Turnberry (golf Course) - The Open Championship

The Open Championship

At its first Open Championship in 1977, the course was the scene of the famous "Duel in the Sun", when Tom Watson claimed a classic victory, one stroke ahead of Jack Nicklaus.

The two were paired during the final two rounds and finished well ahead of the rest of the field. They posted identical scores for the first three rounds, and were tied through the 16th hole of the final round. Nicklaus missed a short birdie putt on the par-5 17th hole to tie Watson, who had reached in two and birdied. On the par-4 18th hole, Nicklaus recovered from the rough to sink a lengthy birdie putt, which forced Watson to sink his short birdie putt to win, which he did. It was Watson's second of five Open titles; he had been down two strokes on the 13th tee and had bested Nicklaus by three shots over the final six holes.

Nine years later in 1986, Greg Norman claimed the first of his two Opens (his only major titles), winning by five strokes. Nick Price won his second major (and only Open) in 1994, a single stroke victory over Jesper Parnevik. After a fifteen year absence, the Ailsa Course hosted the Open in 2009, where a 59 year-old Tom Watson nearly won his sixth Open Championship. Watson bogeyed the 72nd hole and then lost a 4-hole playoff with Stewart Cink by six strokes. Cink birdied the 72nd hole and then posted two pars and two birdies in the playoff to win his first major title.

The Open Championship winners at Turnberry, all played on the par-70 Ailsa Course: