# 1974 Open Championship

The 1974 Open Championship was the 103rd Open Championship, held from 10 to 13 July at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England. Gary Player won his third Open Championship, four strokes ahead of runner-up Peter Oosterhuis. It was the eighth of his nine major titles and second of the year; he won the Masters in April. In the other two majors in 1974, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship, Player had top ten finishes.
The use of the larger "American ball" (diameter 1.68 in, 42.67 mm) was made compulsory. In previous Opens, players could use the smaller "British ball" (1.62 in, 41.15 mm).

## Course layout

| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
| Yards | 206 | 436 | 458 | 393 | 212 | 486 | 551 | 394 | 162 | 3,298 | 334 | 542 | 201 | 339 | 445 | 468 | 356 | 453 | 386 | 3,524 | 6,822 |
| Par | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 71 |
Source: Previous lengths of the course for The Open Championship (since 1950):
* 1969: 6,848 yards (6,262 m)
* 1963: 6,836 yards (6,251 m)
* 1958: 6,635 yards (6,067 m)
* 1952: 6,657 yards (6,087 m)

## Round summaries
### First round

Wednesday, 10 July 1974
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | John Morgan | 69 | −2 |
| T1 | Gary Player | 69 | −2 |
| T3 | Bobby Cole | 70 | −1 |
| T3 | Danny Edwards | 70 | −1 |
| T5 | Hubert Green | 71 | E |
| T5 | John O'Leary | 71 | E |
| T5 | Peter Oosterhuis | 71 | E |
| T8 | David Chillas | 72 | +1 |
| T8 | Neil Coles | 72 | +1 |
| T8 | Lu Liang-Huan | 72 | +1 |
| T8 | Johnny Miller | 72 | +1 |
| T8 | Tom Weiskopf | 72 | +1 |
Source:

### Second round

Thursday, 11 July 1974
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Gary Player | 69-68=137 | −5 |
| T2 | Bobby Cole | 70-72=142 | E |
| T2 | Peter Oosterhuis | 71-71=142 | E |
| 4 | Danny Edwards | 70-73=143 | +1 |
| T5 | Lu Liang-Huan | 72-72=144 | +2 |
| T5 | John Morgan | 69-75=144 | +2 |
| T5 | Tom Weiskopf | 72-72=144 | +2 |
| 8 | Hubert Green | 71-74=145 | +3 |
| T9 | Al Geiberger | 76-70=146 | +4 |
| T9 | Noel Hunt | 73-73=146 | +4 |
| T9 | Jack Nicklaus | 74-72=146 | +4 |
Amateurs: Lyle (+10), James (+16), Clark (+21), Burch (+22), Homer (+23), Shaw (+31).

### Third round

Friday, 12 July 1974
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Gary Player | 69-68-75=212 | −1 |
| 2 | Peter Oosterhuis | 71-71-73=215 | +2 |
| 3 | Jack Nicklaus | 74-72-70=216 | +3 |
| 4 | Hubert Green | 71-74-72=217 | +4 |
| T5 | Bobby Cole | 70-72-76=218 | +5 |
| T5 | Tom Weiskopf | 72-72-74=218 | +5 |
| T7 | Danny Edwards | 70-73-76=219 | +6 |
| T7 | Lu Liang-Huan | 72-72-75=219 | +6 |
| T9 | Johnny Miller | 72-75-73=220 | +7 |
| T9 | John Morgan | 69-75-76=220 | +7 |
Source: Amateurs: Lyle (+23), James (+24).

### Final round

Saturday, 13 July 1974
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (£) |
| 1 | Gary Player | 69-68-75-70=282 | −2 | 5,500 |
| 2 | Peter Oosterhuis | 71-71-73-71=286 | +2 | 4,000 |
| 3 | Jack Nicklaus | 74-72-70-71=287 | +3 | 3,250 |
| 4 | Hubert Green | 71-74-72-71=288 | +4 | 2,750 |
| T5 | Danny Edwards | 70-73-76-73=292 | +8 | 2,300 |
| T5 | Lu Liang-Huan | 72-72-75-73=292 | +8 | 2,300 |
| T7 | Bobby Cole | 70-72-76-75=293 | +9 | 1,717 |
| T7 | Donald Swaelens | 77-73-74-69=293 | +9 | 1,717 |
| T7 | Tom Weiskopf | 72-72-74-75=293 | +9 | 1,717 |
| 10 | Johnny Miller | 72-75-73-74=294 | +10 | 1,500 |
Source:
* The exchange rate at the time was approximately 2.39 dollars (US) per pound sterling.