1985 British Open Winner and Scores
The 1985 British Open was the 114th time the tournament was played. The winner was a Scotsman who had previously posted only one Top 10 finish in any of the four major championships.
Winner: Sandy Lyle, 282
Where it was played: Royal St. George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England
Tournament dates: July 18-21, 1985
Leader after first round: Christy O'Connnor Jr., 64
Leader after second round: David Graham and Sandy Lyle, 139
Leader after third round: David Graham and Bernhard Langer, 209
What Happened at the 1985 British Open
As the 1985 British Open got under way, it had been 16 years since any Briton won the Open Championship. Sandy Lyle put an end to that streak.The Scotsman was a 10-time winner on the European Tour and had three appearances in Ryder Cups, but had posted only one Top 10 finish in a major at this point in his career. Bernhard Langer — who won the 1985 Masters a couple months earlier — and 2-time major winner David Graham were the leaders entering the final round, three strokes in front of Lyle.
But it was Lyle, not the previous major winners, who held his nerve. Graham and Langer both carded final-round 75s and finished tied for third. Lyle got round Royal St. George's in 70, holding off a charging Payne Stewart (68) for the win.
Lyle held a one-stroke lead as he reached the final hole, but his approach shot missed the green. His chip then failed to get over a hump and the ball rolled right back down to his feet. Lyle made bogey and waited to see what those golfers still behind him would do.
But Graham and Langer made multiple bogeys each over their final few holes, while Stewart's charge came up short.
Lyle later added a second major at the 1988 Masters. For future 3-time major winner Stewart, this was his best finish in a major to date. He also was runner-up in the 1990 Open.
The 1985 British Open was the last one with a double cut (one cut after the second round, another cut following the third round). In ensuing years, the tournament used only a single cut after the second round.
The last Briton prior to Lyle to win the Open was Tony Jacklin in 1969, and young Lyle was in the gallery that day around the 18th hole, watching as Jacklin clinched the win.
1985 British Open Final Scores
| Sandy Lyle | 68-71-73-70—282 |
| Payne Stewart | 70-75-70-68—283 |
| Mark O'Meara | 70-72-70-72—284 |
| Jose Rivero | 74-72-70-68—284 |
| David Graham | 68-71-70-75—284 |
| Bernhard Langer | 72-69-68-75—284 |
| Christy O'Connor Jr. | 64-76-72-72—284 |
| Tom Kite | 73-73-67-72—285 |
| D.A. Weibring | 69-71-74-71—285 |
| Anders Forsbrand | 70-76-69-70—285 |
| Peter Jacobsen | 71-74-68-73—286 |
| Jose Maria Canizares | 72-75-70-69—286 |
| Gary Koch | 75-72-70-69—286 |
| Fuzzy Zoeller | 69-76-70-71—286 |
| Eamonn Darcy | 76-68-74-68—286 |
| Greg Norman | 71-72-71-73—287 |
| Sam Torrance | 74-74-69-70—287 |
| Ian Woosnam | 70-71-71-75—287 |
| Simon Bishop | 71-75-72-69—287 |
| Jaime Gonzalez | 72-72-73-71—288 |
| Ian Baker-Finch | 71-73-74-70—288 |
| Graham Marsh | 71-75-69-73—288 |
| Lee Trevino | 73-76-68-71—288 |
| Mark James | 71-78-66-73—288 |
| Kris Moe | 70-76-73-70—289 |
| a-Jose Maria Olazabal | 72-76-71-70—289 |
| Philip Parkin | 68-76-77-68—289 |
| Manuel Pinero | 71-73-72-73—289 |
| Gordon J. Brand | 73-72-72-72—289 |
| Robert Lee | 68-73-74-74—289 |
| David Frost | 70-74-73-72—289 |
| Mike Cahill | 72-74-71-72—289 |
| Wayne Riley | 71-70-77-72—290 |
| Ove Sellberg | 71-78-70-71—290 |
| Andy Bean | 72-72-73-74—291 |
| Ben Crenshaw | 73-75-70-73—291 |
| Bob Shearer | 75-73-68-75—291 |
| Hugh Baiocchi | 75-74-71-71—291 |
| Jeffrey Pinsent | 73-74-72-73—292 |
| Seve Ballesteros | 75-74-70-73—292 |
| Corey Pavin | 70-74-72-76—292 |
| Magnus Persson | 71-73-76-72—292 |
| Tony Johnstone | 68-72-80-72—292 |
| Ronan Rafferty | 74-73-71-75—293 |
| David A. Russell | 74-72-71-76—293 |
| Peter Senior | 70-71-80-72—293 |
| Denis Watson | 72-74-75-73—294 |
| Mark Mouland | 72-75-74-73—294 |
| Bernard Gallacher | 73-76-71-74—294 |
| Gordon Brand Jr. | 69-74-77-74—294 |
| Howard Clark | 70-71-76-77—294 |
| Tom Watson | 72-73-72-77—294 |
| Nick Faldo | 73-73-75-74—295 |
| Emilio Rodriguez | 71-70-77-77—295 |
| Larry Nelson | 70-75-75-77—297 |
| Peter Fowler | 70-79-70-78—297 |
| David Whelan | 69-74-75-80—298 |
| David Williams | 74-71-74-81—300 |
| Vaughan Somers | 76-72-73-80—301 |
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