| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 18–21 July 1991 |
| Location | Southport, England |
| Course | Royal Birkdale Golf Club |
| Tour(s) | European Tour PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 70[1] |
| Length | 6,940 yards (6,346 m)[1] |
| Field | 156 players, 113 after cut[1] |
| Cut | 148 (+8)[1] |
| Prize fund | £900,000 $1,512,000 |
| Winner's share | £90,000 $151,200 |
| Champion | |
 Ian Baker-Finch | |
| 272 (−8) | |
The 1991 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 120th Open Championship, held from 18 to 21 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Ian Baker-Finch won his only major championship, two strokes ahead of runner-up Mike Harwood.
Baker-Finch was two-over after two rounds in a tie for 28th place, then was ten-under on the weekend. His 66 on Sunday was bolstered by a 29 on the front nine, with birdies on five of the first seven holes.[2][3][4]
The cut at 148 (+8) included those within ten strokes of the lead, which resulted in a record 113 players on the weekend, nearly three-quarters of the field.[5][6]
Course
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards | 448 | 417 | 409 | 203 | 346 | 473 | 156 | 458 | 414 | 3,324 | 395 | 409 | 184 | 475 | 199 | 543 | 414 | 525 | 472 | 3,616 | 6,940 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 70 |
Source:[7]
Lengths of the course for previous Opens (since 1950):[1]
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, 18 July 1991
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Seve Ballesteros | 66 | −4 |
| T2 |  Chip Beck | 67 | −3 |
 Martin Gates | |||
| Santiago Luna | |||
| T5 | Nick Faldo | 68 | −2 |
| Gary Hallberg | |||
| Mike Harwood | |||
| Barry Lane | |||
 Mark Mouland | |||
| Mike Reid | |||
 Costantino Rocca |
Source:[8]
Second round
Friday, 19 July 1991
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Gary Hallberg | 68-70=138 | −2 |
| Mike Harwood | 68-70=138 | ||
 Andrew Oldcorn | 71-67=138 | ||
| T4 | Seve Ballesteros | 66-73=139 | −1 |
| Steve Elkington | 71-68=139 | ||
| David Gilford | 72-67=139 | ||
| Wayne Grady | 69-70=139 | ||
| Mark O'Meara | 71-68=139 | ||
| Mike Reid | 68-71=139 | ||
| T10 | Richard Boxall | 71-69=140 | E |
| Roger Chapman | 74-66=140 | ||
| Howard Clark | 71-69=140 | ||
| Mark James | 72-68=140 | ||
| Barry Lane | 68-72=140 | ||
| Colin Montgomerie | 71-69=140 | ||
 Vijay Singh | 71-69=140 |
Source:[5]
Amateurs: Mickelson (+4), Payne (+4), Allenby (+9), Roblin (+11), Coltart (+13), Evans (+13), Muntz (+14), Wilshire (+15).
Third round
Saturday, 20 July 1991
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Ian Baker-Finch | 71-71-64=206 | −4 |
| Mark O'Meara | 71-68-67=206 | ||
| T3 |  Eamonn Darcy | 73-68-66=207 | −3 |
| Mike Harwood | 68-70-69=207 | ||
| 5 | Seve Ballesteros | 66-73-69=208 | −2 |
| T6 | Mike Reid | 68-71-70=209 | −1 |
| Vijay Singh | 71-69-69=209 | ||
| T8 | Mark James | 72-68-70=210 | E |
| Mark Mouland | 68-74-68=210 | ||
| Craig Parry | 71-70-69=210 | ||
| Martin Poxon | 71-72-67=210 |
Source:[9]
Final round
Sunday, 21 July 1991
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ian Baker-Finch | 71-71-64-66=272 | −8 | 90,000 |
| 2 | Mike Harwood | 68-70-69-67=274 | −6 | 70,000 |
| T3 | Fred Couples | 72-69-70-64=275 | −5 | 55,000 |
| Mark O'Meara | 71-68-67-69=275 | |||
| T5 | Eamonn Darcy | 73-68-66-70=277 | −3 | 34,167 |
| Jodie Mudd | 72-70-72-63=277 | |||
| Bob Tway | 75-66-70-66=277 | |||
| 8 | Craig Parry | 71-70-69-68=278 | −2 | 27,500 |
| T9 | Seve Ballesteros | 66-73-69-71=279 | −1 | 22,833 |
 Bernhard Langer | 71-71-70-67=279 | |||
| Greg Norman | 74-68-71-66=279 |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 41, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
- 1 2 "Baker-Finch bags Open title". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. 22 July 1991. p. D1.
- ↑ Reilly, Rick (29 July 1991). "Watch the birdies". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
- ↑ Parascenzo, Marino (22 July 1991). "It's Baker-Finch: Aussie's sizzling 66 wins British Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 7.
- 1 2 Shapiro, Leonard (20 July 1991). "Unheralded trio lead British Open". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. (Washington Post). p. 1D.
- ↑ Parascenzo, Marino (20 July 1991). "The kindest cut of all". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 17.
- ↑ "Stat sheet: British Open". Spokane Chronicle. Washington. 18 July 1991. p. C2.
- ↑ "Seve storms back at Birkdale". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. 19 July 1991. p. 1B.
- ↑ "O'Meara bears American bid". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. 21 July 1991. p. 1E.
- ↑ "1991 Open Championship results". databasegolf.com. Retrieved 7 July 2012.