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The 1975 Open Championship was the 104th Open Championship, played 9–13 July at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland. In his first Open, Tom Watson won an 18-hole playoff by one stroke over Jack Newton to win the first of his eight major titles,[3][4][5] which included five Open Championships.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 9–13 July 1975 |
| Location | Angus, Scotland |
| Course(s) | Carnoustie Golf Links Championship Course |
| Tour(s) | European Tour PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72[1] |
| Length | 7,065 yards (6,460 m)[1][2] |
| Field | 153 players 86 after 1st cut 63 after 2nd cut[1] |
| Cut | 149 (+5) (1st cut) 221 (+5) (2nd cut)[1] |
| Prize fund | £75,000[1] $165,000 |
| Winner's share | £7,500 $16,500 |
| Champion | |
 Tom Watson | |
| 279 (−9), playoff | |
Carnoustie
Location in Scotland
Carnoustie
Location in Angus, Scotland
After three days of calm weather, the wind kicked up during the final round on Saturday and scores went up. Bobby Cole, the leader at 54 holes after back-to-back rounds of 66, shot a four-over 76 and missed the playoff by a stroke. Watson managed an even-par 72, capped with a 20-foot (6 m) birdie putt on the 72nd hole to tie Newton, who shot 74 (+2).
The Sunday playoff was back-and-forth in the rain,[3] and included a chip-in eagle by Watson at the 14th hole, the short par-5 named "Spectacles." Newton had chipped to within inches and tapped in for birdie. The two were tied at the 18th tee, the par-4 "Home" with the meandering Barry Burn.[4] Watson was on the 90th green in two with about 25 feet (8 m) for birdie, but Newton's approach ended in the front left bunker. Newton's lengthy sand shot ran 10 feet (3 m) past the hole. After Watson had safely two-putted for par, Newton's putt to save par and extend the match missed left and Watson won the title.[6][7]
This was the second and final 18-hole playoff at the Open; the first was in 1970, won by Jack Nicklaus. The format was changed to a four-hole aggregate playoff in 1985, first used in 1989.[8] Prior to 1964, the playoff at the Open was 36 holes.[1]
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Carnoustie Golf Links – Championship Course
| Hole | Name | Yards | Par | Hole | Name | Yards | Par | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cup | 406 | 4 | 10 | South America | 453 | 4 | |
| 2 | Gulley | 464 | 4 | 11 | Dyke | 372 | 4 | |
| 3 | Jockie's Burn | 348 | 4 | 12 | Southward Ho | 478 | 5 | |
| 4 | Hillocks | 379 | 4 | 13 | Whins | 166 | 3 | |
| 5 | Brae | 397 | 4 | 14 | Spectacles | 488 | 5 | |
| 6 | Long ^ | 524 | 5 | 15 | Lucky Slap | 461 | 4 | |
| 7 | Plantation | 397 | 4 | 16 | Barry Burn | 235 | 3 | |
| 8 | Short | 174 | 3 | 17 | Island | 454 | 4 | |
| 9 | Railway | 421 | 4 | 18 | Home | 448 | 4 | |
| Out | 3,510 | 36 | In | 3,555 | 36 | |||
| Source:[2][4] | Total | 7,065 | 72 | |||||
^ The 6th hole was renamed Hogan's Alley in 2003
Lengths of the course for previous Opens:
First round
Wednesday, 9 July 1975
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Peter Oosterhuis | 68 | −4 |
| T2 |  David Huish | 69 | −3 |
| Hale Irwin | |||
 Jack Newton | |||
| Jack Nicklaus | |||
 Andries Oosthuizen | |||
| Bob Shearer | |||
| T8 | Danny Edwards | 70 | −2 |
| Simon Hobday | |||
 Paul Leonard | |||
| Alan Tapie |
Second round
Thursday, 10 July 1975
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Huish | 69-67=136 | −8 |
| T2 | Bobby Cole | 72-66=138 | −6 |
| Peter Oosterhuis | 68-70=138 | ||
| Andries Oosthuizen | 69-69=138 | ||
| Tom Watson | 71-67=138 | ||
| T6 | Bernard Gallacher | 72-67=139 | −5 |
| Hale Irwin | 69-70=139 | ||
| Paul Leonard | 70-69=139 | ||
| John Mahaffey | 71-68=139 | ||
| Graham Marsh | 72-67=139 |
Source:[9]
Amateurs: Stephen (+1), Poxon (+5), Stadler (+5), Price (+10), Levenson (+13).
Third round
Friday, 11 July 1975
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Cole | 72-66-66=204 | −12 |
| 2 | Jack Newton | 69-71-65=205 | −11 |
| 3 | Johnny Miller | 71-69-66=206 | −10 |
| 4 | Tom Watson | 71-67-69=207 | −9 |
| T5 | Neil Coles | 72-69-67=208 | −8 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 69-71-68=208 | ||
| Hale Irwin | 69-70-69=208 | ||
| John Mahaffey | 71-68-69=208 | ||
| Andries Oosthuizen | 69-69-70=208 | ||
| T10 | Alan Tapie | 70-72-67=209 | −7 |
| Peter Oosterhuis | 68-70-71=209 |
Amateurs: Stadler (+7), Stephen (+7), Poxon (+11).
Final round
Saturday, 12 July 1975
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Tom Watson | 71-67-69-72=279 | −9 | Playoff |
| Jack Newton | 69-71-65-74=279 | |||
| T3 | Jack Nicklaus | 69-71-68-72=280 | −8 | 3,867 |
| Johnny Miller | 71-69-66-74=280 | |||
| Bobby Cole | 72-66-66-76=280 | |||
| 6 | Graham Marsh | 72-67-71-71=281 | −7 | 3,000 |
| T7 | Peter Oosterhuis | 68-70-71-73=282 | −6 | 2,700 |
| Neil Coles | 72-69-67-74=282 | |||
| 9 | Hale Irwin | 69-70-69-75=283 | −5 | 2,400 |
| T10 | George Burns | 71-73-69-71=284 | −4 | 2,125 |
| John Mahaffey | 71-68-69-76=284 |
Source:[10]
Playoff
Sunday, 13 July 1975
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Watson | 36-35=71 | −1 | 7,500 |
| 2 | Jack Newton | 36-36=72 | E | 6,000 |
- The exchange rate at the time was approximately 2.19 dollars (US) per pound sterling.[11]
Scorecard
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Watson | E | −1 | −1 | −1 | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | −2 | −2 | −1 | −1 | −1 |
| Newton | E | E | +1 | +1 | +1 | E | E | E | E | E | E | −1 | E | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | E |
Source:[4]
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