10 Notable British Open Moments at St. Andrews

The 150th British Open will get underway on Thursday. The fourth major championship should see a lot of excitement and drama, as the world’s best golfers make their way to St. Andrews. Here are the 10 notable British Open moments at St. Andrews in the history of the British Open.

10) Bobby Jones 1927

At the 1927 British Open from St. Andrews, Bobby Jones of Atlanta, Georgia defended his British Open title from a year before in 1926 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. While playing as an amateur, Jones won his second of three British Open titles by beating Englishmen Aubrey Boomer and Fred Robson by six strokes each. Jones was the wire-to-wire winner. His best round was the first round when he shot a five-under-par 68. The six-stroke win at the 1927 British Open was Jones’s most dominant victory of his seven major titles.

9) Sam Snead 1946

Sam Snead of Ashwood, Virginia won 82 PGA Tour titles, which is tied with Tiger Woods for the most all-time. Of Snead’s 82 titles, seven were majors. He won the Masters thrice, PGA Championship thrice, and the British Open once. At the 1946 British Open in St. Andrews, Snead shot a four round score -2 to beat South Africa’s Bobby Locke and American Johnny Bulla by four strokes. Snead was the only golfer to be under par and the first American to win the British Open since 1933 when Denny Shute won at St. Andrews.

8) Jack Nicklaus 1970

Jack Nicklaus of Columbus, Ohio won his eighth of a record 18 major titles at the 1970 British Open at St. Andrews. This was Nicklaus’s second British Open title after winning in Muirfield in 1966. At the 1970 British Open, Nicklaus won in a playoff over fellow American Doug Saunders. This was the first 18 hole playoff at the British Open as the previous playoffs were 36 holes. It was one of three playoffs at a major that Nicklaus was victorious in. He previously won the 1962 United States Open over Arnold Palmer and the 1966 Masters over Tommy Jacobs and Gay Brewer.

7) Jack Nicklaus 1978

The Golden Bear won his last British Open in 1978 at St. Andrews. Here he shot a four round score of -7 and beat fellow Americans Raymond Floyd, Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw, along with New Zealand’s Simon Owen by two strokes. What made the 1978 British Open so spectacular and special is the fact Nicklaus won each of the four majors at least three times each with this notable win.

6) Seve Ballesteros 1984

Known as one of the legends in the game, Seve Ballesteros of Pedrena, Spain won his fourth of five career majors at St. Andrews in 1984. At the Old Course, Ballesteros beat American Tom Watson, the five-time British Open champion, and Germany’s Bernhard Langer by two strokes.

5) Nick Faldo 1990

This English legend won his fourth of six major titles at the 1990 British Open at St. Andrews. He shot a four-round score of -18, which at the time was a British Open record. Faldo beat Mark McNulty of Zimbabwe and Payne Stewart of the United States by five strokes. Faldo’s most significant round was the second round where he shot a second round score of seven-under-par.

4) John Daly 1995

At the 1995 British Open, John Daly of Dardanelle, Arkansas beat Italian Costantino Rocca in a playoff after shooting a score of six-under-par. Known as one of the biggest fan favourites in golf in the last 30 years, Daly attracted a new generation of fans to the game. Never considered very fit, Daly was known for his drinking and smoking. However, he found a way to win at St. Andrews.

3) Tiger Woods 2000 & 2005

Just like Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods of Cypress, California won two British Open titles at St. Andrews. The first came in 2000 and the second came in 2005. At the 2000 British Open, Woods broke Faldo’s record of -18 with a score of -19 to beat South Africa’s Ernie Els and Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn by eight strokes. Then five years later, Woods posted a score of -14 to beat Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie by five strokes. Just like Bobby Jones in 1927, Woods was a wire-to-wire winner in 2005.

2) Louis Oosthuizen 2010

Just like Tiger Woods in 2000, Louis Oosthuizen of Mossel Bay, South Africa was dominant in winning the 2010 British Open at St. Andrews. He posted a score of -16 to beat Englishman Lee Westwood by seven strokes. Many thought Oosthuizen’s British Open title in 2010 would be the first sign of greatness. But it remains his only major title to date.

1) Zach Johnson 2015

The 2007 Masters champion won the 2015 British Open in St. Andrews, the last time the tournament was held at the Old Course. Zach Johnson, a native of Iowa City, Iowa defeated Marc Leishman of Australia and Oosthuizen in a three-man playoff, the only three-man British Open playoff to ever take place at St. Andrews. All three golfers shot a four-round score of -15 before Johnson was victorious in a four-hole playoff. Poor weather forced the final round and playoff to be played on Monday.