1968 Open Championship: Gary Player wins at Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course)
Gary Player won the 1968 Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course), Scotland with 289, by 2 strokes over Bob Charles and Jack Nicklaus.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1968 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 10 July 1968 to 13 July 1968
- Course
- Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course), Scotland
- Edition
- 97th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Made the cut
- 45
- Purse
- £20,000
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Gary Player · age 32 · South Africa · born Johannesburg, South Africa
- Champion's title
- 2nd Open title
- Winning score
- 74-71-71-73 = 289 · won by 2 strokes
- Runners-up
- Bob Charles (291), Jack Nicklaus (291)
- 54-hole leader
- Billy Casper (214) · Gary Player was 2 strokes back
- Deciding hole
- No. 14, round 4
- Final-day weather
- windy: In the final round Player hit a 3-wood "into the teeth of a gale" at the 14th (Spectacles) to two feet for an eagle.
- Low amateur
- Michael Bonallack (300)
Top 12 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Player | 74 | 71 | 71 | 73 | 289 | +1 |
| T2 | Bob Charles | 72 | 72 | 71 | 76 | 291 | +3 |
| T2 | Jack Nicklaus | 76 | 69 | 73 | 73 | 291 | +3 |
| 4 | Billy Casper | 72 | 68 | 74 | 78 | 292 | +4 |
| 5 | Maurice Bembridge | 71 | 75 | 73 | 74 | 293 | +5 |
| T6 | Gay Brewer | 74 | 73 | 72 | 76 | 295 | +7 |
| T6 | Brian Barnes | 70 | 74 | 80 | 71 | 295 | +7 |
| T6 | Neil Coles | 75 | 76 | 71 | 73 | 295 | +7 |
| 9 | Al Balding | 74 | 76 | 74 | 72 | 296 | +8 |
| T10 | Roberto De Vicenzo | 77 | 72 | 74 | 74 | 297 | +9 |
| T10 | Arnold Palmer | 77 | 71 | 72 | 77 | 297 | +9 |
| T10 | Bruce Devlin | 77 | 73 | 72 | 75 | 297 | +9 |
What happened at the 1968 Open Championship
Into the teeth of a gale at the par-5 14th 'Spectacles' in the final round, Player hit a 3-wood to two feet for an eagle - his second straight eagle there.
Third-round leader Billy Casper shot 78, including a 6 at the 14th, in the first Open to use a second cut after 54 holes, on the longest Open course to date (7,252 yards).
Into a gale, Player hit a 3-wood to two feet at the par-5 14th "Spectacles" for an eagle (his second in two rounds there), and Golf Compendium says "you might say Player won it on the par-5 14th."
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).