# 1997 Open Championship

The 1997 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 126th Open Championship, held from 17 to 20 July at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland. Justin Leonard won his only major championship and was the fifth consecutive American to win at Royal Troon.
Five strokes back after a 72 in the third round, Leonard had six birdies on the front nine in the final round; he added two more at 16 and 17 for 65 (−6) to win by three strokes over runners-up Darren Clarke and Jesper Parnevik, the 54-hole leader.

## Course

Old Course
| Hole | Name | Yards | Par | | Hole | Name | Yards | Par |
| 1 | Seal | 364 | 4 | | 10 | Sandhills | 438 | 4 |
| 2 | Black Rock | 391 | 4 | | 11 | The Railway | 463 | 4 |
| 3 | Gyaws | 379 | 4 | | 12 | The Fox | 431 | 4 |
| 4 | Dunure | 557 | 5 | | 13 | Burmah | 465 | 4 |
| 5 | Greenan | 210 | 3 | | 14 | Alton | 179 | 3 |
| 6 | Turnberry | 577 | 5 | | 15 | Crosbie | 457 | 4 |
| 7 | Tel-el-Kebir | 402 | 4 | | 16 | Well | 542 | 5 |
| 8 | Postage Stamp | 126 | 3 | | 17 | Rabbit | 223 | 3 |
| 9 | The Monk | 423 | 4 | | 18 | Craigend | 452 | 4 |
| Out | Out | 3,429 | 36 | | In | In | 3,650 | 35 |
| Source: | Source: | Source: | Source: | Source: | Total | Total | 7,079 | 71 |
Lengths of the course for previous Opens (since 1950):
* 1989: 7,097 yards (6,489 m), par 72
* 1982: 7,067 yards (6,462 m), par 72
* 1973: 7,064 yards (6,459 m), par 72
* 1962: 7,045 yards (6,442 m), par 72
* 1950: 6,583 yards (6,019 m), par 70
Opens from 1962 through 1989 played the 11th hole as a par-5.

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, 17 July 1997
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Darren Clarke | 67 | −4 |
| T1 | Jim Furyk | 67 | −4 |
| T3 | Fred Couples | 69 | −2 |
| T3 | Justin Leonard | 69 | −2 |
| T3 | Greg Norman | 69 | −2 |
| T6 | Ángel Cabrera | 70 | −1 |
| T6 | Barclay Howard (a) | 70 | −1 |
| T6 | Davis Love III | 70 | −1 |
| T6 | Andrew Magee | 70 | −1 |
| T6 | Jesper Parnevik | 70 | −1 |
Source:

### Second round

Friday, 18 July 1997
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Darren Clarke | 67-66=133 | −9 |
| 2 | Justin Leonard | 69-66=135 | −7 |
| 3 | Jesper Parnevik | 70-66=136 | −6 |
| T4 | Fred Couples | 69-68=137 | −5 |
| T4 | David Tapping | 71-66=137 | −5 |
| T6 | Jim Furyk | 67-72=139 | −3 |
| T6 | Tom Kite | 72-67=139 | −3 |
| 8 | Ángel Cabrera | 70-70=140 | −2 |
| T9 | Mark Calcavecchia | 74-67=141 | −1 |
| T9 | Jay Haas | 71-70=141 | −1 |
| T9 | Davis Love III | 70-71=141 | −1 |
| T9 | Tom Watson | 71-70=141 | −1 |
Source: Amateurs: Howard (+2), Watson (+7), Bladon (+10), Olsson (+11), Webster (+11), Taylor (+15), Young (+17), Miller (+22).

### Third round

Saturday, 19 July 1997
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Jesper Parnevik | 70-66-66=202 | −11 |
| 2 | Darren Clarke | 67-66-71=204 | −9 |
| T3 | Fred Couples | 69-68-70=207 | −6 |
| T3 | Justin Leonard | 69-66-72=207 | −6 |
| T5 | Stephen Ames | 74-69-66=209 | −4 |
| T5 | Jim Furyk | 67-72-70=209 | −4 |
| T5 | Eduardo Romero | 74-68-67=209 | −4 |
| T8 | Robert Allenby | 76-68-66=210 | −3 |
| T8 | Lee Westwood | 73-70-67=210 | −3 |
| T8 | Tiger Woods | 72-74-64=210 | −3 |
Source:

### Final round

Sunday, 20 July 1997
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (£) |
| 1 | Justin Leonard | 69-66-72-65=272 | −12 | 250,000 |
| T2 | Darren Clarke | 67-66-71-71=275 | −9 | 150,000 |
| T2 | Jesper Parnevik | 70-66-66-73=275 | −9 | 150,000 |
| 4 | Jim Furyk | 67-72-70-70=279 | −5 | 90,000 |
| T5 | Pádraig Harrington | 75-69-69-67=280 | −4 | 62,500 |
| T5 | Stephen Ames | 74-69-66-71=280 | −4 | 62,500 |
| T7 | Peter O'Malley | 73-70-70-68=281 | −3 | 40,667 |
| T7 | Eduardo Romero | 74-68-67-72=281 | −3 | 40,667 |
| T7 | Fred Couples | 69-68-70-74=281 | −3 | 40,667 |
| T10 | Davis Love III | 70-71-74-67=282 | −2 | 24,300 |
| T10 | Retief Goosen | 75-69-70-68=282 | −2 | 24,300 |
| T10 | Frank Nobilo | 74-72-68-68=282 | −2 | 24,300 |
| T10 | Tom Kite | 72-67-74-69=282 | −2 | 24,300 |
| T10 | Mark Calcavecchia | 74-67-72-69=282 | −2 | 24,300 |
| T10 | Shigeki Maruyama | 74-69-70-69=282 | −2 | 24,300 |
| T10 | Ernie Els | 75-69-69-69=282 | −2 | 24,300 |
| T10 | Tom Watson | 71-70-70-71=282 | −2 | 24,300 |
| T10 | Robert Allenby | 76-68-66-72=282 | −2 | 24,300 |
| T10 | Lee Westwood | 73-70-67-72=282 | −2 | 24,300 |
Source: Amateurs: Howard (+9)

#### Scorecard

| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Leonard | −6 | −7 | −8 | −9 | −8 | −9 | −10 | −10 | −11 | −10 | −10 | −10 | −10 | −10 | −10 | −11 | −12 | −12 |
| Clarke | −10 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −9 | −9 | −9 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −9 |
| Parnevik | −11 | −11 | −12 | −12 | −12 | −11 | −12 | −12 | −12 | −11 | −12 | −12 | −11 | −11 | −11 | −11 | −10 | −9 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
| Eagle | Birdie | Bogey | Double bogey |
Source: