Sponsored by:
(AP) — A capsule look at the eight previous British Opens held at Royal Birkdale:
Year: 1954
Winner: Peter Thomson.
Score: 283.
Margin: One shot.
Runner-up: Bobby Locke, Dai Rees, Sid Scott.
Prize: 750 pounds.
Summary: Ben Hogan did not return to defend his title, and Thomson won the first of his five British Open titles. Thomson was tied with Rees and Scott going into the final 18 holes. Thomson bogeyed the final hole from a bunker to close with a 71, leaving Locke a chance to catch him. His birdie putt came up short.
Year: 1961
Winner: Arnold Palmer
Score: 284.
Margin: One shot.
Runner-up: Dai Rees.
Prize: 1,400 pounds.
Summary: In his second trip to the British Open, Palmer seized control with a 69 in the third round, including a 6-iron from behind a bush on the 16th hole that eventually led the club to place a plaque there to commemorate the shot. He had a one-shot lead over Rees going into the final. Palmer extended his lead to four shots with four holes to play, but Rees rallied to within one shot before Palmer finished him off with a 72 for a one-shot victory.
Year: 1965
Winner: Peter Thomson
Score: 285.
Margin: Two shots.
Runner-up: Brian Huggett, Christy O'Connor Sr.
Prize: 1,750 pounds.
Summary: Thomson closed with a 71 for his fifth British Open title, and some measure of validation. Some argued that he won his previous four claret jugs in the 1950s against weaker competition, but he conquered a field at Royal Birkdale that included Arnold Palmer and Masters champion Jack Nicklaus. Thomson took the lead with a 72 in the heavy rain and win of the third round, then held off a late charge from defending champion Tony Lema, who took double bogey at the last.
Year: 1971
Winner: Lee Trevino.
Score: 278.
Margin: One shot.
Runner-up: Liang-Huan Lu.
Prize: 5,500 pounds.
Summary: Trevino was tied for the lead after each of the first two rounds, then took the outright lead over "Mr. Lu" of Taiwan with a 69 in the third round. Trevino, coming off victories in the U.S. Open and Canadian Open, went out in 31 in the final round to build a five-shot lead and still was three clear when he drove into a sand hill on the 18th and took a 7. Lu could only manage a 5, allowing Trevino to join Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan as the only players to win the U.S. Open and British Open in the same year. Tiger Woods later joined that group in 2000.
