| 1983 British Open | |
It was Open Championship win No. 5 for Tom Watson at the 1983 British Open, his eighth career victory in a major. And, it turned out, his last win in any of the majors.
The 1983 British Open also marked the last time Arnold Palmer made the cut in this tournament.
Would that whiff come back to haunt Irwin? Do you think we'd be mentioning if it didn't?
Watson had a 1-stroke lead going into the final round, with plenty of big names close behind. A young Nick Faldo was briefly in the mix, as was an old(er) Lee Trevino.
Graham Marsh shot a final-round 64 to take the clubhouse lead at 7-under. Then Irwin and Andy Bean, playing together, each posted 8-under (both shooting 67s in the last round). That left Watson on the 18th tee at 9-under. Bean and Irwin were left hoping for a Watson bogey to produce a three-way playoff.
But Watson didn't accommodate. He striped a drive right down the center of Royal Birkdale's home hole, a 473-yard par-4. Then he hit a 2-iron from just over 210 yards that headed straight at the flag its entire flight - Watson later called it the best 2-iron of his life.
The ball rolled onto the green to within 15 feet. Watson 2-putted for par and his fifth - and final - Open Championship.
And the whiffer, Irwin, was left in second place, one stroke short of a playoff.
1983 British Open Golf Tournament Scores
Results from the 1983 British Open golf tournament played on the par-71 Royal Birkdale in Southport, England (a-amateur):
| Tom Watson | 67-68-70-70--275 | $60,000 |
| Andy Bean | 70-69-70-67--276 | $34,500 |
| Hale Irwin | 69-68-72-67--276 | $34,500 |
| Graham Marsh | 69-70-74-64--277 | $22,500 |
| Lee Trevino | 69-66-73-70--278 | $20,400 |
| Harold Henning | 71-69-70-69--279 | $18,375 |
| Seve Ballesteros | 71-71-69-68--279 | $18,375 |
| Christy O'Connor Jr. | 72-69-71-68--280 | $14,437 |
| Bill Rogers | 67-71-73-69--280 | $14,437 |
| Nick Faldo | 68-68-71-73--280 | $14,437 |
| Denis Durnian | 73-66-74-67--280 | $14,437 |
| Peter Jacobsen | 72-69-70-70--281 | $10,875 |
| Craig Stadler | 64-70-72-75--281 | $10,875 |
| Fuzzy Zoeller | 71-71-67-73--282 | $7,560 |
| Mike Sullivan | 72-68-74-68--282 | $7,560 |
| David Graham | 71-69-67-75--282 | $7,560 |
| Raymond Floyd | 72-66-69-75--282 | $7,560 |
| Gary Koch | 75-71-66-70--282 | $7,560 |
| Bernard Gallacher | 72-71-70-70--283 | $4,435 |
| Brian Waites | 70-70-73-70--283 | $4,435 |
| Simon Hobday | 70-73-70-70--283 | $4,435 |
| Jay Haas | 73-72-68-70--283 | $4,435 |
| Hubert Green | 69-74-72-68--283 | $4,435 |
| Tienie Britz | 71-74-69-69--283 | $4,435 |
| Greg Norman | 75-71-70-67--283 | $4,435 |
| Howard Clark | 71-72-69-72--284 | $3,225 |
| Rodger Davis | 70-71-70-73--284 | $3,225 |
| Eamonn Darcy | 69-72-74-69--284 | $3,225 |
| Tom Kite | 71-72-72-70--285 | $2,197 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 71-72-72-70--285 | $2,197 |
| Lanny Wadkins | 72-73-72-68--285 | $2,197 |
| Toru Nakamura | 73-69-72-71--285 | $2,197 |
| Mark James | 70-70-74-71--285 | $2,197 |
| Lu Chien Soon | 71-72-74-68--285 | $2,197 |
| Curtis Strange | 74-68-70-73--285 | $2,197 |
| Mike McCullough | 74-69-72-70--285 | $2,197 |
| Hal Sutton | 68-71-75-71--285 | $2,197 |
| Terry Gale | 72-66-72-75--285 | $2,197 |
| Vicente Fernandez | 70-72-72-72--286 | $1,449 |
| Chris Moody | 74-69-70-73--286 | $1,449 |
| Ian Collins | 70-75-68-73--286 | $1,449 |
| Tony Jacklin | 71-75-71-69--286 | $1,449 |
| Kikuo Arai | 74-67-75-70--286 | $1,449 |
| Bob Gilder | 70-76-70-70--286 | $1,449 |
| Tim Simpson | 73-69-72-73--287 | $1,185 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 73-73-69-72--287 | $1,185 |
| Clive Tucker | 73-71-73-70--287 | $1,185 |
| Massy Kuramoto | 70-74-73-70--287 | $1,185 |
| Graham Burroughs | 71-74-71-71--287 | $1,185 |
| Manuel Pinero | 74-72-71-70--287 | $1,185 |
| Vaughan Somers | 68-75-71-73--287 | $1,185 |
| Mark McNulty | 72-69-68-78--287 | $1,185 |
| Larry Nelson | 70-73-73-72--288 | $1,087 |
| Sam Torrance | 68-73-74-73--288 | $1,087 |
| Bobby Clampett | 74-72-71-71--288 | $1,087 |
| Arnold Palmer | 72-74-68-75--289 | $1,087 |
| Bernhard Langer | 67-72-76-74--289 | $1,087 |
| Mark E. Johnson | 70-72-71-76--289 | $1,087 |
| Manuel Calero | 70-75-69-76--290 | $1,087 |
| John O'Leary | 74-68-69-79--290 | $1,087 |
| Ronan Rafferty | 75-67-73-76--291 | $1,087 |
| Mike Ingham | 71-73-70-78--292 | $1,087 |
| Hsieh Yu Shu | 71-72-74-78--295 | $1,087 |
Return to British Open Winners index for more tournament recaps
1982 British Open | 1984 British Open
More on the British Open
Other Major Champions
• British Open FAQ
• British Open Quizzes
• British Open Index
• Masters Winners
• US Open Winners
• PGA Championship Winners
