |
