1977 British Open: The Duel In the Sun
The 1977 British Open was the 106th time the tournament was played. This is the Open remembered as "The Duel in the Sun" for the heavyweight battle in brilliant weather that took place over the final two rounds.
Winner: Tom Watson, 268
Where it was played: Ailsa Course at Turnberry Resort in Ayrshire, Scotland
Tournament dates: July 6-9, 1977
Leader after first round: John Schroeder, 66
Leader after second round: Roger Maltbie, 137
Leader after third round: Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson, 203
What Happened at the 1977 Open Championship
This Open is the place where Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson engaged in one of the great duels in golf history, going toe to toe over the final two rounds until Watson emerged with a one-shot victory. Their battle here is chronicled in the book Duel in the Sun (affiliate link).Roger Maltbie was the midway leader, Nicklaus and Watson tied in second place, one stroke behind. So the two giants were paired for the third round, and they didn't disappoint, each shooting 65. That moved them into the lead, still tied, three shots clear of the field.
In the final round, paired again, they traded the lead as they traded shots, eventually Watson finishing with another 65 and Nicklaus with a 66. Watson had the one-shot victory. It wasn't secure until the final green, however, where Nicklaus rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt, forcing Watson to sink a short putt for the win.
Nicklaus had a three-stroke lead after four holes of the final round, but Watson then birdied three of the next four to tie. Nicklaus led by one at the turn. Nicklaus' lead was two after the 12th hole, but Watson birdied Nos. 13 and 15 to force another tie. On the 17th hole, Nicklaus missed a four-foot birdie putt, giving Watson the one-stroke lead that he kept with his final-hole birdie.
Just three months earlier, Watson won the 1977 Masters Tournament, also by holding off Nicklaus. This was the first Open played at Turnberry, but it was Watson's second time winning the Open. For Nicklaus, it was the sixth of a tournament-record seven times that he finished runner-up in the Open.
A new, 18-hole British Open scoring record was set in the second round when Mark Hayes shot 63. The previous tournament record of 65 had first been established way back at the 1934 British Open by Henry Cotton.
Arnold Palmer finished in solo seventh place. It was his final Top 10 finish in any of the four major championships. Roberto De Vicenzo, winner of the 1967 Open Championship, tied for 48th — the last time he made the cut in a major. Future two-time Open champion Greg Norman made his major championship debut here and missed the cut.
And 70-year-old Henry Cotton, the man whose 65 in 1934 was finally beaten this year as the tournament scoring record, played the Open for the last time, and the first time since 1961. The British Open winner of 1934, 1937 and 1948 finished last with scores of 93 and 82. His first-round 93 was the highest, 18-hole score in the Open for the entirety of the 1970s.
1977 British Open Final Scores
| Tom Watson | 68-70-65-65—268 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 68-70-65-66—269 |
| Hubert Green | 72-66-74-67—279 |
| Lee Trevino | 68-70-72-70—280 |
| George Burns III | 70-70-72-69—281 |
| Ben Crenshaw | 71-69-66-75—281 |
| Arnold Palmer | 73-73-67-69—282 |
| Raymond Floyd | 70-73-68-72—283 |
| Tommy Horton | 70-74-65-75—284 |
| Mark Hayes | 76-63-72-73—284 |
| John Schroeder | 66-74-73-71—284 |
| Johnny Miller | 69-74-67-74—284 |
| Peter Thomson | 74-72-67-73—286 |
| Howard Clark | 72-68-72-74—286 |
| Bobby Cole | 72-71-71-73—287 |
| Seve Ballesteros | 69-71-73-74—287 |
| Peter Butler | 71-68-75-73—287 |
| Bob Shearer | 72-69-72-74—287 |
| Graham Marsh | 73-69-71-74—287 |
| Guy Hunt | 73-71-71-72—287 |
| Jerry Pate | 74-70-70-73—287 |
| Gary Player | 71-74-74-69—288 |
| John Fourie | 74-69-70-75—288 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 74-71-71-72—288 |
| Peter Dawson | 74-68-73-73—288 |
| Gaylord Burrows | 69-72-68-80—289 |
| Norio Suzuki | 74-71-69-75—289 |
| Rik Massengale | 73-71-74-71—289 |
| Roger Maltbie | 71-66-72-80—289 |
| Angel Gallardo | 78-65-72-74—289 |
| Martin Foster | 67-74-75-73—289 |
| John O'Leary | 74-73-68-74—289 |
| David Ingram | 73-74-70-72—289 |
| Eamonn Darcy | 74-71-74-71—290 |
| Ken Brown | 74-73-71-72—290 |
| Baldovino Dassu | 72-74-72-73—291 |
| Brian Barnes | 79-69-69-74—291 |
| John Morgan | 72-71-71-77—291 |
| Min Nan Hsieh | 72-73-73-73—291 |
| Manuel Pinero | 74-75-71-71—291 |
| David Vaughan | 71-74-73-74—292 |
| Neil Coles | 74-74-71-73—292 |
| Bob Charles | 73-72-70-78—293 |
| Jaime Gonzalez | 78-72-71-72—293 |
| Tony Jacklin | 72-70-74-77—293 |
| Stewart Ginn | 75-72-72-75—294 |
| Hale Irwin | 70-71-73-80—294 |
| Brian Huggett | 72-77-72-74—295 |
| Vicente Fernandez | 75-73-73-74—295 |
| Michael King | 73-75-72-75—295 |
| Roberto De Vicenzo | 76-71-70-78—295 |
| Rodger Davis | 77-70-70-79—296 |
| Brian Waites | 78-70-69-79—296 |
| Christy O'Connor Jr. | 75-73-71-77—296 |
| Jim Farmer | 72-74-72-78—296 |
| Vincent Tshabalala | 71-73-72-81—297 |
| Maurice Bembridge | 76-69-75-77—297 |
| Hsu Chi San | 70-70-77-81—298 |
| Ian Mosey | 75-73-73-77—298 |
| David Jones | 73-74-73-78—298 |
| Gary Jacobsen | 74-73-70-81—298 |
| Nick Faldo | 71-76-74-78—299 |
| Vince Baker | 77-70-73-79—299 |
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