1983 Open Championship

1983 Open Championship

Tournament information
Dates	14–17 July 1983
Location	Southport, England
Course	Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Tour(s)	European Tour PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	71 [1]
Length	6,968 yards (6,372 m) [1]
Field	151 players 83 after 1st cut 63 after 2nd cut [1]
Cut	146 (+4) (1st cut) 217 (+4) (2nd cut) [1]
Prize fund	£400,000 $600,000
Winner's share	£40,000 $60,000
Champion
Tom Watson
275 (−9)
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Southport

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Location in England

Royal Birkdale Golf Club

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Location in Southport, Merseyside,
north of Liverpool, England

The 1983 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 112th Open Championship, held from 14 to 17 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. It was the sixth time the course had hosted, with the first in 1954.

Defending champion Tom Watson won his fifth Open Championship, one stroke ahead of runners-up Andy Bean and Hale Irwin. ^{[2] [3]} It was his second consecutive Open win and third in the last four, ^[4] 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. ^[5]

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. ^{[6] [5]}

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. ^[2] Of his five Open wins, this was the only one outside Scotland. ^{[7] [8]}

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. ^[9]

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: ^{[10] [11] [12]}

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: ^{[13] [14]}
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: ^{[1] [15]}

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: ^{[1] [16]}

• The exchange rate at the time was approximately 1.52 dollars (US) per pound sterling. ^[17]

References

1. "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 51, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
2. Paul, Ian (18 July 1983). "Watson picks up Open trophy − then drops it". Glasgow Herald. p. 1.
3. Husar, John (18 July 1983). "Watson flashes the V sign". The Chicago Tribune. p. 3, sec. 4.
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.
5. Jenkins, Dan (25 July 1983). "Breaking clear of the crowd". Sports Illustrated. p. 12.
6. "Watson wins 5th in Britain". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. 25 July 1983. p. 15.
7. "Tom Watson's four championships in the British Open". Chicago Tribune. 17 July 1983. p. 5, sec. 3.
8. Husar, John (18 July 1983). "Watson strangles that choker label". The Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 4.
9. "Ballesteros holds off world's best". Glasgow Herald. 10 July 1976. p. 16.
10. Husar, John (15 July 1983). "Stadler putts way into British lead". The Chicago Tribune. p. 2, sec. 3.
11. Jacobs, Raymond (15 July 1983). "Faldo steps out of Stadler's shadow". Glasgow Herald. p. 22.
12. "Stadler's 64 puts him 3-up in British Open". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida. Associated Press. 15 July 1983. p. 16B.
13. Jacobs, Raymond (16 July 1983). "Gallant Faldo mounts close but lonely vigil". Glasgow Herald. p. 16.
14. Husar, John (15 July 1983). "Stadler holds on to lead". The Chicago Tribune. p. 3, sec. 2.
15. Husar, John (17 July 1983). "Watson overcomes 'hazard'". The Chicago Tribune. p. 5, sec. 3.
16. "1983 Open Championship results". databasegolf.com. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
17. "British Pound / US Dollar Historical Reference Rates from Bank of England for 1983". PoundSterling. July 1983. Retrieved 18 July 2024.

External links

• Royal Birkdale 1983 (Official site)
• 112th Open Championship - Royal Birkdale (European Tour)

53°37′19″N3°01′59″W / 53.622°N 3.033°W / 53.622; -3.033