The Open Official Film 1983 | Royal Birkdale

The Open Championship in 1983 featured a highly competitive field, with Tom Watson hunting down his fifth Open title.
Royal Birkdale was receptive to scoring that year, as Craig Stadler’s opening 64 showed. Graham Marsh became the first player to score a 64 in the final round to take fourth place, while Hale Irwin and Andy Bean’s eight-under score became the target for Watson to beat.
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[@Seanryan2001]

I worked as a scoreboard operator at this Open Championship. I was only 16 but what an incredible memory. I worked for 3 hours then got 3 hours off to watch the golf then back to work for 3 hours. Got paid £50 for the week. I would have done it for nothing.

[@gasperstarina9837]

Isnt't nowadays you have to pay to work there ? My PGA pro coach told me that lads are paying to work there, which is nuts...

[@Kedbuka]

Thanks so much for posting this classic footage of an all-time great championship. Amazing leader board.

[@TSK24692]

I was a Watson fanatic while growing up….and I still am!

[@ianthomas739]

Notice Tom's nervous tentative swing on the eighteenth tee - neither did I. Tom, one of the truly great players and gentleman to match

[@oldmcdonald3376]

a great player, but a man who could be a real jerk at times ,too

[@Edgar_Randolph]

Alchie

[@christopherdelgaudio9484]

Man Watson!!! what a golf swing!!

[@thetruthsetsyoufree1492]

He used to play Ballybunion Golf Club every summer for preparation before the British Open. I have unforgettable memories of watching his assertive and gracious swing there.

[@TheWildernessLife]

Incredibly fluid, great balance.

[@Kaddywompous]

One of my faves.

[@chrisbrimhall1613]

Two irons into par 4’s…….love that

[@oldmcdonald3376]

stadler was one of the nicest guys on the tour,to everybody but himself

[@jpmcdadecomedy]

Opening title music goes absolutely nuts

[@chrismorfas7515]

What a 2-iron to the 18th by Watson! I’m surprised it isn’t more legendary.

[@duncanholding7636]

Who would ever have thought this would be Watson's eighth and FINAL major.... should have won at least four more

[@billenright2788]

the putter abandoned him

[@brendoncassidy1316]

He was and has always been elite tee to green But he went from elite scrambler and fearless short putter to…the opposite

[@ブルックナー]

ラリーネルソン、ビルロジャース、スタッドラー、レイモンドフロイド、リートレビノ、そして大好きだった、ヘールアーウィン。もちろん別格、ジャックニクラウス。いちばん楽しかったなぁ！この時代

[@oldmcdonald3376]

could watch trevino play all day and night

[@MrAJR76]

Why l?

[@SteveDavis-gc2pp]

Great tournament and a vintage time for golf when there seemed so much skill rather than simply over powering golf courses. What a 2 iron from TW - worth watching just for that

[@MC-nb6jx]

What a course. So fair, awesome for viewing 👏🏻👏🏻 Hitting 4/3/2/1 irons into par 4 greens where did that go?😉😉

[@A-FrameWedge]

Tiger mentioned that even with his bad leg and all of his injuries he is hitting the ball further now then when he first came out on tour, he blames most it on the ball, the ball needs to be dialed back, let the recreational golfer play whatever the want, but for top amateur events and pros they need to dial the ball back about 6-7%.

[@MC-nb6jx]

@@A-FrameWedge … Which Jack suggested 20/30 years ago. The ball is/has ruining the game.. Driver wedge, driver wedge, driver wedge🙄🙄 Where’s the skill in that?

[@greatwhite3676]

@@A-FrameWedge Well a 4 iron then is now a 6 or 7 iron now so its not as ridiculous as it seems. Make the fairways narrower and put a premium on shot making. The club they use is irrelevant

[@jefftaylor8644]

I will never watch one of these and not miss Peter Alliss

[@marcghiggeri4965]

British open coverage just isnt the same - grateful I was able to listen live when it was happening - and that we have the films to keep alive what great times those were.....

[@BRUBRUETNONO]

So true. Peter Alliss delicate, accurate and to the point comments accompinying historical moments spaning from the 1976 open with the rise of Seve and Miller peak to the the 1999 Jean Van de Velde melt down ! Those full broadcast are timeless ❤.

[@chrisrodgers1087]

I just do not think Watson gets enough credit as a truly all time great golfer. Top 10 for sure on every serious golfers list. Just for fun: Mens Goats 1a Tiger/Jack 1b Jack/Tiger 3) Hogan 4) Snead 5) Nelson 6) Player I think Watson, Palmer, Seve, Bob Jones, Sarazen would be 7-10 and each man could be in any order. For me theres only 6 male golfers to ever play better golf them Tom Watson. A goat for sure!

