# 1991 Open Championship

The 1991 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 120th Open Championship, held from 18 to 21 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Ian Baker-Finch won his only major championship, two strokes ahead of runner-up Mike Harwood.
Baker-Finch was two-over after two rounds in a tie for 28th place, then was ten-under on the weekend. His 66 on Sunday was bolstered by a 29 on the front nine, with birdies on five of the first seven holes.
The cut at 148 (+8) included those within ten strokes of the lead, which resulted in a record 113 players on the weekend, nearly three-quarters of the field.

## Course

| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
| Yards | 448 | 417 | 409 | 203 | 346 | 473 | 156 | 458 | 414 | 3,324 | 395 | 409 | 184 | 475 | 199 | 543 | 414 | 525 | 472 | 3,616 | 6,940 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 70 |
Source: Lengths of the course for previous Opens (since 1950):

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, 18 July 1991
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Seve Ballesteros | 66 | −4 |
| T2 | Chip Beck | 67 | −3 |
| T2 | Martin Gates | 67 | −3 |
| T2 | Santiago Luna | 67 | −3 |
| T5 | Nick Faldo | 68 | −2 |
| T5 | Gary Hallberg | 68 | −2 |
| T5 | Mike Harwood | 68 | −2 |
| T5 | Barry Lane | 68 | −2 |
| T5 | Mark Mouland | 68 | −2 |
| T5 | Mike Reid | 68 | −2 |
| T5 | Costantino Rocca | 68 | −2 |
Source:

### Second round

Friday, 19 July 1991
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Gary Hallberg | 68-70=138 | −2 |
| T1 | Mike Harwood | 68-70=138 | −2 |
| T1 | Andrew Oldcorn | 71-67=138 | −2 |
| T4 | Seve Ballesteros | 66-73=139 | −1 |
| T4 | Steve Elkington | 71-68=139 | −1 |
| T4 | David Gilford | 72-67=139 | −1 |
| T4 | Wayne Grady | 69-70=139 | −1 |
| T4 | Mark O'Meara | 71-68=139 | −1 |
| T4 | Mike Reid | 68-71=139 | −1 |
| T10 | Richard Boxall | 71-69=140 | E |
| T10 | Roger Chapman | 74-66=140 | E |
| T10 | Howard Clark | 71-69=140 | E |
| T10 | Mark James | 72-68=140 | E |
| T10 | Barry Lane | 68-72=140 | E |
| T10 | Colin Montgomerie | 71-69=140 | E |
| T10 | Vijay Singh | 71-69=140 | E |
Source: Amateurs: Mickelson (+4), Payne (+4), Allenby (+9), Roblin (+11), Coltart (+13), Evans (+13), Muntz (+14), Wilshire (+15).

### Third round

Saturday, 20 July 1991
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Ian Baker-Finch | 71-71-64=206 | −4 |
| T1 | Mark O'Meara | 71-68-67=206 | −4 |
| T3 | Eamonn Darcy | 73-68-66=207 | −3 |
| T3 | Mike Harwood | 68-70-69=207 | −3 |
| 5 | Seve Ballesteros | 66-73-69=208 | −2 |
| T6 | Mike Reid | 68-71-70=209 | −1 |
| T6 | Vijay Singh | 71-69-69=209 | −1 |
| T8 | Mark James | 72-68-70=210 | E |
| T8 | Mark Mouland | 68-74-68=210 | E |
| T8 | Craig Parry | 71-70-69=210 | E |
| T8 | Martin Poxon | 71-72-67=210 | E |
Source:

### Final round

Sunday, 21 July 1991
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (£) |
| 1 | Ian Baker-Finch | 71-71-64-66=272 | −8 | 90,000 |
| 2 | Mike Harwood | 68-70-69-67=274 | −6 | 70,000 |
| T3 | Fred Couples | 72-69-70-64=275 | −5 | 55,000 |
| T3 | Mark O'Meara | 71-68-67-69=275 | −5 | 55,000 |
| T5 | Eamonn Darcy | 73-68-66-70=277 | −3 | 34,167 |
| T5 | Jodie Mudd | 72-70-72-63=277 | −3 | 34,167 |
| T5 | Bob Tway | 75-66-70-66=277 | −3 | 34,167 |
| 8 | Craig Parry | 71-70-69-68=278 | −2 | 27,500 |
| T9 | Seve Ballesteros | 66-73-69-71=279 | −1 | 22,833 |
| T9 | Bernhard Langer | 71-71-70-67=279 | −1 | 22,833 |
| T9 | Greg Norman | 74-68-71-66=279 | −1 | 22,833 |
Source: Amateurs: Payne (+4), Mickelson (+8)