1996 Open Championship
The 1996 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 125th Open Championship, held from 18–21 July at the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, England. Tom Lehman won his only major championship by two strokes over runners-up Mark McCumber and Ernie Els.[2] Lehman built a six-stroke lead after 54 holes and became the first American to win at Lytham since Bobby Jones seventy years earlier.[3][4]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 18–21 July 1996 |
| Location | Lytham St Annes, England |
| Course(s) | Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club |
| Tour(s) | European Tour PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 71[1] |
| Length | 6,892 yards (6,302 m)[1] |
| Field | 156 players, 77 after cut[1] |
| Cut | 143 (+1)[1] |
| Prize fund | £1,500,000 €1,987,720 $2,200,000 |
| Winner's share | £200,000 €280,000 $310,000 |
| Champion | |
| 271 (–13) | |

St Annes
Tiger Woods, age 20, was the only amateur to make the cut and finished tied for 22nd; he turned professional six weeks later. Jack Nicklaus, 56, was one stroke out of the lead after 36 holes, but fell back on the weekend and tied for 45th.
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 | 206 | 437 | 457 | 393 | 212 | 490 | 553 | 418 | 164 | 3,330 | 334 | 542 | 198 | 342 | 445 | 463 | 357 | 467 | 414 | 3,562 | 6,892 |
| Par | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 71 |
Source:[5]
Previous lengths of the course for The Open Championship (since 1950):[1]
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, 18 July 1996
Second round
Friday, 19 July 1996
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Tom Lehman | 67-67=134 | –8 | |
| Paul McGinley | 69-65=134 | |||
| T3 | Ernie Els | 68-67=135 | –7 | |
| Peter Hedblom | 70-65=135 | |||
| Jack Nicklaus | 69-66=135 | |||
| T6 | Nick Faldo | 68-68=136 | –6 | |
| Pádraig Harrington | 68-68=136 | |||
| Mark McCumber | 67-69=136 | |||
| Mark O'Meara | 67-69=136 | |||
| Corey Pavin | 70-66=136 | |||
| Loren Roberts | 67-69=136 | |||
| Vijay Singh | 69-67=136 |
Amateurs (a): Woods (–1), Bladon (+4), Allan (+5), García (+7).
Third round
Saturday, 20 July 1996
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Lehman | 67-67-64=198 | –15 | |
| 2 | Nick Faldo | 68-68-68=204 | –9 | |
| T3 | Mark Brooks | 67-70-68=205 | –8 | |
| Vijay Singh | 69-67-69=205 | |||
| T5 | Fred Couples | 67-70-69=206 | –7 | |
| Ernie Els | 68-67-71=206 | |||
| T7 | Darren Clarke | 70-68-69=207 | –6 | |
| Mark McCumber | 67-69-71=207 | |||
| Shigeki Maruyama | 68-70-69=207 | |||
| Steve Stricker | 71-70-66=207 |
Final round
Sunday, 21 July 1996
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Lehman | 67-67-64-73=271 | –13 | 200,000 | |
| T2 | Ernie Els | 68-67-71-67=273 | –11 | 125,000 | |
| Mark McCumber | 67-69-71-66=273 | ||||
| 4 | Nick Faldo | 68-68-68-70=274 | –10 | 75,000 | |
| T5 | Mark Brooks | 67-70-68-71=276 | –8 | 50,000 | |
| Jeff Maggert | 69-70-72-65=276 | ||||
| T7 | Fred Couples | 67-70-69-71=277 | –7 | 35,000 | |
| Peter Hedblom | 70-65-75-67=277 | ||||
| Greg Norman | 71-68-71-67=277 | ||||
| Greg Turner | 72-69-68-68=277 |
Amateurs: Woods (–3).
Source:[6]
References
- "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 34, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- Parascenzo, Marino (22 July 1996). "The big one". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. D1.
- Diaz, Jaime (29 July 1996). "Tour de force". Sports Illustrated.
- Reilly, Rick (29 July 1996). "The anti-Shark". Sports Illustrated.
- "British Open: course". Southeast Missourian. 18 July 1996. p. 3B.
- "1996 Open Championship results". databasegolf.com. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
External links
- Royal Lytham & St Annes 1996 (Official site)
- 125th Open Championship - Royal Lytham & St Annes (European Tour)