1968 Open Championship

1968 Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates	10–13 July 1968
Location	Angus, Scotland
Course(s)	Carnoustie Golf Links; Championship Course
Statistics
Par	72
Length	7,252 yards (6,631 m)
Field	130 players; 70 after 1st cut; 45 after 2nd cut
Cut	155 (+11) (1st cut); 228 (+12) (2nd cut)
Prize fund	£20,000
Winner's share	£3,000; $7,200
Champion
	Gary Player
	289 (+1)
	← 1967 1969 →

Carnoustie

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Location in Scotland

Carnoustie

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Location in Angus, Scotland

The 1968 Open Championship was the 97th Open Championship, played 10–13 July at Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus, Scotland. Gary Player won the second of his three Open titles, two strokes ahead of runners-up Bob Charles and Jack Nicklaus.^[2] It was the fifth of Player's nine major titles.

This Open introduced the second cut at 54 holes, used through 1985. In addition, starting with this Championship all past Open champions were exempt from qualifying (though, eventually, an age restriction was placed on past champions).

The inaugural Greater Milwaukee Open was held in the United States during the same week, with a first prize of $40,000, over five times the winner's share of the Open Championship, which was $7,200 (£3,000).

The PGA Championship was played the next week in San Antonio, Texas, the fifth and final time in the 1960s that these two majors were played in consecutive weeks in July. The PGA Championship moved permanently to August in 1969 (except 1971, when it was played in late February) and remained there until 2019, when it moved to May between The Masters and U.S. Open.

Course

Carnoustie Golf Links - Championship Course

Hole	Name	Yards	Par	Hole	Name	Yards	Par
1	Cup	406	4	10	South America	446	4
2	Gulley	468	4	11	Dyke	370	4
3	Jockie's Burn	343	4	12	Southward Ho	473	4
4	Hillocks	429	4	13	Whins	168	3
5	Brae	389	4	14	Spectacles	485	5
6	Long	565	5	15	Lucky Slap	460	4
7	Plantation	386	4	16	Barry Burn	243	3
8	Short	163	3	17	Island	458	4
9	Railway	475	4	18	Home	525	5
Out		3,624	36	In		3,628	36
				Total		7,252	72

Past champions in the field

Made both cuts

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par	Finish
Gary Player	South Africa	1959	74	71	71	73	289	+1	1
Jack Nicklaus	United States	1966	76	69	73	73	291	+3	T2
Bob Charles	New Zealand	1963	72	72	71	76	291	+3	T2
Roberto De Vicenzo	Argentina	1967	77	72	74	74	297	+9	T10
Arnold Palmer	United States	1961, 1962	77	71	72	77	297	+9	T10
Kel Nagle	Australia	1960	74	75	75	74	298	+10	T13
Peter Thomson	Australia	1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965	77	71	78	75	301	+13	T24

Missed the first cut

Player	Country	Year won	R1	R2	Total	To par
Max Faulkner	England	1951	74	82	156	+12
Dick Burton	England	1939	88	84	172	+28

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 10 July 1968

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
T1	Brian Barnes	Scotland	70	−2
T1	Michael Bonallack (a)	England	70	−2
T3	Maurice Bembridge	England	71	−1
T3	Peter Mills	England	71	−1
T5	Billy Casper	United States	72	E
	Bob Charles	New Zealand
	Tony Jacklin	England
	Paddy Skerritt	Ireland
T9	Peter Alliss	England	73	+1
	Billy Casper	United States
	Sebastián Miguel	Spain
	Sandy Wilson	Scotland

Second round

Thursday, 11 July 1968

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Billy Casper	United States	72-68=140	−4
T2	Brian Barnes	Scotland	70-74=144	E
	Bob Charles	New Zealand	72-72=144
	Tony Jacklin	England	72-72=144
T5	Jack Nicklaus	United States	76-69=145	+1
	Gary Player	South Africa	74-71=145
	Paddy Skerritt	Ireland	72-73=145
T8	Maurice Bembridge	England	71-75=146	+2
T8	Dave Thomas	Wales	75-71=146	+2
T10	Harry Bannerman	Scotland	74-73=147	+3
	Michael Bonallack (a)	England	70-77=147
	Gay Brewer	United States	74-73=147
	Brian Huggett	Wales	76-71=147
	Peter Mills	England	71-76=147

Amateurs: Bonallack (+3), Monguzzi (+8), O'Connor (+12), Sweeny Jr (+12), Shade (+13), Oosterhuis (+16), Saddler (+16).

Third round

Friday, 13 July 1968

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Billy Casper	United States	72-68-74=214	−2
2	Bob Charles	New Zealand	72-72-71=215	−1
3	Gary Player	South Africa	74-71-71=216	E
4	Jack Nicklaus	United States	76-69-73=218	+2
T5	Maurice Bembridge	England	71-75-73=219	+3
	Gay Brewer	United States	74-73-72=219
	Tony Jacklin	England	72-72-75=219
8	Arnold Palmer	United States	77-71-72=220	+4
9	Michael Bonallack (a)	England	70-77-74=221	+5
T10	Neil Coles	England	75-76-71=222	+6
	Bruce Devlin	Australia	77-73-72=222
	Brian Huggett	Wales	76-71-75=222
	Paddy Skerritt	Ireland	72-73-77=222

Amateurs: Bonallack (+5), Monguzzi (+18).

Final round

Saturday, 13 July 1968

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money (£)
1	Gary Player	South Africa	74-71-71-73=289	+1	3,000
T2	Bob Charles	New Zealand	72-72-71-76=291	+3	1,738
T2	Jack Nicklaus	United States	76-69-73-73=291	+3	1,738
4	Billy Casper	United States	72-68-74-78=292	+4	1,225
5	Maurice Bembridge	England	71-75-73-74=293	+5	1,000
T6	Brian Barnes	Scotland	70-74-80-71=295	+7	658
	Gay Brewer	United States	74-73-72-76=295
	Neil Coles	England	75-76-71-73=295
9	Al Balding	Canada	74-76-74-72=296	+8	475
T10	Roberto De Vicenzo	Argentina	77-72-74-74=297	+9	402
	Bruce Devlin	Australia	77-73-72-75=297
	Arnold Palmer	United States	77-71-72-77=297

Amateurs: Bonallack (+12).

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 68, 203–8. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
^ Brown, Gwilym S . (22 July 1968). "A sweet win on a sour links". Sports Illustrated. p. 20.

External links

56°29′49″N 2°43′01″W / 56.497°N 2.717°W / 56.497; -2.717

[ocmg11-1] "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 68, 203–8. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.

[sijl68-2] Brown, Gwilym S . (22 July 1968). "A sweet win on a sour links". Sports Illustrated. p. 20.

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