# 2017 Open Championship
The 2017 Open Championship, played as The 146th Open, was a major golf championship held at [Royal Birkdale Golf Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-birkdale-golf-club) in [Southport](https://www.edgepedia.org/southport), Merseyside, England, from 20 to 23 July 2017, won by [Jordan Spieth](https://www.edgepedia.org/jordan-spieth) of the United States at 12 under par.[1](https://assets.randa.org/c42c7bf4-dca7-00ea-4f2e-373223f80f76/e7dc2746-7a5e-445f-8d1f-29c019490dc8/2017%20Results.pdf) • [2](https://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/2017/the-open-championship/R2017100) Spieth led wire-to-wire, scored 65-69-65-69 for a 268 total, and beat fellow American Matt Kuchar by three strokes to win his first Claret Jug and third major championship.[3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mN-cslAX2Q) • [4](https://pgatourmedia.pgatourhq.com/static-assets/page/files/tours/2018/pgatour/theopenchampionship/preTournamentNotes/Notes_--_Pre-Tournament.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Edition and dates | The 146th Open, 20–23 July 2017, Royal Birkdale, Southport, Merseyside[1](https://assets.randa.org/c42c7bf4-dca7-00ea-4f2e-373223f80f76/e7dc2746-7a5e-445f-8d1f-29c019490dc8/2017%20Results.pdf) • [2](https://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/2017/the-open-championship/R2017100) |
| Winner | Jordan Spieth (USA), 268 (12 under par), Champion Golfer of the Year[1](https://assets.randa.org/c42c7bf4-dca7-00ea-4f2e-373223f80f76/e7dc2746-7a5e-445f-8d1f-29c019490dc8/2017%20Results.pdf) |
| Round scores | 65, 69, 65, 69; led wire-to-wire[1](https://assets.randa.org/c42c7bf4-dca7-00ea-4f2e-373223f80f76/e7dc2746-7a5e-445f-8d1f-29c019490dc8/2017%20Results.pdf) • [3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mN-cslAX2Q) |
| Margin | Three strokes over runner-up Matt Kuchar[5](https://www.theopen.com/latest/2017/spieth-wins-the-open-with-wild-finish-at-royal-birkdale) |
| Significance for the winner | Spieth's first Open title and third major, at age 23; he joined Jack Nicklaus as the only golfers to win three different majors before turning 24[6](https://time.com/4876080/jordan-spieth-masters-us-open/) |
| Scoring records | Henrik Stenson holds the record with 264, while Jordan Spieth's 268 in 2017 was not the record; Branden Grace made the first round of 62 in major championship history on day three[7](https://www.theopen.com/latest/open-venues-guide) • [17](https://www.theopen.com/records-and-statistics) |
| Attendance | 235,000, a record for an Open outside St Andrews and the largest ever held in England[8](https://www.theopen.com/latest/2017/record-setting-attendance-at-royal-birkdale-for-the-146th-open) |
## Venue
Royal Birkdale first hosted The Open in 1954, and the 2017 championship was the 10th occasion on which the course had staged the event.[3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mN-cslAX2Q) The course had hosted The Open nine times between 1954 and 2008 before 2017 took it into double figures.[9](https://www.golf365.com/features/guide-royal-birkdale-2017-open-venue) Its routing, largely created by Frederick G. Hawtree and the champion golfer J.H. Taylor, works through valleys between large dunes, a feature that makes the course a good one for spectators but penal for players who miss the fairway, since the long grass makes scrambling difficult.[9](https://www.golf365.com/features/guide-royal-birkdale-2017-open-venue)
## Spieth's final round
Spieth began Sunday with a three-shot lead over Kuchar and lost it by the turn, bogeying the 13th to fall behind.[10](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/40700703) On that 13th hole his drive went 120 yards right of the fairway into deep rough. After discussing the situation with R&A rules officials, he took a penalty drop and played what became his third shot more than 20 minutes after striking his drive, going on to make bogey on a hole that took about half an hour to complete.[10](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/40700703) • [11](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/40700454)
**The closing stretch.** From there Spieth played what he described as the best five-hole stretch of his life, going birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie to reclaim and extend the lead. The run included a 48-foot putt for eagle on the 15th, and he won by three shots.[10](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/40700703) • [12](https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/who-are-the-previous-open-winners-at-royal-birkdale-its-a-list-packed-with-golfing-greats) In his victory speech he thanked Kuchar, a moment Golf Digest highlighted among the championship's most memorable.[13](https://www.golfdigest.com/story/british-open-2017-jordan-spieth-thanking-matt-kuchar-in-his-victory-speech-could-have-been-the-opens-best-moment)
## Records set
Spieth's 268 total fell short of the best aggregate score in a 72-hole Open, Henrik Stenson's 264.[7](https://www.theopen.com/latest/open-venues-guide) • [17](https://www.theopen.com/records-and-statistics) On day three, South Africa's Branden Grace made history with the first round of 62 in a major championship, a record later matched at Royal Birkdale by Lucas Herbert and [Sam Burns](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-burns) in 2026.[7](https://www.theopen.com/latest/open-venues-guide) • [14](https://apnews.com/article/8d1ea730d2595c7b54bfdae01cc16d26) In the final round, Li Haotong fired a 63, the 32nd round of 63 in major championship history, moving from 12 shots back at the start of the day to solo third.[5](https://www.theopen.com/latest/2017/spieth-wins-the-open-with-wild-finish-at-royal-birkdale)
