1991 Open Championship

The 1991 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 120th Open Championship, held from 18 to 21 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Ian Baker-Finch won his only major championship, two strokes ahead of runner-up Mike Harwood.

1991 Open Championship

Tournament information
Dates	18–21 July 1991
Location	Southport, England
Course(s)	Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Tour(s)	European Tour PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	70[1]
Length	6,940 yards (6,346 m)[1]
Field	156 players, 113 after cut[1]
Cut	148 (+8)[1]
Prize fund	£900,000 $1,512,000
Winner's share	£90,000 $151,200
Champion
Ian Baker-Finch
272 (−8)
← 1990 1992 →

Southport

Location in England

Royal Birkdale Golf Club

Location in Southport, Merseyside,
north of Liverpool, England

Baker-Finch was two-over after two rounds in a tie for 28th place, then was ten-under on the weekend. His 66 on Sunday was bolstered by a 29 on the front nine, with birdies on five of the first seven holes.^[2][3][4]

The cut at 148 (+8) included those within ten strokes of the lead, which resulted in a record 113 players on the weekend, nearly three-quarters of the field.^[5][6]

Course

Main article: Royal Birkdale Golf Club

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Yards	448	417	409	203	346	473	156	458	414	3,324	395	409	184	475	199	543	414	525	472	3,616	6,940
Par	4	4	4	3	4	4	3	4	4	34	4	4	3	4	3	5	4	5	4	36	70

Source:^[7]
Lengths of the course for previous Opens (since 1950):^[1]

1983: 6,968 yards (6,372 m), par 71 1976: 7,001 yards (6,402 m), par 72 1971: 7,080 yards (6,470 m), par 73

1965: 7,037 yards (6,435 m), par 73 1961: 6,844 yards (6,258 m) 1954: 6,867 yards (6,279 m)

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, 18 July 1991

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Seve Ballesteros	66	−4
T2	Chip Beck	67	−3
	Martin Gates
	Santiago Luna
T5	Nick Faldo	68	−2
	Gary Hallberg
	Mike Harwood
	Barry Lane
	Mark Mouland
	Mike Reid
	Costantino Rocca

Source:^[8]

Second round

Friday, 19 July 1991

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Gary Hallberg	68-70=138	−2
	Mike Harwood	68-70=138
	Andrew Oldcorn	71-67=138
T4	Seve Ballesteros	66-73=139	−1
	Steve Elkington	71-68=139
	David Gilford	72-67=139
	Wayne Grady	69-70=139
	Mark O'Meara	71-68=139
	Mike Reid	68-71=139
T10	Richard Boxall	71-69=140	E
	Roger Chapman	74-66=140
	Howard Clark	71-69=140
	Mark James	72-68=140
	Barry Lane	68-72=140
	Colin Montgomerie	71-69=140
	Vijay Singh	71-69=140

Source:^[5]
Amateurs: Mickelson (+4), Payne (+4), Allenby (+9), Roblin (+11), Coltart (+13), Evans (+13), Muntz (+14), Wilshire (+15).

Third round

Saturday, 20 July 1991

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Ian Baker-Finch	71-71-64=206	−4
	Mark O'Meara	71-68-67=206
T3	Eamonn Darcy	73-68-66=207	−3
	Mike Harwood	68-70-69=207
5	Seve Ballesteros	66-73-69=208	−2
T6	Mike Reid	68-71-70=209	−1
	Vijay Singh	71-69-69=209
T8	Mark James	72-68-70=210	E
	Mark Mouland	68-74-68=210
	Craig Parry	71-70-69=210
	Martin Poxon	71-72-67=210

Source:^[9]

Final round

Sunday, 21 July 1991

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money (£)
1	Ian Baker-Finch	71-71-64-66=272	−8	90,000
2	Mike Harwood	68-70-69-67=274	−6	70,000
T3	Fred Couples	72-69-70-64=275	−5	55,000
	Mark O'Meara	71-68-67-69=275
T5	Eamonn Darcy	73-68-66-70=277	−3	34,167
	Jodie Mudd	72-70-72-63=277
	Bob Tway	75-66-70-66=277
8	Craig Parry	71-70-69-68=278	−2	27,500
T9	Seve Ballesteros	66-73-69-71=279	−1	22,833
	Bernhard Langer	71-71-70-67=279
	Greg Norman	74-68-71-66=279

Source:^[1][2][10]
Amateurs: Payne (+4), Mickelson (+8)