# 1981 Open Championship

The 1981 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 110th Open Championship, held from 16 to 19 July at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. Bill Rogers won his only major championship, four strokes ahead of runner-up Bernhard Langer. The Open returned to Royal St. George's for the first time since 1949, making it a new venue for all; no former champions finished in the top ten.

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, 16 July 1981
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Vicente Fernández | 70 | E |
| T1 | Nick Job | 70 | E |
| T3 | Isao Aoki | 71 | +1 |
| T3 | David Graham | 71 | +1 |
| T3 | Tony Jacklin | 71 | +1 |
| T3 | Johnny Miller | 71 | +1 |
| T3 | Simon Owen | 71 | +1 |
| T3 | Hal Sutton (a) | 71 | +1 |
| T9 | Howard Clark | 72 | +2 |
| T9 | Ben Crenshaw | 72 | +2 |
| T9 | David Jagger | 72 | +2 |
| T9 | Mark James | 72 | +2 |
| T9 | Greg Norman | 72 | +2 |
| T9 | Arnold Palmer | 72 | +2 |
| T9 | Bill Rogers | 72 | +2 |
| T9 | Sam Torrance | 72 | +2 |

### Second round

Friday, 17 July 1981
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Bill Rogers | 72-66=138 | −2 |
| T2 | Ben Crenshaw | 72-67=139 | −1 |
| T2 | Nick Job | 70-69=139 | −1 |
| 4 | Bernhard Langer | 73-67=140 | E |
| 5 | Sam Torrance | 72-69=141 | +1 |
| T6 | David Graham | 71-71=142 | +2 |
| T6 | Tony Jacklin | 71-71=142 | +2 |
| T6 | Mark James | 72-70=142 | +2 |
| T6 | Tom Watson | 73-69=142 | +2 |
| T10 | Gordon J. Brand | 78-65=143 | +3 |
| T10 | Bill Dunk | 76-67=143 | +3 |
| T10 | Trevor Powell | 75-68=143 | +3 |
| T10 | Peter Townsend | 73-70=143 | +3 |
Amateurs: Godwin (+6), Evans (+8), Sutton (+8), Chapman (+10), Keppler (+10), Walton (+10), Young (+10), Brand (+12), R. Mitchell (+12), Sherborne (+12), Ploujoux (+14), Thomas (+14), Blakeman (+15), Planchin (+15), Seamer (+15), Ling (+17), C. Mitchell (+18), Pook (+19), Ambridge (+20), Heib (+22), Lawrence (+23), Hall (+24), Sviland (+24).

### Third round

Saturday, 18 July 1981
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Bill Rogers | 72-66-67=205 | −5 |
| T2 | Mark James | 72-70-68=210 | E |
| T2 | Bernhard Langer | 73-67-70=210 | E |
| T4 | Isao Aoki | 71-73-69=213 | +3 |
| T4 | Raymond Floyd | 74-70-69=213 | +3 |
| T6 | Nick Faldo | 77-68-69=214 | +4 |
| T6 | Nick Job | 70-69-75=214 | +4 |
| T6 | Sam Torrance | 72-69-73=214 | +4 |
| T6 | Lee Trevino | 77-67-70=214 | +4 |
| T10 | Ben Crenshaw | 72-67-76=215 | +5 |
| T10 | Tony Jacklin | 71-71-73=215 | +5 |
| T10 | Brian Jones | 73-76-66=215 | +5 |
| T10 | Simon Owen | 71-74-70=215 | +5 |
| T10 | Jerry Pate | 73-73-69=215 | +5 |
| T10 | Manuel Piñero | 73-74-68=215 | +5 |
Amateurs: Godwin (+8), Sutton (+11), Keppler (+13), Evans (+15), Young (+15), Chapman (+16), Walton (+16).

### Final round

Sunday, 19 July 1981
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (£) |
| 1 | Bill Rogers | 72-66-67-71=276 | −4 | 25,000 |
| 2 | Bernhard Langer | 73-67-70-70=280 | E | 17,500 |
| T3 | Raymond Floyd | 74-70-69-70=283 | +3 | 11,750 |
| T3 | Mark James | 72-70-68-73=283 | +3 | 11,750 |
| 5 | Sam Torrance | 72-69-73-70=284 | +4 | 8,500 |
| T6 | Bruce Lietzke | 76-69-71-69=285 | +5 | 7,750 |
| T6 | Manuel Piñero | 73-74-68-70=285 | +5 | 7,750 |
| T8 | Howard Clark | 72-76-70-68=286 | +6 | 6,500 |
| T8 | Ben Crenshaw | 72-67-76-71=286 | +6 | 6,500 |
| T8 | Brian Jones | 73-76-66-71=286 | +6 | 6,500 |
Amateurs: Sutton (+15), Godwin (+19) Source:
* The exchange rate at the time was approximately 1.87 dollars (US) per pound sterling.