'Duel in the sun' crowned the Open's greatest finish

Following the culmination of almost two months of voting across the world, Glenmorangie, The Spirit of The Open is pleased to announce that the ‘Duel In The Sun’, between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus at Turnberry in 1977 has been chosen as The Open’s all-time Greatest Finish.    

Selected from a Top 10 shortlist, determined by an international poll of leading golf experts and commentators, ‘The Duel In The Sun’ has been overwhelmingly voted as The Open’s Greatest Finish by golf fans worldwide.

Revered for the titanic struggle between two of the games greatest ever players in Nicklaus and Watson, their Turnberry encounter is a memorable winner. 

Glenmorangie, The Spirit of The Open, has been commemorating The Open’s Greatest Finishes throughout 2016, toasting those special moments that are intrinsically linked to the Open’s illustrious history.

Marc Hoellinger, President and CEO of The Glenmorangie Company, commented: “We have been delighted with the public’s reaction to this debate. The Open’s Greatest Finishes campaign has seized the imagination of golf aficionados worldwide and sparked a lot of interesting conversations. We at Glenmorangie know all about great finishes through our award-winning whisky and recognise the ‘Duel In the Sun’ to be well-deserving of the title of The Open’s Greatest Finish.”

Full breakdown of The Open’s Greatest Finishes:

1970, St Andrews - Jack Nicklaus defeats Doug Sanders by a single stroke in their mammoth 18-hole play off

1972, Muirfield - Lee Trevino lands his second Open title in a tight finish ahead of Tony Jacklin and Jack Nicklaus , chipping in on the penultimate hole to secure a crucial par

1977, Turnberry – Tom Watson edges out Jack Nicklaus in a titanic battle forever referred to as the ‘Duel in the Sun’

1984, St. Andrews – Seve Ballesteros ends the challenge of Tom Watson by holing a magic 15ft put on the 18^th before rejoicing with the iconic fist pump celebration

1995, St. Andrews – Constantino Rocca produced one of the truly great shots in the history of The Open at the 72^nd hole of The Open, sinking an uphill put from the edge of the green to force a play-off with John Daly

1999, Carnoustie – Jean Van De Velde's meltdown, wasting a three-shot advantage on the final hole which included visiting the Barry Burn before losing in a three-way play-off to Paul Lawrie

2000, St. Andrews – Tiger Woods completes the career Grand Slam by obliterating a stellar field to win by eight shots, breaking a multitude of records in the process

 2007, Carnoustie – Padraig Harrington comes from six shots behind on the final day to defeat Sergio Garcia in a four-hole playoff after Sergio fails to make a par on the 18^th  

2009, Turnberry – 59-year-old Tom Watson wound back the clock and set up a golfing fairytale with a putt to win his sixth open, to the distress of all he missed and duly lost out in a four-hole play-off to Stewart Cink

2013, Muirfield – Phil Mickelson charged through the field, posting a round of 66 on the final day, which in included four fantastic birdies in the final six holes 

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