1980

Roberto De Vicenzo

The Senior Open Championship, for players 55 and over, was established in 1980 as a result of the remarkable growth in senior golf, both at the professional and amateur levels.

The champion ship was played on the East Course of the Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. The USGA accepted 631 entrants, among them former U.S. Open champions Lew Worsham (1947), Julius Boros (1952, 1963), Ed Furgol (1954), Jack Fleck (1955) and Tommy Bolt (1958). The only former U.S. Amateur champion entered was William C. Campbell.

Roberto De Vicenzo, 57, of Buenos Aires, Argentina, won the championship.  He put together rounds of 74-73-68-70 for a 1-over-par 285 to win. He was four strokes ahead of Campbell, 57, of Huntington, W. Va. De Vicenzo and Campbell were the only players to break 290.

Art Wall, Jr., was third, at 290; Charles Sifford was fourth, at 295 and amateur Ed Tutwiler and professionals Hampton Auld and Mike Fetchick shot 296, tied for fifth.

Four players shared the first-round lead of 72 -- Fetchick, Ted Kroll, Sifford and amateur Bill Trombley. De Vicenzo had a 74 and Campbell shot 76.

In the second round, Campbell took the lead with a 3-under-par 68. Wall, who had a 71, moved into second place at 145. Boros was third at 146, and DeVicenzo was fourth at 147.

De Vicenzo went ahead for the first time with a 68 in the third round, giving him a 215 after 54 holes, which was two strokes better than Wall. Campbell shot another 76 and was grouped with Boros and Kroll at 220.

In the final round, De Vicenzo and Wall were paired together. De Vicenzo maintained his two-stroke advantage through seven holes. When Wall three-putted on No. 8, De Vicenzo increased his lead to three strokes. For the final round, De Vicenzo shot a 70 to Wall's 73.

Campbell played the final nine in 32, scoring birdies in three of the final four holes to finish at 69 for the day and 289 for the 72 holes. He finished one stroke ahead of Wall.

The final two days of the Senior Open were nationally televised. Thirty-five professionals and 16 amateurs made the 36-hole cut at 156, 14 over par. A total of $100,000 in prize money was awarded.