1983 Open Championship
Defending champion Tom Watson won his fifth Open Championship, one stroke ahead of runners-up Andy Bean and Hale Irwin. It was his second consecutive Open win and third in the last four, but was helped by Irwin "whiffing" a one-inch putt on the 14th hole on the third day, which cost him a chance of a play-off with Watson for the tournament.
At age 33, this was Watson's eighth and final major title; he had won three of the last six majors, but had not won any event for twelve months.
Watson was the fifth to win five Open Championships, last accomplished in 1965 by Peter Thomson, also at Royal Birkdale. He was the first to successfully defend the title in over a decade, since Lee Trevino in 1972 at Muirfield. Of his five Open wins, this was the only one outside Scotland.
Seven years earlier at Royal Birkdale in 1976, defending champion Watson posted an 80 in the third round, finishing with a pair of sixes, and missed the 54-hole cut by a stroke.
Course layout
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards | 450 | 423 | 410 | 206 | 343 | 468 | 150 | 470 | 410 | 3,330 | 384 | 411 | 184 | 505 | 198 | 542 | 415 | 526 | 473 | 3,638 | 6,968 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 37 | 71 |
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, 14 July 1983
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Craig Stadler |
64 | −7 |
| T2 |  Bernhard Langer |
67 | −4 |
| Bill Rogers
| |||
| Tom Watson
| |||
| T5 |  Nick Faldo |
68 | −3 |
 Mike Ferguson
| |||
| Vaughan Somers
| |||
| Hal Sutton
| |||
 Sam Torrance
| |||
| T10 |  Eamonn Darcy |
69 | −2 |
| David Dunk
| |||
| Hubert Green
| |||
| Graham Marsh
| |||
 Philip Parkin (a)
| |||
| Lee Trevino
|
Source:
Second round
Friday, 15 July 1983
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Craig Stadler |
64-70=134 | −8 |
| T2 | Lee Trevino |
69-66=135 | −7 |
| Tom Watson |
67-68=135 | ||
| 4 | Nick Faldo |
68-68=136 | −6 |
| 5 | Hale Irwin |
69-68=137 | −5 |
| T6 | Raymond Floyd |
72-66=138 | −4 |
| Terry Gale |
72-66=138 | ||
| Bill Rogers |
67-71=138 | ||
| T9 | Andy Bean |
70-69=139 | −3 |
| Denis Durnian |
73-66=139 | ||
| Bernhard Langer |
67-72=139 | ||
| Graham Marsh |
69-70=139 | ||
| Hal Sutton |
68-71=139 |
Source:
Amateurs: Parkin (+5), Gilford (+7), Plaxton (+12), Thompson (+12), Wood (+12), Hamer (+13), Thomas (+13), Crosby (+17).
Third round
Saturday, 16 July 1983
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Watson |
67-68-70=205 | −8 |
| 2 | Craig Stadler |
64-70-72=206 | −7 |
| T3 | Nick Faldo |
68-68-71=207 | −6 |
| Raymond Floyd |
72-66-69=207 | ||
| David Graham |
71-69-67=207 | ||
| 6 | Lee Trevino |
69-66-73=208 | −5 |
| T7 | Andy Bean |
70-69-70=209 | −4 |
| Hale Irwin |
69-68-72=209 | ||
 Mark McNulty |
72-69-68=209 | ||
| Fuzzy Zoeller |
71-71-67=209 |
Source:
Final round
Sunday, 17 July 1983
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Watson |
67-68-70-70=275 | −9 | 40,000 |
| T2 | Andy Bean |
70-69-70-67=276 | −8 | 23,000 |
| Hale Irwin |
69-68-72-67=276 | |||
| 4 | Graham Marsh |
69-70-74-64=277 | −7 | 15,000 |
| 5 | Lee Trevino |
69-66-73-70=278 | −6 | 13,600 |
| T6 |  Seve Ballesteros |
71-71-69-68=279 | −5 | 12,250 |
 Harold Henning |
71-69-70-69=279 | |||
| T8 | Denis Durnian |
73-66-74-67=280 | −4 | 9,625 |
| Nick Faldo |
68-68-71-73=280 | |||
| Christy O'Connor Jnr |
72-69-71-68=280 | |||
| Bill Rogers |
67-71-73-69=280 |
Source:
- The exchange rate at the time was approximately 1.52 dollars (US) per pound sterling.
References
- ^ "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 51, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
- ^ Paul, Ian (18 July 1983). "Watson picks up Open trophy − then drops it". Glasgow Herald. p. 1.
- ^ Husar, John (18 July 1983). "Watson flashes the V sign". The Chicago Tribune. p. 3, sec. 4.
- ^ Radosta, John (18 July 1983). "Watson's birdie on 16th vaults him to 5th British Open crown". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida. (New York Times). p. 12B.
- ^ Jenkins, Dan (25 July 1983). "Breaking clear of the crowd". Sports Illustrated. p. 12.
- ^ "Watson wins 5th in Britain". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. 25 July 1983. p. 15.
- ^ "Tom Watson's four championships in the British Open". Chicago Tribune. 17 July 1983. p. 5, sec. 3.
- ^ Husar, John (18 July 1983). "Watson strangles that choker label". The Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 4.
- ^ "Ballesteros holds off world's best". Glasgow Herald. 10 July 1976. p. 16.
- ^ Husar, John (15 July 1983). "Stadler putts way into British lead". The Chicago Tribune. p. 2, sec. 3.
- ^ Jacobs, Raymond (15 July 1983). "Faldo steps out of Stadler's shadow". Glasgow Herald. p. 22.
- ^ "Stadler's 64 puts him 3-up in British Open". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. 15 July 1983. p. 16B.
- ^ Jacobs, Raymond (16 July 1983). "Gallant Faldo mounts close but lonely vigil". Glasgow Herald. p. 16.
- ^ Husar, John (15 July 1983). "Stadler holds on to lead". The Chicago Tribune. p. 3, sec. 2.
- ^ Husar, John (17 July 1983). "Watson overcomes 'hazard'". The Chicago Tribune. p. 5, sec. 3.
- ^ "1983 Open Championship results". databasegolf.com. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ "British Pound / US Dollar Historical Reference Rates from Bank of England for 1983". PoundSterling. July 1983. Retrieved 18 July 2024.