1974 Open Championship
Golf tournament
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The 1974 Open Championship was the 103rd Open Championship, held from 10 to 13 July at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England. Gary Player won his third Open Championship, four strokes ahead of runner-up Peter Oosterhuis.[2][3] It was the eighth of his nine major titles and second of the year; he won the Masters in April.[4] In the other two majors in 1974, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship, Player had top ten finishes.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 10–13 July 1974 |
| Location | Lancashire, England |
| Course | Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club |
| Tour(s) | European Tour PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 71[1] |
| Length | 6,822 yards (6,238 m)[1] |
| Field | 154 players 81 after 1st cut 60 after 2nd cut[1] |
| Cut | 156 (+14) (1st cut) 231 (+18) (2nd cut)[1] |
| Prize fund | £50,000[1] $120,000 |
| Winner's share | £5,500[1] $13,200 |
| Champion | |
 Gary Player | |
| 282 (−2) | |
St Annes
St Annes
The use of the larger USGA specification ball (diameter 1.68 in, 42.67 mm) was made compulsory. In previous Opens, players could use the smaller Royal & Ancient specification ball(1.62 in, 41.15 mm).[5][6][7] By 1990, the Royal & Ancient changed the UK Rules of Golf to the 1.68 inch ball.
Course layout
Round summaries
First round
Wednesday, 10 July 1974
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 |  John Morgan | 69 | −2 |
| Gary Player | |||
| T3 | Bobby Cole | 70 | −1 |
 Danny Edwards | |||
| T5 | Hubert Green | 71 | E |
 John O'Leary | |||
| Peter Oosterhuis | |||
| T8 |  David Chillas | 72 | +1 |
| Neil Coles | |||
 Lu Liang-Huan | |||
| Johnny Miller | |||
| Tom Weiskopf |
Source:[9]
Second round
Thursday, 11 July 1974
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Player | 69-68=137 | −5 |
| T2 | Bobby Cole | 70-72=142 | E |
| Peter Oosterhuis | 71-71=142 | ||
| 4 | Danny Edwards | 70-73=143 | +1 |
| T5 | Lu Liang-Huan | 72-72=144 | +2 |
| John Morgan | 69-75=144 | ||
| Tom Weiskopf | 72-72=144 | ||
| 8 | Hubert Green | 71-74=145 | +3 |
| T9 | Al Geiberger | 76-70=146 | +4 |
| Noel Hunt | 73-73=146 | ||
| Jack Nicklaus | 74-72=146 |
Amateurs: Lyle (+10), James (+16), Clark (+21), Burch (+22), Homer (+23), Shaw (+31).
Third round
Friday, 12 July 1974
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Player | 69-68-75=212 | −1 |
| 2 | Peter Oosterhuis | 71-71-73=215 | +2 |
| 3 | Jack Nicklaus | 74-72-70=216 | +3 |
| 4 | Hubert Green | 71-74-72=217 | +4 |
| T5 | Bobby Cole | 70-72-76=218 | +5 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 72-72-74=218 | ||
| T7 | Danny Edwards | 70-73-76=219 | +6 |
| Lu Liang-Huan | 72-72-75=219 | ||
| T9 | Johnny Miller | 72-75-73=220 | +7 |
| John Morgan | 69-75-76=220 |
Source:[10]
Amateurs: Lyle (+23), James (+24).
Final round
Saturday, 13 July 1974
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Player | 69-68-75-70=282 | −2 | 5,500 |
| 2 | Peter Oosterhuis | 71-71-73-71=286 | +2 | 4,000 |
| 3 | Jack Nicklaus | 74-72-70-71=287 | +3 | 3,250 |
| 4 | Hubert Green | 71-74-72-71=288 | +4 | 2,750 |
| T5 | Danny Edwards | 70-73-76-73=292 | +8 | 2,300 |
| Lu Liang-Huan | 72-72-75-73=292 | |||
| T7 | Bobby Cole | 70-72-76-75=293 | +9 | 1,717 |
 Donald Swaelens | 77-73-74-69=293 | |||
| Tom Weiskopf | 72-72-74-75=293 | |||
| 10 | Johnny Miller | 72-75-73-74=294 | +10 | 1,500 |
- The exchange rate at the time was approximately 2.39 dollars (US) per pound sterling.[12]