1960 British Open Winner and Scores
The 1960 British Open was the 89th time the tournament was played. Arnold Palmer's participation helped revitalize the Open Championship.
Winner: Kel Nagle, 278
Where it was played: The Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland
Tournament dates: July 6-9, 1960
Leader after first round: Roberto De Vicenzo, 67
Leader after second round: Roberto De Vicenzo, 134
Leader after third round: Kel Nagle, 207
What Happened at the 1960 Open Championship
Arnold Palmer played the British Open for the first time this year, and his appearance is credited with revitalizing the tournament and helping it regain its worldwide prominence as a major championship. But Palmer didn't win — Kel Nagle did.The Australian Nagle took a 2-shot lead after the third round, with Palmer tied for third four strokes behind. After the first nine holes of the final round, Palmer still trailed by four. But he then charged, including a birdie on the final hole. Nagle needed to par the final two holes to win, and that's what he did.
For the 39-year-old Nagle, it was his first Top 10 finish in any major. He was close to an unknown outside of the Australasian Tour. But his win here, which proved to be his only win in a major, wasn't a fluke. Nagle won around the world throughout the 1960s, well into his 40s, with multiple Top 10s in majors. He lost an 18-hole playoff to Gary Player at the 1965 U.S. Open. (Nagle was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007.)
Low amateur Guy Wolstenholme finished sixth with a score of 283, a record-low score for an amateur that stood until 1993.
At this time in British Open history, few Americans played it. The travel expenses of the era were high, and the tournament purse was relatively low compared with the U.S.-based majors and other top American tournaments. Some American golfers who did travel to play the British Open lost money, even when faring well.
Palmer had won the 1960 Masters and 1960 U.S. Open prior to the British Open (yet still was required to play in the Open's 36-hole qualifier). He badly wanted to win the Open and spoke openly of chasing the single-season "Grand Slam." (In fact, it was a magazine article published under Palmer's byline prior to his departure for the Open the cemented the idea of the modern Grand Slam as the four professional majors.) That's why he chose to play the Open for the first time this year.
The crowds went wild for Palmer, headlines were generated worldwide, and the American press in particular paid more attention to the British Open than it had in a long time. Palmer's participation — and his subsequent victories in the 1961 Open and 1962 Open — helped convinced other top U.S. golf stars to start making the trip.
The 1960 Open was the 100th anniversary of the tournament's founding in 1860 (due to interruptions from two wars, however, this was not the 100th Open played).
1960 British Open Final Scores
| Kel Nagle | 69-67-71-71—278 |
| Arnold Palmer | 70-71-70-68—279 |
| Roberto De Vicenzo | 67-67-75-73—282 |
| Harold Henning | 72-72-69-69—282 |
| Bernard Hunt | 72-73-71-66—282 |
| a-Guy Wolstenholme | 74-70-71-68—283 |
| Gary Player | 72-71-72-69—284 |
| a-Joe Carr | 72-73-67-73—285 |
| a-David Blair | 70-73-71-72—286 |
| Eric Brown | 75-68-72-71—286 |
| Dai Rees | 73-71-73-69—286 |
| Syd Scott | 73-71-67-75—286 |
| Peter Thomson | 72-69-75-70—286 |
| Harry Weetman | 74-70-71-71—286 |
| Ramon Sota | 74-72-71-70—287 |
| Fidel De Luca | 69-73-75-71—288 |
| a-Robert Reid Jack | 74-71-70-73—288 |
| Angel Miguel | 72-73-72-71—288 |
| Ian Smith | 74-70-73-71—288 |
| Peter Mills | 71-74-70-74—289 |
| Ken Bousfield | 70-75-71-74—290 |
| a-A. M. Deboys | 76-70-73-71—290 |
| George Low | 72-74-71-73—290 |
| John MacDonald | 76-71-69-74—290 |
| Ralph Moffitt | 72-71-76-71—290 |
| Bill Johnson | 75-74-71-71—291 |
| Sebastian Miguel | 73-68-74-76—291 |
| Laurie Ayton Jr. | 73-69-75-75—292 |
| Fred Boobyer | 74-74-73-71—292 |
| Geoffrey Hunt | 76-69-72-75—292 |
| Jimmy Martin | 72-72-72-76—292 |
| Tom Haliburton | 77-70-74-72—293 |
| John Jacobs | 74-71-75-73—293 |
| Leopoldo Ruiz | 72-77-73-71—293 |
| Peter Butler | 76-72-75-71—294 |
| David Miller | 75-73-74-73—295 |
| Christy O'Connor Sr. | 80-67-76-72—295 |
| Peter Shanks | 70-73-77-75—295 |
| E. Bert Williamson | 75-70-73-77—295 |
| Jose Maria Gonzales | 72-74-75-76—297 |
| a-W.D. Smith | 74-71-78-74—297 |
| Tony Coop | 76-73-75-74—298 |
| a-Ronnie Shade | 75-74-77-73—299 |
| Bobby Verwey | 73-76-74-76—299 |
| Marcelino Sota | 73-75-76-76—300 |
| a-Frank Deighton | 74-70-75-83—302 |
| a-Raymond Munro | 72-77-82-77—308 |
Previous and next:
1959 British Open - 1961 British Open
