Lowest Final-Round Scores by British Open Winners

If you want to win the British Open, you (usually) have to play well in the final round. The Open champions listed below are the ones who played best in the final round — the ones who scored the lowest in Round 4 en route to victory.

The Open Championship is the oldest of the four majors of professional men's golf, dating to 1865. It has been played over four rounds since 1892. In the long history of the tournament since, only seven golfers have scored 65 or lower in the final round and won the tournament. And the champion who scored lowest in that fourth round had a 63.

Lowest Final Rounds By Winner in Open Championship

• 63 — Henrik Stenson, Royal Troon, 2016 British Open. Held one-stroke lead after third round, won by three strokes.
• 64 — Greg Norman, Royal St. George’s, 1993 British Open. Trailed leaders by one following third round, won by two strokes.
• 64 — Cameron Smith, St. Andrews, 2022 British Open. Trailed leaders by four after third round, won by one stroke.
• 65 — Tom Watson, Turnberry, 1977 British Open. Tied for third-round lead, won by one stroke.
• 65 — Seve Ballesteros, Royal Lytham & St. Annes, 1988 British Open. Trailed by two strokes following third round, won by two.
• 65 — Justin Leonard, Royal Troon, 1997 British Open. Trailed by five following third round, won by three strokes.
• 65 — Xander Schauffele, Royal Troon, 2024 British Open. One stroke off the third-round lead, won by two.

Stenson's 63 in the 2016 Open is the British Open record for lowest final-round score by the champion. That wasn't the only scoring record Stenson set that year. His 264 total was a new Open record for lowest winning score, and his 20-under-par score was a new record for most strokes under par in any Open Championship.

The oldest score on the list — the first time any Open champion won with a final-round score of 65 or better — is Watson's 65 in 1977. That is the British Open remembered as the "Duel in the Sun." Watson and Jack Nicklaus were tied after three rounds and played the fourth round together. It wasn't settled until the final hole. Nicklaus scored 66, but Watson's 65 gave him the one-stroke victory.

Related articles:

• Youngest winners of the British Open
• Lowest scores in back-to-back British Open rounds
• Golfers with most Top 5 finishes in British Open

Sources:
The R&A. The Open Media Guide, The Open Championship Records, Scoring Records - General.