1978 Open Championship: Jack Nicklaus wins at Old Course, St Andrews
Jack Nicklaus won the 1978 Open Championship at Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland with 281 (−7), by 2 strokes over Ben Crenshaw and Raymond Floyd and Tom Kite and Simon Owen.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1978 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 12 July 1978 to 15 July 1978
- Course
- Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland
- Edition
- 107th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Par
- 72 · 6,933 yards
- Field
- 155
- Made the cut
- 63 (cut at 148)
- Purse
- £125,000 · winner's share £12,500
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Jack Nicklaus · age 38 · USA · born Columbus, USA
- Champion's title
- 3rd Open title
- Winning score
- 71-72-69-69 = 281 (−7) · won by 2 strokes
- Runners-up
- Ben Crenshaw (283), Raymond Floyd (283), Tom Kite (283), Simon Owen (283)
- 54-hole leaders
- Peter Oosterhuis, Tom Watson (211) · Jack Nicklaus was 1 stroke back
- Deciding hole
- No. 16, round 4
- Caddie
- Jimmy Dickinson
- Low amateur
- Peter McEvoy (293)
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | 71 | 72 | 69 | 69 | 281 | −7 |
| T2 | Raymond Floyd | 69 | 75 | 71 | 68 | 283 | −5 |
| T2 | Simon Owen | 70 | 75 | 67 | 71 | 283 | −5 |
| T2 | Tom Kite | 72 | 69 | 72 | 70 | 283 | −5 |
| T2 | Ben Crenshaw | 70 | 69 | 73 | 71 | 283 | −5 |
| 6 | Peter Oosterhuis | 72 | 70 | 69 | 73 | 284 | −4 |
| T7 | Bob Shearer | 71 | 69 | 74 | 71 | 285 | −3 |
| T7 | John Schroeder | 74 | 69 | 70 | 72 | 285 | −3 |
| T7 | Isao Aoki | 68 | 71 | 73 | 73 | 285 | −3 |
| T7 | Nick Faldo | 71 | 72 | 70 | 72 | 285 | −3 |
What happened at the 1978 Open Championship
In round 3, Tommy Nakajima putted into the Road Hole Bunker at the 17th and took a 9, which gave rise to the name "Sands of Nakajima".
In the final round Simon Owen chipped in at the 15th to lead, then a birdie by Nicklaus and a three-putt bogey by Owen at the 16th made a two-shot swing that decided it.
At the 16th, Nicklaus birdied while leader Simon Owen three-putted for bogey, a two-shot swing that put Nicklaus back in front before he gained another stroke at the 17th to seal it.
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).