1980 Open Championship

The 1980 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 109th Open Championship, held from 17 to 20 July at Muirfield Golf Links in Gullane, Scotland. Tom Watson won his third Open Championship, four strokes ahead of runner-up Lee Trevino.^[2][3] It was the fourth of Watson's eight major titles; he won two additional Opens in 1982 and 1983. It was Watson's first win in a major in three years.^[4]

1980 Open Championship

Tournament information
Dates	17–20 July 1980
Location	Gullane, Scotland
Course(s)	Muirfield
Tour(s)	European Tour PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	71[1]
Length	6,926 yards (6,333 m)[1]
Field	151 players 87 after 1st cut 65 after 2nd cut[1]
Cut	149 (+7) (1st cut) 219 (+6) (2nd cut)[1]
Prize fund	£200,000 $480,000
Winner's share	£25,000 $60,000
Champion
Tom Watson
271 (−13)
← 1979 1981 →

Muirfield

Location in Scotland

Trevino, 40, had won the last Open played at Muirfield in 1972, successfully defending his 1971 title and ending the grand slam bid of Jack Nicklaus.^[5] Nicklaus, also 40, tied for fourth. He won at Muirfield in 1966 and was runner-up by a stroke in 1972.

This was the first Open scheduled to end on a Sunday, with a Thursday start. The Open previously began on Wednesday and ended on Saturday. Prior to 1966, the final two rounds were scheduled for Friday. In 1970 and 1975, 18-hole playoffs were held on Sunday.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, 17 July 1980

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Lee Trevino	68	−3
	Tom Watson
T3	Nick Faldo	69	−2
	Vicente Fernández
	Mark James
	Jack Newton
	Glenn Ralph
T8	Ken Brown	70	−1
	Ben Crenshaw
	Mark Hayes
	Sandy Lyle
	Gil Morgan

Second round

Friday, 18 July 1980

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Lee Trevino	68-67=135	−7
T2	Ken Brown	70-68=138	−4
	Jerry Pate	71-67=138
	Tom Watson	68-70=138
T5	Seve Ballesteros	72-68=140	−2
	Andy Bean	71-69=140
	Ben Crenshaw	70-70=140
	Gil Morgan	70-70=140
	Jack Newton	69-71=140
	Jack Nicklaus	73-67=140

Amateurs: Sigel (+2), Rafferty (+9), McLean (+10), Mitchell (+10), Evans (+11), Gallagher (+12), Way (+12), Boxall (+13), McEvoy (+13), Deeble (+14), McCathie (+17), Hay (+19)

Third round

Saturday, 19 July 1980

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Tom Watson	68-70-64=202	−11
T2	Ken Brown	70-68-68=206	−7
	Lee Trevino	68-67-71=206
4	Ben Crenshaw	70-70-68=208	−5
T5	Andy Bean	71-69-70=210	−3
	Hubert Green	77-69-64=210
T7	Isao Aoki	74-74-63=211	−2
	Sandy Lyle	70-71-70=211
	Carl Mason	72-69-70=211
	Gil Morgan	70-70-71=211
	Jack Nicklaus	73-67-71=211
	Craig Stadler	72-70-69=211

Amateurs: Sigel (+5)

Final round

Sunday, 20 July 1980

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money (£)
1	Tom Watson	68-70-64-69=271	−13	25,000
2	Lee Trevino	68-67-71-69=275	−9	17,500
3	Ben Crenshaw	70-70-68-69=277	−7	13,500
T4	Carl Mason	72-69-70-69=280	−4	9,250
	Jack Nicklaus	73-67-71-69=280
T6	Andy Bean	71-69-70-72=282	−2	7,250
	Ken Brown	70-68-68-76=282
	Hubert Green	77-69-64-72=282
	Craig Stadler	72-70-69-71=282
T10	Gil Morgan	70-70-71-72=283	−1	5,750
	Jack Newton	69-71-73-70=283

Source:^[6]

• Amateurs: Sigel (+7)
• The exchange rate at the time was approximately 2.37 dollars (US) per pound sterling.^[7]