1988 Open Championship

1988 Open Championship
Front cover of the 1988 Open Annual
Tournament information
Dates14–18 July 1988
LocationLytham St Annes, England
Course(s)Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
Tour(s)European Tour
PGA Tour
Statistics
Par71[1]
Length6,857 yards (6,270 m)[1]
Field153 players, 71 after cut[1]
Cut148 (+6)[1]
Prize fund£500,000
$750,000
Winner's share£80,000
$136,000
Champion
Spain Seve Ballesteros
273 (−11)
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Lytham & St Annes is located in England
Lytham & St Annes
Lytham &
St Annes

The 1988 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 117th Open Championship, held from 14 to 18 July at the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, England. In a first-ever Monday finish, Seve Ballesteros shot a final round 65 to capture his third Open Championship and fifth major title, two strokes ahead of runner-up Nick Price, the 54-hole leader.[2]

Scheduled to finish on Sunday, heavy rain on Saturday caused flooding of several greens and the third round was scratched after play was started. Under European Tour rules, if less than half of the players had finished their rounds, the scores for that day were discarded. Since no player had finished, all the scores from Saturday were scrapped. Sunday was briefly scheduled for 36 holes, but due to the flooding, it was decided the course could not be readied in time for the early morning tee times. The third round was played on Sunday and the fourth on Monday, the first time in history the Open's final round finished on a Monday.[3][4][5]

  1. ^ a b c d "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 44, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  2. ^ Diaz, Jaime (25 July 1988). "Mano a mano on the links". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013.
  3. ^ Bonk, Thomas (17 July 1988). "Rain washes out play at third round of British Open". Eugene Register-Guard. (Los Angeles Times). p. 1F.
  4. ^ "British Open rain burns Green". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. 17 July 1988. p. D1.
  5. ^ Pye, Steven (16 July 2015). "How Seve Ballesteros won his last major championship at the Open in 1988". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2015.