The 1972 Open Championship was the 101st Open Championship, held 12–15 July at Muirfield Golf Links in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Lee Trevino won his second straight Claret Jug, the first to successfully defend his title since Arnold Palmer in 1962. Trevino finished one stroke ahead of runner-up Jack Nicklaus, ending his bid for the Grand Slam. Nicklaus had won the first two majors in 1972 and was the odds-on favorite at Muirfield, where he won his first Open in 1966. He also held the PGA Championship title from February 1971; a win at Muirfield and he would become the first to hold all four major titles at once.

Six strokes back at even-par after 54 holes, Nicklaus shot a final round 66 (−5) on Saturday to tie the course record, but played the final three holes at one-over par. Trevino had posted his own 66 in the third round and held on in the fourth round with an even-par 71, which included a chip-in for par at 17, to gain the fourth of his six major titles.

It was the third of four times that Nicklaus was a runner-up to Trevino in a major championship.

Trevino's win concluded a stretch where American-born golfers won eight consecutive major championships. This is the fourth-longest stretch in history for American-born golfers after stretches that ended at the 1930 Open Championship, 1947 U.S. Open, and the 1977 PGA Championship.

Thirty years later, Tiger Woods became the first since Nicklaus to win the first two major tournaments of the year. His bid for a Grand Slam in 2002 also ended at Muirfield.

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 12 July 1972

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Peter Tupling	68	−3
2	Tony Jacklin	69	−2
T3	Frank Beard	70	−1
	Craig Defoy
	Dave Marr
	Jack Nicklaus
	Peter Townsend
T8	Brian Barnes	71	E
	John Garner
	Antonio Garrido
	Gary Player
	Doug Sanders
	Peter Thomson
	Lee Trevino

Second round

Thursday, 13 July 1972

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Tony Jacklin	69-72=141	−1
	Lee Trevino	71-70=141
T3	John Garner	71-71=142	E
	Johnny Miller	76-66=142
	Jack Nicklaus	70-72=142
	Gary Player	71-71=142
	Doug Sanders	71-71=142
	Peter Townsend	70-72=142
	Peter Tupling	68-74=142
T10	Brian Barnes	71-72=143	+1
	Clive Clark	72-71=143
	Peter Thomson	71-72=143

Amateurs: R. Foster (+7), Mosey (+8), Revell (+9), Stephen (+9), Campbell (+11), Homer (+11), Gradwell (+13), Elson (+14), Bonallack (+15), Clark (+15), Berry (+19), Gray (+20).

Third round

Friday, 14 July 1972

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Lee Trevino	71-70-66=207	−6
2	Tony Jacklin	69-72-67=208	−5
3	Doug Sanders	71-71-69=211	−2
4	Brian Barnes	71-72-69=212	−1
5	Jack Nicklaus	70-72-71=213	E
T6	Guy Hunt	75-72-67=214	+1
	Johnny Miller	76-66-72=214
T8	Dave Marr	70-74-71=215	+2
	Arnold Palmer	73-73-69=215
	Peter Tupling	68-74-73=215

Amateurs: R. Foster (+14), Mosey (+14), Stephen (+14), Revell (+15).

Final round

Saturday, 15 July 1972

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money (£)
1	Lee Trevino	71-70-66-71=278	−6	5,500
2	Jack Nicklaus	70-72-71-66=279	−5	4,000
3	Tony Jacklin	69-72-67-72=280	−4	3,250
4	Doug Sanders	71-71-69-70=281	−3	2,750
5	Brian Barnes	71-72-69-71=283	−1	2,450
6	Gary Player	71-71-76-67=285	+1	2,150
T7	Guy Hunt	75-72-67-72=286	+2	1,663
	Arnold Palmer	73-73-69-71=286
	David Vaughan	74-73-70-69=286
	Tom Weiskopf	73-74-70-69=286

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