1997 Open Championship: Justin Leonard wins at Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course)
Justin Leonard won the 1997 Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course), Scotland with 272 (−12), by 3 strokes over Darren Clarke and Jesper Parnevik.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1997 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 17 July 1997 to 20 July 1997
- Course
- Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course), Scotland
- Edition
- 126th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Par
- 71
- Field
- 156
- Made the cut
- 70 (cut at 147)
- Purse
- £1,600,000 · winner's share £250,000
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Justin Leonard · age 25 · USA · born Dallas, USA
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- Winning score
- 69-66-72-65 = 272 (−12) · won by 3 strokes
- Runners-up
- Darren Clarke (275), Jesper Parnevik (275)
- 54-hole leader
- Jesper Parnevik (202) · Justin Leonard was 5 strokes back
- Deciding hole
- No. 17, round 4
- Low amateur
- Barclay Howard (293)
Top 19 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Leonard | 69 | 66 | 72 | 65 | 272 | −12 |
| T2 | Darren Clarke | 67 | 66 | 71 | 71 | 275 | −9 |
| T2 | Jesper Parnevik | 70 | 66 | 66 | 73 | 275 | −9 |
| 4 | Jim Furyk | 67 | 72 | 70 | 70 | 279 | −5 |
| T5 | Pádraig Harrington | 75 | 69 | 69 | 67 | 280 | −4 |
| T5 | Stephen Ames | 74 | 69 | 66 | 71 | 280 | −4 |
| T7 | Eduardo Romero | 74 | 68 | 67 | 72 | 281 | −3 |
| T7 | Peter O'Malley | 73 | 70 | 70 | 68 | 281 | −3 |
| T7 | Fred Couples | 69 | 68 | 70 | 74 | 281 | −3 |
| T10 | Mark Calcavecchia | 74 | 67 | 72 | 69 | 282 | −2 |
| T10 | Ernie Els | 75 | 69 | 69 | 69 | 282 | −2 |
| T10 | Robert Allenby | 76 | 68 | 66 | 72 | 282 | −2 |
| T10 | Tom Watson | 71 | 70 | 70 | 71 | 282 | −2 |
| T10 | Lee Westwood | 73 | 70 | 67 | 72 | 282 | −2 |
| T10 | Frank Nobilo | 74 | 72 | 68 | 68 | 282 | −2 |
| T10 | Retief Goosen | 75 | 69 | 70 | 68 | 282 | −2 |
| T10 | Davis Love III | 70 | 71 | 74 | 67 | 282 | −2 |
| T10 | Shigeki Maruyama | 74 | 69 | 70 | 69 | 282 | −2 |
| T10 | Tom Kite | 72 | 67 | 74 | 69 | 282 | −2 |
What happened at the 1997 Open Championship
Darren Clarke drove out of bounds onto the beach at the 2nd in the final round and made a double bogey.
Leonard holed a 15-foot birdie putt at the 16th and a 30-foot birdie putt at the 17th to close with 65, while leader Parnevik bogeyed the 17th and 18th.
Leonard holed a 30-foot birdie putt for a 2 at the par-3 17th, a "monster putt" the R&A says "moved him one clear at the perfect time", while Parnevik bogeyed the 17th and 18th.
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).