Golf · 1977 · Turnberry, Scotland
The Duel in the Sun
Paired together for the final two rounds of the Open at Turnberry, Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus leave the rest of the field behind entirely.
Watson 268, Nicklaus 269
Result
8-10 strokes
Margin over 3rd place
65, 65
Rounds 3 & 4 (both players)
Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus were drawn to play together for the third and fourth rounds of the 1977 Open Championship at Turnberry, and by the end of the third they were far enough clear of everyone else that the tournament had become a two-man contest. They had shot matching 65s that day. The clear skies over the whole thing gave the finish its name.
In the final round they both shot 65 again. Nicklaus went briefly ahead with an eagle at the 7th, before Watson drew level and then edged in front with a birdie at the 15th and a chip-in at the 17th. Needing a birdie at the last to stay with him, Nicklaus hit a huge drive and holed a long, testing putt, and Watson answered from close range moments later to win by a single stroke.
They finished ten and eight strokes ahead of Hubert Green in third, who joked afterward that he had won the tournament everybody else was playing in. Either man's score would have taken almost any other Open by a wide margin.
Watch the Moment
