The 1972 Open Championship was the 101st Open Championship, held 12–15 July at Muirfield Golf Links in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Lee Trevino won his second straight Claret Jug, the first to successfully defend his title since Arnold Palmer in 1962. Trevino finished one stroke ahead of runner-up Jack Nicklaus, ending his bid for the Grand Slam. Nicklaus had won the first two majors in 1972 and was the odds-on favorite at Muirfield, where he won his first Open in 1966. He also held the PGA Championship title from February 1971; a win at Muirfield and he would become the first to hold all four major titles at once.

Six strokes back at even-par after 54 holes, Nicklaus shot a final round 66 (−5) on Saturday to tie the course record, but played the final three holes at one-over par. Trevino had posted his own 66 in the third round and held on in the fourth round with an even-par 71, which included a chip-in for par at 17, to gain the fourth of his six major titles.

It was the third of four times that Nicklaus was a runner-up to Trevino in a major championship.

Trevino's win concluded a stretch where American-born golfers won eight consecutive major championships. This is the fourth-longest stretch in history for American-born golfers after stretches that ended at the 1930 Open Championship, 1947 U.S. Open, and the 1977 PGA Championship.

Thirty years later, Tiger Woods became the first since Nicklaus to win the first two major tournaments of the year. His bid for a Grand Slam in 2002 also ended at Muirfield.

Round summaries First round Wednesday, 12 July 1972 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Peter Tupling68−32 Tony Jacklin69−2T3 Frank Beard70−1 Craig Defoy Dave Marr Jack Nicklaus Peter TownsendT8 Brian Barnes71E John Garner Antonio Garrido Gary Player Doug Sanders Peter Thomson Lee Trevino

Second round Thursday, 13 July 1972 PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Tony Jacklin 69-72=141 −1 Lee Trevino 71-70=141T3 John Garner 71-71=142 E Johnny Miller 76-66=142 Jack Nicklaus 70-72=142 Gary Player 71-71=142 Doug Sanders 71-71=142 Peter Townsend 70-72=142 Peter Tupling 68-74=142T10 Brian Barnes 71-72=143 +1 Clive Clark 72-71=143 Peter Thomson 71-72=143

Amateurs: R. Foster (+7), Mosey (+8), Revell (+9), Stephen (+9), Campbell (+11), Homer (+11), Gradwell (+13), Elson (+14), Bonallack (+15), Clark (+15), Berry (+19), Gray (+20).

Third round Friday, 14 July 1972 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Lee Trevino71-70-66=207−62 Tony Jacklin69-72-67=208−53 Doug Sanders71-71-69=211−24 Brian Barnes71-72-69=212−15 Jack Nicklaus70-72-71=213ET6 Guy Hunt75-72-67=214+1 Johnny Miller76-66-72=214T8 Dave Marr70-74-71=215 +2 Arnold Palmer73-73-69=215 Peter Tupling68-74-73=215

Amateurs: R. Foster (+14), Mosey (+14), Stephen (+14), Revell (+15).

Final round Saturday, 15 July 1972 Summary Jack Nicklaus' quest for the Grand Slam got off to a strong start. He birdied six of the first eleven holes to erase the six-shot deficit. In the final pairing, Lee Trevino and Tony Jacklin started poorly, both were two over par on the day and trailed Nicklaus heading to the ninth hole. The final pairing both made eagle on the par-5. A birdie by Jacklin on the 12th hole created a three-way tie for the lead, which would hold until Nicklaus bogeyed the par-3 16th. The Grand Slam chase was over. The final pairing began the par-5 17th hole tied for the lead. The penultimate 71st hole would prove crucial.

A series of four poor shots left Trevino over the green in short rough. Meanwhile, Jacklin was faced with an 18-foot birdie putt. In what was the shot of the tournament, Trevino chipped-in for par. This was his fourth chip-in of the tournament. The sudden change in circumstances was amplified when Jacklin turned his potential birdie into a three putt bogey. Trevino held a one shot lead with one hole remaining.

On the final hole Trevino put his approach shot within six feet of the hole, while Jacklin found the bunker. Jacklin's second consecutive bogey pushed him down to third place. Trevino missed his birdie putt, but the tap-in par secured his second consecutive Open Championship.

Final leaderboard Champion(a) = amateur(c) = past champion PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney (£)1 Lee Trevino (c) 71-70-66-71=278 −65,5002 Jack Nicklaus (c) 70-72-71-66=279 −54,0003 Tony Jacklin (c) 69-72-67-72=280 −43,2504 Doug Sanders 71-71-69-70=281 −32,7505 Brian Barnes 71-72-69-71=283 −12,4506 Gary Player (c) 71-71-76-67=285 +12,150T7 Guy Hunt 75-72-67-72=286 +21,663 Arnold Palmer (c) 73-73-69-71=286 David Vaughan 74-73-70-69=286 Tom Weiskopf 73-74-70-69=286

The exchange rate at the time was approximately 2.45 dollars (US) per pound sterling.

Scorecard Final round Hole123456789101112131415161718Par444354345 444344354 Trevino -5 -6 -6 -6 -5 -5 -4 -4 -6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 Nicklaus E −1 −2 −2 −3 −3 −3 −3 −4 −5 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −5 −5 −5 Jacklin -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 −3 −3 −3 −5 −5 −5 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −5 −4 Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par {|class="wikitable" span = 50 style="font-size:85%; |- | style="background:Red; width:10px;"| |Eagle | style="background:Pink; width:10px;"| |Birdie | style="background:PaleGreen; width:10px;"| |Bogey

References

External links Muirfield 1972 (Official site) 101st Open Championship – Muirfield (European Tour)