1996 Open Championship: Tom Lehman wins at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
Tom Lehman won the 1996 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, Lytham St Annes, England with 271 (−13), by 2 strokes over Ernie Els and Mark McCumber.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1996 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 18 July 1996 to 21 July 1996
- Course
- Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, Lytham St Annes, England
- Edition
- 125th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Par
- 71
- Field
- 156
- Made the cut
- 77 (cut at 143)
- Purse
- £1,400,000 · winner's share £200,000
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Tom Lehman · age 37 · USA · born Austin (Minnesota), USA
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- Winning score
- 67-67-64-73 = 271 (−13) · won by 2 strokes
- Runners-up
- Ernie Els (273), Mark McCumber (273)
- 54-hole leader
- Tom Lehman (198)
- Low amateur
- Tiger Woods (281)
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Lehman | 67 | 67 | 64 | 73 | 271 | −13 |
| T2 | Ernie Els | 68 | 67 | 71 | 67 | 273 | −11 |
| T2 | Mark McCumber | 67 | 69 | 71 | 66 | 273 | −11 |
| 4 | Nick Faldo | 68 | 68 | 68 | 70 | 274 | −10 |
| T5 | Mark Brooks | 67 | 70 | 68 | 71 | 276 | −8 |
| T5 | Jeff Maggert | 69 | 70 | 72 | 65 | 276 | −8 |
| T7 | Fred Couples | 67 | 70 | 69 | 71 | 277 | −7 |
| T7 | Peter Hedblom | 70 | 65 | 75 | 67 | 277 | −7 |
| T7 | Greg Norman | 71 | 68 | 71 | 67 | 277 | −7 |
| T7 | Greg Turner | 72 | 69 | 68 | 68 | 277 | −7 |
What happened at the 1996 Open Championship
Lehman's third-round 64 set a 54-hole course record of 198 and gave him a six-shot lead over Faldo.
Ernie Els made four back-nine birdies in the final round but bogeyed two of the last three holes. Amateur Tiger Woods shot 66 in round 2, equalling the amateur record.
No source reached names a deciding hole; Lehman's third-round 64 gave him a six-shot lead and a closing 73 was enough to win by two.
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).