1962 Open Championship: Arnold Palmer wins at Troon Golf Club (Old Course)
Arnold Palmer won the 1962 Open Championship at Troon Golf Club (Old Course), Scotland with 276, by 6 strokes over Kel Nagle.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1962 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 11 July 1962 to 13 July 1962
- Course
- Troon Golf Club (Old Course), Scotland
- Edition
- 91st Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Purse
- £8,500
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Arnold Palmer · age 32 · USA · born Latrobe, USA
- Champion's title
- 2nd Open title
- How he got in
- qualifier
- Winning score
- 71-69-67-69 = 276 · won by 6 strokes
- Runner-up
- Kel Nagle (282)
- 54-hole leader
- Arnold Palmer (207)
- Final-day weather
- fine (week-wide): Palmer attacked "sun-baked, fast-running fairways" for a record 276 (describes the week, not the final day alone).
- Caddie
- Tip Anderson
- Low amateur
- Charlie Green (308)
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arnold Palmer | 71 | 69 | 67 | 69 | 276 |
| 2 | Kel Nagle | 71 | 71 | 70 | 70 | 282 |
| T3 | Phil Rodgers | 75 | 70 | 72 | 72 | 289 |
| T3 | Brian Huggett | 75 | 71 | 74 | 69 | 289 |
| 5 | Bob Charles | 75 | 70 | 70 | 75 | 290 |
| T6 | Sam Snead | 76 | 73 | 72 | 71 | 292 |
| T6 | Peter Thomson | 70 | 77 | 75 | 70 | 292 |
| T8 | Peter Alliss | 77 | 69 | 74 | 73 | 293 |
| T8 | Dave Thomas | 77 | 70 | 71 | 75 | 293 |
| 10 | Syd Scott | 77 | 74 | 75 | 68 | 294 |
What happened at the 1962 Open Championship
On sun-baked, fast-running fairways Palmer kept attacking the dangerous par-5 11th beside the railway line and posted three sub-70 rounds (69-67-69) for a record 276, six clear.
Jack Nicklaus, on his Open debut, took a 10 at the 11th and finished 34th (Golf Compendium: T32) on 305.
No source names a deciding hole; Palmer won by six with a record 276.
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's The Open data. A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the organizer's own record is used.
Data: the-open.json (The Open room's data), with GNN's Open Championship addendum tables L (top ten by round), H (deciding hole), W (final-day weather).