The 100th Open

A landmark Open was won by a showstopping Champion when the great Lee Trevino lifted the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale in 1971.

‘Supermex’ entered The Centenary Open in the form of his life, having collected the US Open and the Canadian Open in the three weeks prior.

After struggling to make an impact on his Championship debut at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 1969, where he finished in a tie for 34th place, Trevino quickly came to embrace the unique challenge of links golf.

“I hated it … didn’t like it,” Trevino explained years later on his ‘Tales of The Open’ podcast. “I thought there was a lot of luck involved.

“But the more I went [to the UK] and the more I played [links golf], the more I fell in love with it.”

It was a whirlwind romance.

Just 12 months later Trevino led The Open after 54 holes, only for Jack Nicklaus to break through on the final day.

But something had clicked.

Trevino’s confidence could not have been any higher as he placed his ball on the 1st tee at Royal Birkdale in 1971. He began with a birdie, setting the tone for four of the most magical days of his storied career.

Eight golfers contested The 1st Open – at Prestwick in 1860 – but The 100th Open welcomed hundreds of players from 23 countries. Now a truly international spectacle, the Championship had been transformed into one of the greatest sporting events in the world, attracting a record 14,000 spectators to the famous Southport course.

Trevino, Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin, Champion Golfer in 1969, could have all laid claim to being the best golfer in the world in 1971. And all three were among the leading protagonists at Royal Birkdale, the venue for The 154th Open in 2026.

Trevino and Jacklin ended the first round atop the leaderboard, alongside Howie Johnson and Vicente Fernandez, on four-under-par.

Taiwan’s Lu Liang-huan, distinguishable in a pork pie hat, was among a cluster just a stroke behind.

Trevino dropped a couple of shots early in round two but, armed with a Tommy Armour putter, he demonstrated his majesty on the greens, recovering gamely to post a three-under 70, enough for a share of the lead with Jacklin at halfway.

“Every time I hit a putt [the ball] was looking for the hole,” said Trevino. “I made everything I looked at. I was putting so well I could actually sense the break; I didn’t even have to read the putt.

“I had a hell of a run.”

‘Mr Lu’, as he was affectionately known, was still just a shot behind, with Champion Golfers Roberto de Vicenzo (1967) and Gary Player (1959, 1968) tied for fourth on five-under-par. The international flavour of The Open was again evident as players from five different countries made up the top five after 36 holes.

While Trevino (11-under) would ultimately lead Jacklin by a stroke going into the final round, two British golfers wowed the home galleries with some exquisite play of their own in round three.

Craig Defoy, from Wales, was one-under through 11 but, remarkably, played the final seven holes in six-under-par to take the clubhouse lead on seven-under. Defoy would go on to finish fourth, by far his best performance in any major.

England’s Peter Oosterhuis [below] was in equally bullish mood, setting a record low round (66) at Royal Birkdale on his way to a T18 finish.

All eyes, though, were on Trevino, who led The Open after 54 holes for the second year in a row. And he was in no mood to relinquish his advantage on this occasion, birdieing four of the first six holes, going on to compile a front-nine 31.

“I came out firing,” he said.

So did Lu, who holed a monster birdie putt on the 2nd to move to 11-under-par. Unfazed, and at home on the greens, Trevino landed a 20ft birdie putt of his own.

Firmly in the zone, the leader moved through the gears before sinking a 40ft par putt on the 8th to stay on 15-under-par. Lu then dropped a shot at the 9th, affording Trevino a seemingly unassailable five-shot advantage at the turn.

The final nine holes should have been a procession but, ever the showman, Trevino got distracted by entertaining the crowd.

By the time he reached the par-5 17th, his lead was down to three.

“That tournament shouldn’t have even been close,” he said. “When I [was standing] on the 17th tee I had lost two shots. I shouldn’t have done that. It’s OK to interact with people, but not every second. I lost my concentration.”

Disaster almost struck when he found a sand bank off the 17th tee, duffed his second and then hit his third into long rough, leading to an unthinkable double-bogey seven.

Lu left a delicate pitch shot, his third, well short of the hole and missed the birdie putt, meaning Trevino took a one-stroke lead into the 18th, another par-5. And some calming words from his caddie – hall of famer Willie Aitchison – helped the Texan to re-focus.

“I was upset at what I did,” he said, “but … Willie Aitchison says to me ‘Don’t get upset; you’re still leading'.”

Lu applied as much pressure as he could. He hit a spectacular 150-yard third shot into just seven feet and holed the subsequent birdie putt.

Trevino, who had reached the back of the green in two, required a birdie to claim the Claret Jug by one stroke – and he duly obliged, before hurling his baseball cap into the air in jubilation.

Winning The Open at Royal Birkdale, to go alongside the US Open and Canadian Open victories, completed “a hat-trick unparalleled in the annals of golf,” according to commentator Henry Longhurst, so outrageous was Trevino's 20-day spell of dominance.

Trevino went on to defend the Claret Jug at Muirfield in 1972, and he is one of only seven players since World War II to have claimed back-to-back victories at The Open.

He is, quite simply, an all-time great.