The championship drew a record-breaking crowd of 235,000, surpassing the 230,000 mark set at Royal Liverpool in 2006 to become the largest Open ever held in England, a 17 percent increase on The Open's last visit to Royal Birkdale in 2008.[8](https://www.theopen.com/latest/2017/record-setting-attendance-at-royal-birkdale-for-the-146th-open) The 2017 championship, like the 2016 Open at Royal Troon, was the first recorded to achieve zero waste to landfill.[15](https://archive.lib.msu.edu/tic/bigga/gki/article/2018jul.pdf)
## What the win meant
At 23, Spieth already held the 2015 Masters and U.S. Open titles, and the Open win moved him within one major of a career [Grand Slam](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-slam-golf) heading into the [PGA Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/pga-championship) at Quail Hollow the following month.[10](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/40700703) • [6](https://time.com/4876080/jordan-spieth-masters-us-open/) With the triumph he joined [Jack Nicklaus](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-nicklaus) as the only golfers to win three different majors before the age of 24.[6](https://time.com/4876080/jordan-spieth-masters-us-open/) The prize money context also shifted that year: the overall Open purse jumped from $6.5 million in 2016 to $10.25 million in 2017.[16](https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/how-much-does-open-championship-winner-earn)
The victory remains identified with the course. Royal Birkdale's roll of Champion Golfers includes Peter Thomson, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Ian Baker-Finch, Mark O'Meara, Padraig Harrington, and Spieth, and the 13th-hole recovery from the driving range is described as etched into golfing folklore.[7](https://www.theopen.com/latest/open-venues-guide) • [12](https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/who-are-the-previous-open-winners-at-royal-birkdale-its-a-list-packed-with-golfing-greats)
## References
1. [R&A Championships and International Matches 2017 Results (The Open Championship, Royal Birkdale, winner Jordan Spieth 268)](https://assets.randa.org/c42c7bf4-dca7-00ea-4f2e-373223f80f76/e7dc2746-7a5e-445f-8d1f-29c019490dc8/2017%20Results.pdf)
2. [The Open Championship 2017 Golf Leaderboard, PGA TOUR](https://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/2017/the-open-championship/R2017100)
3. [Final Round | Jordan Spieth | 146th Open Championship, The R&A (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mN-cslAX2Q)
4. [PGA TOUR Pre-Tournament Notes, The Open Championship](https://pgatourmedia.pgatourhq.com/static-assets/page/files/tours/2018/pgatour/theopenchampionship/preTournamentNotes/Notes_--_Pre-Tournament.pdf)
5. [Spieth wins The Open with wild finish at Royal Birkdale, The Open](https://www.theopen.com/latest/2017/spieth-wins-the-open-with-wild-finish-at-royal-birkdale)
6. [Jordan Spieth, TIME (Sean Gregory, 27 July 2017)](https://time.com/4876080/jordan-spieth-masters-us-open/)
7. [Open Venues | The 14 courses to have hosted The Open, The Open](https://www.theopen.com/latest/open-venues-guide)
8. [Record-setting attendance at Royal Birkdale for the 146th Open, The Open](https://www.theopen.com/latest/2017/record-setting-attendance-at-royal-birkdale-for-the-146th-open)
9. [Golf365's guide to Royal Birkdale, venue of the 2017 Open](https://www.golf365.com/features/guide-royal-birkdale-2017-open-venue)
10. [The Open 2017: Jordan Spieth will enjoy Birkdale win more than any other, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/40700703)
11. [The Open 2017: Jordan Spieth earns 'hardest, entirely anticipated win' at Royal Birkdale, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/40700454)
12. [Who Are The Previous Open Winners At Royal Birkdale?, Golf Monthly](https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/who-are-the-previous-open-winners-at-royal-birkdale-its-a-list-packed-with-golfing-greats)
13. [British Open 2017: Jordan Spieth thanking Matt Kuchar in his victory speech, Golf Digest](https://www.golfdigest.com/story/british-open-2017-jordan-spieth-thanking-matt-kuchar-in-his-victory-speech-could-have-been-the-opens-best-moment)
14. [Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns match the major championship record with 62s, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/8d1ea730d2595c7b54bfdae01cc16d26)
15. [Waste management for The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale in 2017, BIGGA Greenkeeper International](https://archive.lib.msu.edu/tic/bigga/gki/article/2018jul.pdf)
16. [The Open Prize Money Is Higher Than Ever, Golf Monthly](https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/how-much-does-open-championship-winner-earn)
17. [Records and Statistics, The Open](https://www.theopen.com/records-and-statistics)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Racket and precision ball sports › Golf › Golf tournaments, majors, and tours › Major championships and team golf › Open Championship (golf)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license