1980 Open Championship: Tom Watson wins at Muirfield
Tom Watson won the 1980 Open Championship at Muirfield, Gullane, Scotland with 271 (−13), by 4 strokes over Lee Trevino.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1980 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 17 July 1980 to 20 July 1980
- Course
- Muirfield, Gullane, Scotland
- Edition
- 109th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Par
- 71
- Field
- 151
- Made the cut
- 65 (cut at 149)
- Purse
- £200,000 · winner's share £25,000
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Tom Watson · age 30 · USA · born Kansas City, USA
- Champion's title
- 3rd Open title
- Winning score
- 68-70-64-69 = 271 (−13) · won by 4 strokes
- Runner-up
- Lee Trevino (275)
- 54-hole leader
- Tom Watson (202)
- Caddie
- Alfie Fyles
- Low amateur
- Jay Sigel (291)
Top 11 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Watson | 68 | 70 | 64 | 69 | 271 | −13 |
| 2 | Lee Trevino | 68 | 67 | 71 | 69 | 275 | −9 |
| 3 | Ben Crenshaw | 70 | 70 | 68 | 69 | 277 | −7 |
| T4 | Carl Mason | 72 | 69 | 70 | 69 | 280 | −4 |
| T4 | Jack Nicklaus | 73 | 67 | 71 | 69 | 280 | −4 |
| T6 | Ken Brown | 70 | 68 | 68 | 76 | 282 | −2 |
| T6 | Hubert Green | 77 | 69 | 64 | 72 | 282 | −2 |
| T6 | Craig Stadler | 72 | 70 | 69 | 71 | 282 | −2 |
| T6 | Andy Bean | 71 | 69 | 70 | 72 | 282 | −2 |
| T10 | Jack Newton | 69 | 71 | 73 | 70 | 283 | −1 |
| T10 | Gil Morgan | 70 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 283 | −1 |
What happened at the 1980 Open Championship
Isao Aoki shot 63 in round 3, the second 63 in Open history and the first at Muirfield, on the day Watson's 64 (out 34, home 30) gave him a four-shot lead.
Watson sealed the title with five birdies in six holes from the 7th in the final round. This was the first Open to finish on a Sunday.
No single hole is named: the R&A credits "Watson's burst of five birdies in six holes from the seventh" with sealing a win that began the day four ahead.
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).