The 1988 Seniors' British Open, by sponsor reasons also known as the Volvo Seniors' British Open, was a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

tournament for players aged 50 and above and the second Seniors' British Open (later known as the Senior Open Championship), held from 21 to 24 July at Turnberry Golf Resort in

South Ayrshire South Ayrshire ( sco, Sooth Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir a Deas, ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. On 30 June 2 ...

, Scotland, United Kingdom. In 2018, the tournament was, as all

Senior British Open Championship The Senior Open Championship, or simply The Senior Open (and originally known as the Senior British Open) is a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and over. It is run by The R&A, the same body that organises The Open Championship. Pr ...

s played 1987–2002, retroactively recognized as a senior major golf championship and a

PGA Tour Champions PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...

(at the time named the

Senior PGA Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...

) event. 52-year-old

Gary Player Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...

lead

wire-to-wire Wire-to-wire is a term used in competitive events and sports for a champion who maintained the lead during an entire competition. The term originated from horse racing where a wire would stretch across the start and finish line thus the euphemism ...

and won by one stroke ahead of

Billy Casper William Earl Casper Jr. (June 24, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. In his youth, Casper started as a caddie a ...

. It was Player's first Senior Open Championship win and fifth senior major championship. With the win, he became the first golfer to complete the senior grand slam of the time, by adding the title to wins in the

U.S. Senior Open The U.S. Senior Open is one of the five major championships in senior golf, introduced in 1980. It is administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is recognized as a major championship by both the PGA Tour Champions and the Eu ...

, the

PGA Seniors' Championship The Senior PGA Championship, established in 1937, is the oldest of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both PGA ...

and the

Senior Tournament Players Championship The Senior Players Championship, stylised by the PGA Tour as The SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, is one of the five major championships on golf's PGA Tour Champions. The inaugural event was played in 1983 and the age minimum is 50, the standard fo ...

. The year after,

The Tradition The Tradition (known as the Regions Tradition for sponsorship reasons) is an event on the PGA Tour Champions. First staged in 1989, the PGA Tour recognizes the event as one of the five senior major golf championships. Unlike the U.S. Senior Op ...

tournament was established and also recognized as a senior major by the

. Defending champion

Neil Coles Neil Chapman Coles, MBE (born 26 September 1934) is an English professional golfer. Coles had a successful career in European golf, winning 29 important tournaments between 1956 and 1982. After reaching 50, he won a further 14 important Seniors ...

finished tied 6th, after a score of 9-over-par 79 in the fourth round in strong winds, playing in the last group with Player. A £2,000 bonus prize was awarded to

Christy O'Connor Snr Patrick Christopher "Christy" O'Connor (21 December 1924 – 14 May 2016) was an Irish professional golfer. He was one of the leading golfers on the British and Irish circuit from the mid-1950s. O'Connor won over 20 important British and Irish t ...

, as the leading player over 60 years of age, at tied 9th. Leading amateur was Colin McLachlan, Scotland.

Venue

Turnberry_(Ailsa_course)_Holes_10_and_12

The Ailsa Course at Turnberry, situated 80 kilometres south of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland, on headland along the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

, overlooking the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Butesh ...

and

Ailsa Craig Ailsa Craig (; sco, Ailsae Craig; gd, Creag Ealasaid) is an island of in the outer Firth of Clyde, west of mainland Scotland, upon which microgranite has long been quarried to make curling stones. The now-uninhabited island comprises the r ...

, was initially opened with 13 holes in 1901, designed by Willie Fernie, and later completed to 18 holes. It was redesigned by

Mackenzie Ross Philip Mackenzie Ross (1890–1974) was a Scottish golf course architect who worked throughout Europe developing golf courses in France, Spain and Portugal as well as the United Kingdom. After 1945 he carried out a great deal of remodelling and ...

between 1949 and 1951. The championship was the second of four in a row played at Turnberry. The course had previously hosted

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

twice;

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

Field

Past champion in the field

The only past Senior British Open champion,

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

winner

, participated and finished tied 6th.

Past winners and runners-up at The Open Championship in the field

The field included former winners of

;

(won), Bob Charles (4th) and

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

(tied 6th) and former runners-up at The Open Championship;

(6th),

(9th) and

Lu Liang-Huan Lu Liang-Huan (, 10 December 1936 – 15 March 2022), also known as Mister Lu (Mr Lu) to British golf fans, was a successful Taiwanese golfer who won several important tournaments on the Asian and European circuits between 1959 and 1987. Earl ...

(tied 14th).

Final results

''Sunday, 24 July 1988'' Source:

References

External links

Coverage on European Tour website
{{Senior Open Championship Senior major golf championships Golf tournaments in Scotland Seniors' British Open Seniors' British Open Seniors' British Open