1968 British Open Winner and Scores
The 1968 British Open was the 97th time the tournament was played. The scoring was tough this year — so tough that Gary Player was able to stage a come-from-behind victory by shooting 73 in the final round.
Winner: Gary Player, 289
Where it was played: Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus, Scotland
Tournament dates: July 10-13, 1968
Leader after first round: Brian Barnes and Michael Bonallack, 70
Leader after second round: Billy Casper, 140
Leader after third round: Billy Casper, 214
What Happened in the 1968 Open Championship
Gary Player took advantage of Billy Casper's stumble, overtook Bob Charles, and held off Jack Nicklaus to win the 1968 British Open. It was Player's second Open Championship win, and the fifth of his nine career major championship victories.Player was two off the lead entering the final round, and Nicklaus was four back of the front-runner. Casper was the leader, with Charles one stroke behind in second place.
Casper was entering the latter stages of his brilliant career, but this was the very first time he played the British Open. Unfortunately for "Buffalo Bill," it didn't end well. Casper lost the lead by the sixth hole of the final round, later regained a share of the lead but fell away again over the last third of the Carnoustie Links. He wound up shooting a final-round 78 and finishing fourth. Casper ultimately played the British Open a total of five times, and this was his best finish.
Charles also battled the difficult Carnoustie in the final round, shooting 76. He, too, was tied for the lead on the first half of the back nine, but fell away later.
That left Player and Nicklaus, playing together. And despite Nicklaus applying pressure with booming drives down the stretch, Player held it together and held the lead. Player and Nicklaus both carded 73s in the final round, and Player won by two strokes over Nicklaus and Charles.
You might say Player won it on the par-5 14th hole, which he eagled in both the third and fourth rounds. In Round 4, Player hit a 3-wood approach into the teeth of the wind that settled two feet from the cup.
Playing conditions were tough all week. In fact, there were only two scores below 70 the whole tournament: Nicklaus' second-round 69 and Casper's second-round 68.
One change in format this year: The tournament introduced a second cut after 54 holes. The double cut format — a 36-hole cut and a 54-hole cut — was used through the 1985 British Open.
Dick Burton, the 1939 British Open winner, played for the final time this year and missed the 36-hole cut.
1968 British Open Final Scores
| Gary Player | 74-71-71-73—289 |
| Bob Charles | 72-72-71-76—291 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 76-69-73-73—291 |
| Billy Casper | 72-68-74-78—292 |
| Maurice Bembridge | 71-75-73-74—293 |
| Brian Barnes | 70-74-80-71—295 |
| Gay Brewer | 74-73-72-76—295 |
| Neil Coles | 75-76-71-73—295 |
| Al Balding | 74-76-74-72—296 |
| Roberto De Vicenzo | 77-72-74-74—297 |
| Bruce Devlin | 77-73-72-75—297 |
| Arnold Palmer | 77-71-72-77—297 |
| Peter Alliss | 73-78-72-75—298 |
| Bobby Cole | 75-76-72-75—298 |
| Tommy Horton | 77-74-73-74—298 |
| Brian Huggett | 76-71-75-76—298 |
| Kel Nagle | 74-75-75-74—298 |
| Eric Brown | 76-76-74-73—299 |
| Tony Jacklin | 72-72-75-80—299 |
| Paddy Skerritt | 72-73-77-77—299 |
| a-Michael Bonallack | 70-77-74-79—300 |
| Sebastian Miguel | 73-75-76-76—300 |
| David Webster | 77-71-78-74—300 |
| Alex Caygill | 79-76-71-75—301 |
| Keith MacDonald | 80-71-73-77—301 |
| Peter Thomson | 77-71-78-75—301 |
| Malcolm Gregson | 77-75-76-74—302 |
| Bob Shaw | 75-76-73-78—302 |
| Dave Thomas | 75-71-78-78—302 |
| Sandy Wilson | 73-81-74-74—302 |
| Harry Bannerman | 74-73-77-79—303 |
| Jaime Gallardo | 78-71-78-76—303 |
| David Huish | 74-74-78-77—303 |
| Doug Sanders | 78-76-73-77—304 |
| Gordon Cunningham | 80-70-75-80—305 |
| Jimmy Martin | 81-72-74-78—305 |
| Michael Murphy | 77-74-77-77—305 |
| Hubby Habjan | 77-74-76-79—306 |
| Christy Greene | 75-77-76-79—307 |
| Tony Grubb | 79-74-75-79—307 |
| Maohamed Said Moussa | 77-76-75-79—307 |
| Barry Coxon | 77-72-78-84—311 |
| Peter Mills | 71-76-80-84—311 |
| Bert Yancey | 78-75-74-84—311 |
| Harry Weetman | 77-76-74-86—313 |
Previous and next:
1967 British Open - 1969 British Open
Sources:
Brown, Gwilym S. "A sweet win on sour links," Sports Illustrated, July 22, 1968, https://web.archive.org/web/20120913210805/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1081403/index.htm
theopen.com. Previous Opens, "1968 / Carnoustie," The R&A, https://www.theopen.com/previous-opens/97th-open-carnoustie-1968
R&A. The Open 148th Media Guide, 2019.
