1985 Open Championship: Sandy Lyle wins at Royal St George's Golf Club
Sandy Lyle won the 1985 Open Championship at Royal St George's Golf Club, Sandwich, England with 282, by 1 stroke over Payne Stewart.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1985 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 18 July 1985 to 21 July 1985
- Course
- Royal St George's Golf Club, Sandwich, England
- Edition
- 114th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Par
- 70
- Field
- 153
- Made the cut
- 60 (cut at 149)
- Purse
- £530,000 · winner's share £65,000
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Sandy Lyle · age 27 · Scotland · born Shrewsbury, England
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- Winning score
- 68-71-73-70 = 282 · won by 1 stroke
- Runner-up
- Payne Stewart (283)
- 54-hole leaders
- David Graham, Bernhard Langer (209) · Sandy Lyle was 3 strokes back
- Caddie
- Dave Musgrove
- Low amateur
- José María Olazábal (289)
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sandy Lyle | 68 | 71 | 73 | 70 | 282 | +2 |
| 2 | Payne Stewart | 70 | 75 | 70 | 68 | 283 | +3 |
| T3 | Mark O'Meara | 70 | 72 | 70 | 72 | 284 | +4 |
| T3 | Bernhard Langer | 72 | 69 | 68 | 75 | 284 | +4 |
| T3 | Jose Rivero | 74 | 72 | 70 | 68 | 284 | +4 |
| T3 | David Graham | 68 | 71 | 70 | 75 | 284 | +4 |
| T3 | Christy O'Connor Jr | 64 | 76 | 72 | 72 | 284 | +4 |
| T8 | D. A. Weibring | 69 | 71 | 74 | 71 | 285 | +5 |
| T8 | Tom Kite | 73 | 73 | 67 | 72 | 285 | +5 |
| T8 | Anders Forsbrand | 70 | 76 | 69 | 70 | 285 | +5 |
What happened at the 1985 Open Championship
Christy O'Connor Jr opened with a 64, including seven birdies in a row from the 4th, which broke Henry Cotton's 1935 course record.
At the 72nd hole, Lyle's approach ran into Duncan's Hollow and his first chip rolled back to his feet. He got up and down for a bogey 5 and still won: the first British winner since 1969 and the first over-par winning total since 1968.
No single hole is named: the R&A calls Lyle's birdies at the 14th and 15th "crucial," and he then bogeyed the 18th from Duncan's Hollow and still won by one.
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).