1986 Open Championship: Greg Norman wins at Turnberry (Ailsa Course)
Greg Norman won the 1986 Open Championship at Turnberry (Ailsa Course), Scotland with 280 (E), by 5 strokes over Gordon J. Brand.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1986 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 17 July 1986 to 20 July 1986
- Course
- Turnberry (Ailsa Course), Scotland
- Edition
- 115th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Par
- 70
- Field
- 153
- Made the cut
- 77 (cut at 151)
- Purse
- £600,000 · winner's share £70,000
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Greg Norman · age 31 · Australia · born Mount Isa, Australia
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- Winning score
- 74-63-74-69 = 280 (E) · won by 5 strokes
- Runner-up
- Gordon J. Brand (285)
- 54-hole leader
- Greg Norman (211)
- Caddie
- Pete Bender
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greg Norman | 74 | 63 | 74 | 69 | 280 | E |
| 2 | Gordon J. Brand | 71 | 68 | 75 | 71 | 285 | +5 |
| T3 | Bernhard Langer | 72 | 70 | 76 | 68 | 286 | +6 |
| T3 | Ian Woosnam | 70 | 74 | 70 | 72 | 286 | +6 |
| 5 | Nick Faldo | 71 | 70 | 76 | 70 | 287 | +7 |
| T6 | Seve Ballesteros | 76 | 75 | 73 | 64 | 288 | +8 |
| T6 | Gary Koch | 73 | 72 | 72 | 71 | 288 | +8 |
| T8 | Brian Marchbank | 78 | 70 | 72 | 69 | 289 | +9 |
| T8 | Fuzzy Zoeller | 75 | 73 | 72 | 69 | 289 | +9 |
| T8 | Tsuneyuki Nakajima | 74 | 67 | 71 | 77 | 289 | +9 |
What happened at the 1986 Open Championship
Norman's second-round 63 tied the major championship record. He three-putted the 18th from his birdie try, which would have given him a 61 or 62.
Tommy Nakajima, one shot back at the start of the final round, opened with a double bogey at the 1st and shot 77.
Norman led after 54 holes and won by five, and no source names a deciding hole.
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).