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

I love these arguments. Why I don't really know: maybe it's the little boy in us that still that wants to determine who's King of the Hill. Here goes: 1-3 Tiger/Jack/Ben in a tie for best 4 Jones 5 Hagen 6 Nelson 7 Palmer 8 Watson 9. Snead 10. Player Reasons: Tiger played the best golf for 10 years of anyone, though Ben was nearly as dominant and overcame incredible adversity in doing so (what he would have done absent the accident is speculative, but given what he did with his physical handicaps, there's little reason to think he wouldn't have continued what he was doing 46-48 through the mid to late 50s), Jack was sustained his dominance twice as long as Tiger, though he never was AS dominant. That Tiger ruined his body prematurely is his own fault. It's an athlete's first responsibility to take care of his body. Jones was as dominant in the 20s as Tiger was in the 2000s. But he quit too soon and thar knocks him off the podium. Hagen was the only rival to Jones and dominated other professionals for 15 years. Further, he won the premier match play PGA 5 times--a gruelling event--and 5 Western Opens, which really was a major for the players in that day. He also won The Open 4 times during the 20s, Jones' heyday. Nelson played at Tiger strength in 45--forget the competition, look at the scoring average, but quit too early to rank higher. Palmer was the best player in the world before Jack came on the scene, and was a huge factor in many mayors that he narrowly lost. His outsized personality overshadows how good a player he was. I was tempted to rank him ahead of Nelson, but he did choke a lot of big ones. Watson was also the best in the world for 5 years, eclipsing Nicklaus, and he also managed to beat Nicklaus head to head in three different times in majors. Snead was a great player and talent with amazing longevity, but he won a lot of ordinary tournaments, was never the outright best in the world (either Nelson or Hogan was better), and crucially he failed to once win the biggest one--The US Open. He did impressively win the 46 Open on the Old Course, but it wasn't against much of a field right after the war Finally, Player also suffers in that he never was the best in world at any time. Anyway, those are my reasons. Btw, I think the reason Watson never got the all-time great status that say Palmer got is Nicklaus. Palmer had two transcendent seasons in 60 and 61 and was already established as The King before Nicklaus arrived. Watson, on the other hand, while being the best and having those three epic defeats of Nicklaus (77 Open, 78 Masters, 82 US Open), still remained in Nicklaus' shadow. Nicklaus was more of a part-time presence then, but he still won the 78 Open, the 80 US Open (breaking his own record), the 80 PGA, and then when Watson had lost his putting touch and stopped winning altogether, Nicklaus managed to pull off the 86 Masters in dramatic fashion. Technically, Watson was the world's best player in the late 70s and early 80s, but Nicklaus just wouldn't go away--in the public imagination, he was still number one. He didn't supplant Nicklaus the way Jack did Arnold. Then we saw years of Watson the sad guy always blowing it because of the putter, and Watson didn't have to charisma Palmer had to off-set it. I don't think people pitied Arnold, they still loved him even if he wasn't the best anymore. But people pitied Watson. He ended up being, in the public mind, as just one of the string of great players--Palmer, Casper, Player, Trevino, Miller, and Watson--that ultimately all played second fiddle to Nicklaus. Not quite fair, but there I think it is. Nicklaus out-lasted his challenge.

[@A-FrameWedge]

Palmer shooting a 68 at a major Championship at 53 is remarkable.

[@J_Phillz]

Arnie once shot his age on tour..... No one has done that since. Not sure if anyone did it before...

[@A-FrameWedge]

@@J_Phillz Pretty sure Don January did it, and maybe Bernhard Langer.

[@J_Phillz]

On the regular tour not the senior tour.... @@A-FrameWedge

[@clubredken13]

2 things. Number 1. Tiger's favorite course is St. Andrews. But several times he called it the British Open this summer. I love that. When you're here its the Open but otherwise there is also another Open in the United States. 2. I know I promised you a 2nd thing but... I forgot. I'm drinking tonite.

[@michaelmuldowney8]

This was the last major won by Watson. Came close a few times, but this was the last of his 8 major wins.

[@christopherdelgaudio9484]

Should have one more majors!!

[@cc-24-ab]

Won

[@Edgar_Randolph]

Juan

[@cledesma135]

2 irons were crucial

[@thenumberquelve158]

Highlight film: Here's Hale Irwin, but he took himself out of contention by whiffing on a tap-in. Oh well. Hale Irwin: *still -4 after three rounds and only four behind* Also Hale Irwin: *-6 and only ONE BEHIND with half of a round to go* Also ALSO Hale Irwin: *tied for the lead with one hole to play in his round* I'm just glad they didn't run out of red stars to add onto the leaderboard. Aside from the 2002 Open, it doesn't get more wild of a finish than this.

[@thomaselliott573]

Watson had the greatest mental capacity the game has ever seen.

[@duncanholding7636]

Certainly the best links player of all time

[@luckybestwash]

The major where shirts are optional

[@johnnyguerrero5460]

Stadler liked to throw the putter at the caddie after a miss putt.

[@kinggordon8762]

2:44 lf I were Craig Stadler back when this came out and I heard the narrator (Peter Alliss) called me "Distinctively portly", I'd slap the 💩 out of him next time I saw him

[@Kaddywompous]

So strange to see the ‘Sir’ called youthful.

[@skellvarnsen23]

leeroy trevino

[@seanscott7070]

Lee Buck Roy Rogers Trevino Jr. to be precise.

[@Mark-l9k9q]

Back when golf was worth watching.

[@青目ねこ]

ニクラウス　パーマー　スタドラー　ファルド　ワトソン　スーパースターばっかり

[@salfordnick5336]

My dad is on....behind Watson on 16th