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. 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.
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. 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 PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Lee Trevino68−3 Tom WatsonT3 Nick Faldo69−2 Vicente Fernández Mark James Jack Newton Glenn RalphT8 Ken Brown70−1 Ben Crenshaw Mark Hayes Sandy Lyle Gil Morgan
Second round Friday, 18 July 1980 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Lee Trevino68-67=135−7T2 Ken Brown70-68=138−4 Jerry Pate71-67=138 Tom Watson68-70=138T5 Seve Ballesteros72-68=140−2 Andy Bean71-69=140 Ben Crenshaw70-70=140 Gil Morgan70-70=140 Jack Newton69-71=140 Jack Nicklaus73-67=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 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Tom Watson68-70-64=202−11T2 Ken Brown70-68-68=206−7 Lee Trevino68-67-71=2064 Ben Crenshaw70-70-68=208−5T5 Andy Bean71-69-70=210−3 Hubert Green77-69-64=210T7 Isao Aoki74-74-63=211 −2 Sandy Lyle70-71-70=211 Carl Mason72-69-70=211 Gil Morgan70-70-71=211 Jack Nicklaus73-67-71=211 Craig Stadler72-70-69=211 Amateurs: Sigel (+5)
Final round Sunday, 20 July 1980 PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney (£)1 Tom Watson 68-70-64-69=271 −13 25,0002 Lee Trevino 68-67-71-69=275 −9 17,5003 Ben Crenshaw 70-70-68-69=277 −7 13,500T4 Carl Mason 72-69-70-69=280 −4 9,250 Jack Nicklaus 73-67-71-69=280T6 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=282T10 Gil Morgan 70-70-71-72=283 −1 5,750 Jack Newton 69-71-73-70=283 Source: Amateurs: Sigel (+7) The exchange rate at the time was approximately 2.37 dollars (US) per pound sterling.
References
External links Muirfield 1980 (Official site) 109th Open Championship – Muirfield (European Tour) 1980 Open Championship (GolfCompendium.com)