1982 Open Championship: Tom Watson wins at Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course)
Tom Watson won the 1982 Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course), Scotland with 284 (−4), by 1 stroke over Nick Price and Peter Oosterhuis.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1982 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 15 July 1982 to 18 July 1982
- Course
- Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course), Scotland
- Edition
- 111th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Par
- 72
- Field
- 150
- Made the cut
- 60 (cut at 152)
- Purse
- £250,000 · winner's share £32,000
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Tom Watson · age 32 · USA · born Kansas City, USA
- Champion's title
- 4th Open title
- Winning score
- 69-71-74-70 = 284 (−4) · won by 1 stroke
- Runners-up
- Nick Price (285), Peter Oosterhuis (285)
- 54-hole leader
- Bobby Clampett (211) · Tom Watson was 3 strokes back
- Deciding hole
- No. 15, round 4
- Caddie
- Alfie Fyles
- Low amateur
- Malcolm Lewis (300)
Top 11 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Watson | 69 | 71 | 74 | 70 | 284 | −4 |
| T2 | Peter Oosterhuis | 74 | 67 | 74 | 70 | 285 | −3 |
| T2 | Nick Price | 69 | 69 | 74 | 73 | 285 | −3 |
| T4 | Tom Purtzer | 76 | 66 | 75 | 69 | 286 | −2 |
| T4 | Nick Faldo | 73 | 73 | 71 | 69 | 286 | −2 |
| T4 | Des Smyth | 70 | 69 | 74 | 73 | 286 | −2 |
| T4 | Masahiro Kuramoto | 71 | 73 | 71 | 71 | 286 | −2 |
| T8 | Fuzzy Zoeller | 73 | 71 | 73 | 70 | 287 | −1 |
| T8 | Sandy Lyle | 74 | 66 | 73 | 74 | 287 | −1 |
| T10 | Bobby Clampett | 67 | 66 | 78 | 77 | 288 | E |
| T10 | Jack Nicklaus | 77 | 70 | 72 | 69 | 288 | E |
What happened at the 1982 Open Championship
In round 3 at the 577-yard par-5 6th, Bobby Clampett (who had been seven clear) found three bunkers and made 8.
In the final round, Nick Price birdied the 10th, 11th and 12th to lead by three, then double-bogeyed the 15th from a bunker and dropped a shot at the 17th. Watson's eagle at the 11th, holing out with a 3-iron to 3 feet, carried him through.
Leading by three with six holes to play, Nick Price hit his second into a bunker at the 15th and made a "horrendous double bogey" that SI says "catapulted Watson into a tie for the lead."
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).