1991 Open Championship

The 1991 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 120th Open Championship, held from 18 to 21 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Ian Baker-Finch won his only major championship, two strokes ahead of runner-up Mike Harwood.

1991 Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates18–21 July 1991
LocationSouthport, England
Course(s)Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Tour(s)European Tour
PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70[1]
Length6,940 yards (6,346 m)[1]
Field156 players, 113 after cut[1]
Cut148 (+8)[1]
Prize fund£900,000
$1,512,000
Winner's share£90,000
$151,200
Champion
Australia Ian Baker-Finch
272 (−8)
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1992 →
Southport is located in England
Southport
Southport
Royal Birkdale Golf Club is located in Southport
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Royal Birkdale Golf Club

Baker-Finch was two-over after two rounds in a tie for 28th place, then was ten-under on the weekend. His 66 on Sunday was bolstered by a 29 on the front nine, with birdies on five of the first seven holes.[2][3][4]

The cut at 148 (+8) included those within ten strokes of the lead, which resulted in a record 113 players on the weekend, nearly three-quarters of the field.[5][6]

Course

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Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Yards 448 417 409 203 346 473 156 458 414 3,324 395 409 184 475 199 543 414 525 472 3,616 6,940
Par 4 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 4 34 4 4 3 4 3 5 4 5 4 36 70

Source:[7]
Lengths of the course for previous Opens (since 1950):[1]

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, 18 July 1991

Place Player Score To par
1   Seve Ballesteros 66 −4
T2   Chip Beck 67 −3
  Martin Gates
  Santiago Luna
T5   Nick Faldo 68 −2
  Gary Hallberg
  Mike Harwood
  Barry Lane
  Mark Mouland
  Mike Reid
  Costantino Rocca

Source:[8]

Second round

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Friday, 19 July 1991

Place Player Score To par
T1   Gary Hallberg 68-70=138 −2
  Mike Harwood 68-70=138
  Andrew Oldcorn 71-67=138
T4   Seve Ballesteros 66-73=139 −1
  Steve Elkington 71-68=139
  David Gilford 72-67=139
  Wayne Grady 69-70=139
  Mark O'Meara 71-68=139
  Mike Reid 68-71=139
T10   Richard Boxall 71-69=140 E
  Roger Chapman 74-66=140
  Howard Clark 71-69=140
  Mark James 72-68=140
  Barry Lane 68-72=140
  Colin Montgomerie 71-69=140
  Vijay Singh 71-69=140

Source:[5]
Amateurs: Mickelson (+4), Payne (+4), Allenby (+9), Roblin (+11), Coltart (+13), Evans (+13), Muntz (+14), Wilshire (+15).

Third round

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Saturday, 20 July 1991

Place Player Score To par
T1   Ian Baker-Finch 71-71-64=206 −4
  Mark O'Meara 71-68-67=206
T3   Eamonn Darcy 73-68-66=207 −3
  Mike Harwood 68-70-69=207
5   Seve Ballesteros 66-73-69=208 −2
T6   Mike Reid 68-71-70=209 −1
  Vijay Singh 71-69-69=209
T8   Mark James 72-68-70=210 E
  Mark Mouland 68-74-68=210
  Craig Parry 71-70-69=210
  Martin Poxon 71-72-67=210

Source:[9]

Final round

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Sunday, 21 July 1991

Place Player Score To par Money (£)
1   Ian Baker-Finch 71-71-64-66=272 −8 90,000
2   Mike Harwood 68-70-69-67=274 −6 70,000
T3   Fred Couples 72-69-70-64=275 −5 55,000
  Mark O'Meara 71-68-67-69=275
T5   Eamonn Darcy 73-68-66-70=277 −3 34,167
  Jodie Mudd 72-70-72-63=277
  Bob Tway 75-66-70-66=277
8   Craig Parry 71-70-69-68=278 −2 27,500
T9   Seve Ballesteros 66-73-69-71=279 −1 22,833
  Bernhard Langer 71-71-70-67=279
  Greg Norman 74-68-71-66=279

Source:[1][2][10]
Amateurs: Payne (+4), Mickelson (+8)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 41, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Baker-Finch bags Open title". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. 22 July 1991. p. D1.
  3. ^ Reilly, Rick (29 July 1991). "Watch the birdies". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
  4. ^ Parascenzo, Marino (22 July 1991). "It's Baker-Finch: Aussie's sizzling 66 wins British Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 7.
  5. ^ a b Shapiro, Leonard (20 July 1991). "Unheralded trio lead British Open". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Washington Post). p. 1D.
  6. ^ Parascenzo, Marino (20 July 1991). "The kindest cut of all". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 17.
  7. ^ "Stat sheet: British Open". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). 18 July 1991. p. C2.
  8. ^ "Seve storms back at Birkdale". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. 19 July 1991. p. 1B.
  9. ^ "O'Meara bears American bid". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. 21 July 1991. p. 1E.
  10. ^ "1991 Open Championship results". databasegolf.com. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
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53°37′19″N 3°01′59″W / 53.622°N 3.033°W / 53.622; -3.033