Watson claims his third title

Tom Watson virtually secured his third Open title at Muirfield in 1980 in the third round. A stunning 64 opened up a significant gap over his closest rivals, although it was not the lowest score of the day. That honour went to Isao Aoki of Japan with a 63, but he had already tied a millstone around his neck with opening rounds of 74-74.

The main opposition was formidable — previous Muirfield winners Lee Trevino and Jack Nicklaus were joined in the pursuit by Ben Crenshaw, Sandy Lyle and Nick Faldo, with Ken Brown and Carl Mason adding weight to the home challenge.

Brown, paired with Watson on the final day, slipped out of the reckoning with a 76 as the man who was to go on to capture five Open titles finished with an unblemished 69. That score was matched by six other players, but nobody was able to close the gap on his winning total of 271. Trevino finished four shots behind in second place with Crenshaw another two shots away in third. Nicklaus and Mason shared fourth place on 280.