# 1978 Open Championship

The 1978 Open Championship was the 107th Open Championship, held 12–15 July over the Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Jack Nicklaus won his third and final Open championship, two strokes ahead of runners-up Ben Crenshaw, Raymond Floyd, Tom Kite, and Simon Owen. It was the fifteenth of his eighteen major championships and marked the completion of his third career grand slam.
Defending champion Tom Watson was a co-leader after 54 holes, but four consecutive bogeys on the front nine led to a 76 (+4). Watson finished six strokes back in a tie for fourteenth place.

## Course

| Hole | Name | Yards | Par | | Hole | Name | Yards | Par |
| 1 | Burn | 370 | 4 | | 10 | Bobby Jones | 342 | 4 |
| 2 | Dyke | 411 | 4 | | 11 | High (In) | 172 | 3 |
| 3 | Cartgate (Out) | 371 | 4 | | 12 | Heathery (In) | 316 | 4 |
| 4 | Ginger Beer | 463 | 4 | | 13 | Hole O'Cross (In) | 425 | 4 |
| 5 | Hole O'Cross (Out) | 564 | 5 | | 14 | Long | 567 | 5 |
| 6 | Heathery (Out) | 416 | 4 | | 15 | Cartgate (In) | 413 | 4 |
| 7 | High (Out) | 372 | 4 | | 16 | Corner of the Dyke | 382 | 4 |
| 8 | Short | 178 | 3 | | 17 | Road | 461 | 4 |
| 9 | End | 356 | 4 | | 18 | Tom Morris | 354 | 4 |
| Out | Out | 3,501 | 36 | | In | In | 3,432 | 36 |
| Source: | Source: | Source: | Source: | Source: | Total | Total | 6,933 | 72 |
Previous lengths of the course for The Open Championship (since 1950):
* 6,957 yards (6,361 m) - 1970:
* 6,926 yards (6,333 m) - 1964
* 6,936 yards (6,342 m) - 1960, 1955

## Round summaries
### First round

Wednesday, 12 July 1978
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Isao Aoki | 68 | −4 |
| T2 | Seve Ballesteros | 69 | −3 |
| T2 | Raymond Floyd | 69 | −3 |
| T2 | Jack Newton | 69 | −3 |
| T2 | Tom Weiskopf | 69 | −3 |
| T6 | Howard Clark | 70 | −2 |
| T6 | Ben Crenshaw | 70 | −2 |
| T6 | Mark Hayes | 70 | −2 |
| T6 | Carl Mason | 70 | −2 |
| T6 | Mike Miller (a) | 70 | −2 |
| T6 | Tsuneyuki Nakajima | 70 | −2 |
| T6 | Simon Owen | 70 | −2 |
Source:

### Second round

Thursday, 13 July 1978
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Isao Aoki | 68-71=139 | −5 |
| T1 | Seve Ballesteros | 69-70=139 | −5 |
| T1 | Ben Crenshaw | 70-69=139 | −5 |
| T4 | Gary Cullen | 73-67=140 | −4 |
| T4 | Bob Shearer | 71-69=139 | −4 |
| T6 | Bob Byman | 72-69=141 | −3 |
| T6 | Tom Kite | 72-69=141 | −3 |
| T6 | Tsuneyuki Nakajima | 70-71=141 | −3 |
| T6 | Masashi Ozaki | 72-69=141 | −3 |
| T6 | Tom Watson | 73-68=141 | −3 |
| T6 | Tom Weiskopf | 69-72=141 | −3 |
Source:

### Third round

Friday, 14 July 1978
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Peter Oosterhuis | 72-70-69=211 | −5 |
| T1 | Tom Watson | 73-68-70=211 | −5 |
| T3 | Simon Owen | 70-75-67=212 | −4 |
| T3 | Jack Nicklaus | 71-72-69=212 | −4 |
| T3 | Ben Crenshaw | 70-69-73=212 | −4 |
| T3 | Isao Aoki | 68-71-73=212 | −4 |
| T7 | Nick Faldo | 71-72-70=213 | −3 |
| T7 | John Schroeder | 74-69-70=213 | −3 |
| T7 | Tom Kite | 72-69-72=213 | −3 |
| T7 | Tom Weiskopf | 69-72-72=213 | −3 |
Source:
Amateurs: Miller (+2), Brodie (+4), McEvoy (+5), Godwin (+6).

### Final round

Saturday, 15 July 1978
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (£) |
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | 71-72-69-69=281 | −7 | 12,500 |
| T2 | Raymond Floyd | 69-75-71-68=283 | −5 | 7,255 |
| T2 | Tom Kite | 72-69-72-70=283 | −5 | 7,255 |
| T2 | Ben Crenshaw | 70-69-73-71=283 | −5 | 7,255 |
| T2 | Simon Owen | 70-75-67-71=283 | −5 | 7,255 |
| 6 | Peter Oosterhuis | 72-70-69-73=284 | −4 | 4,960 |
| T7 | Bob Shearer | 71-69-74-71=285 | −3 | 3,905 |
| T7 | Nick Faldo | 71-72-70-72=285 | −3 | 3,905 |
| T7 | John Schroeder | 74-69-70-72=285 | −3 | 3,905 |
| T7 | Isao Aoki | 68-71-73-73=285 | −3 | 3,905 |
Amateurs: McEvoy (+5), Miller (+6), Brodie (+7), Godwin (+10). Source:
* The exchange rate at the time was approximately 1.88 dollars (US) per pound sterling.