1978 British Open Winner and Scores
Winner: Jack Nicklaus, 281
Where it was played: The Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland
Tournament dates: July 12-15, 1978
Leader after first round: Isao Aoki, 68
Leader after second round: Seve Ballesteros, Ben Crenshaw and Isao Aoki, 139
Leader after third round: Peter Oosterhuis and Tom Watson, 211
Notable Notes: Jack Nicklaus won this tournament the way he won so many: hang around the lead, then hold your nerve while others are losing theirs in the final round. Nicklaus only moved into the Top 10 by shooting 69 in the third round, but trailed by one. In the final round, he carded another 69, while third-round leaders Peter Oosterhuis and Tom Watson shot 73 and 76, respectively. It was Nicklaus' third and final victory at the British Open.
Final Scores
| Jack Nicklaus | 71-72-69-69—281 |
| Ben Crenshaw | 70-69-73-71—283 |
| Ray Floyd | 69-75-71-68—283 |
| Tom Kite | 72-69-72-70—283 |
| Simon Owen | 70-75-67-71—283 |
| Peter Oosterhuis | 72-70-69-73—284 |
| Isao Aoki | 68-71-73-73—285 |
| Nick Faldo | 71-72-70-72—285 |
| John Schroeder | 74-69-70-72—285 |
| Bob Shearer | 71-69-74-71—285 |
| Michael Cahill | 71-72-75-68—286 |
| Dale Hayes | 74-70-71-71—286 |
| Orville Moody | 73-69-74-70—286 |
| Mark Hayes | 70-75-75-67—287 |
| Jumbo Ozaki | 72-69-75-71—287 |
| Tom Watson | 73-68-70-76—287 |
| Seve Ballesteros | 69-70-76-73—288 |
| Bob Byman | 72-69-74-73—288 |
| Guy Hunt | 71-73-71-73—288 |
| Tommy Nakajima | 70-71-76-71—288 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 69-72-72-75—288 |
| Bernard Gallacher | 72-71-76-70—289 |
| Nick Job | 73-75-68-73—289 |
| Antonio Garrido | 73-71-76-70—290 |
| Hale Irwin | 75-71-76-68—290 |
| Carl Mason | 70-74-72-74—290 |
| Jack Newton | 69-76-71-74—290 |
| Peter Thomson | 72-70-72-76—290 |
| Tienie Britz | 73-74-72-72—291 |
| Hubert Green | 78-70-67-76—291 |
| John Morgan | 74-68-77-72—291 |
| Greg Norman | 72-73-74-72—291 |
| Lee Trevino | 75-72-73-71—291 |
| Brian Barnes | 71-74-75-72—292 |
| Ken Brown | 73-72-71-76—292 |
| Garry Cullen | 73-67-79-73—292 |
| Arnold Palmer | 71-71-75-75—292 |
| Gary Player | 74-71-76-71—292 |
| David Graham | 73-74-70-76—293 |
| Mike Krantz | 75-72-75-71—293 |
| a-Peter McEvoy | 71-74-76-72—293 |
| Nick Price | 74-73-74-72—293 |
| Guy Wolstenholme | 73-74-71-75—293 |
| Francisco Abreu | 73-73-76-72—294 |
| Manuel Ballesteros | 73-71-74-76—294 |
| Howard Clark | 70-75-73-76—294 |
| a-Mike Miller | 70-74-74-76—294 |
| Andy Bean | 72-76-72-75—295 |
| a-Allan Brodie | 73-72-75-75—295 |
| Bob Charles | 73-70-79-73—295 |
| Neil Coles | 71-73-73-78—295 |
| John Bland | 72-73-77-74—296 |
| Rodger Davis | 73-72-73-78—296 |
| David Good | 75-73-74-74—296 |
| Simon Hobday | 73-71-77-75—296 |
| Bill Longmuir | 75-71-75-75—296 |
| Vaughan Somers | 72-72-76-76—296 |
| Rocky Thompson | 73-73-76-74—296 |
| Peter Butler | 71-74-75-77—297 |
| a-Geoff Godwin | 74-73-75-76—298 |
| Bob Wynn | 73-72-76-77—298 |
| Peter Dawson | 75-72-75-77—299 |
| Ewen Murray | 76-70-76-78—300 |
