The 1970 Open Championship was the 99th

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 ...

, played 8–12 July at the Old Course in

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourt ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won 117 professional tou ...

won the second of his three Opens in an 18-hole Sunday playoff over

Doug Sanders George Douglas Sanders (July 24, 1933 – April 12, 2020) was an American professional golfer who won 20 events on the PGA Tour and had four runner-up finishes at major championships. Early years He was born into a poor family in Cedartown, Ge ...

, 72 to 73. In gusty winds during the fourth round on Saturday, Sanders saved par from the Road Hole bunker and led by one heading to the 72nd hole. After a lengthy drive on the short par-4, he took four shots from just and missed a downhill putt for par from three feet to win. This was the first playoff at The Open since

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

and the first at 18 holes. The previous playoffs were 36 holes on Saturday. Prior to

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

, the final two rounds of The Open were played on Friday. The playoff format was changed again to the four-hole aggregate after the 1985 Open, first used in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

. A thunderstorm late in the opening round on Wednesday evening caused a suspension in play; it was competed early the next day.

Course

^ The 10th hole was posthumously named for Bobby Jones in 1972 Previous lengths of the course for The Open Championship (since 1950): * -

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

* -

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijiangs ...

Past champions in the field

Made both cuts

Missed the second cut

Missed the first cut

Round summaries

First round

''Wednesday, 8 July 1970''
''Thursday, 9 July 1970'' Source:

Second round

''Thursday, 9 July 1970'' Source:
Amateurs: '' Melnyk (-1), Bonallack (+1),

Humphreys Humphreys may refer to: Places * Benjamin G. Humphreys Bridge, Arkansas-Mississippi * Camp Humphreys, U.S. Camp in South Korea *Humphreys, Missouri *Humphreys County, Mississippi * Humphreys County, Tennessee * Humphreys County Airport, Tennessee * ...

(+2), George (+2), Webster (+5)'',
MacDonald (+7), Berry (+8), Steel (+10), Mosey (+11), Sumner (+11), Sweeny Jr (+11), Farmer (+14)

Third round

''Friday, 10 July 1970'' Source:
Amateurs: ''Melnyk (+3), Humphreys (+6)'', Bonallack (+8), George (+9), Webster (+11)

Final round

''Saturday, 11 July 1970'' Source:
Amateurs: Melnyk (+10),

(+13)

Playoff

''Sunday, 12 July 1970'' Source: JackNicklaus2006MastersPar3

Scorecard

References

External links

St Andrews 1970 (Official site)
{{coord, 56.343, -2.803, type:event, display=title The Open Championship Golf tournaments in Scotland