1997 Open Championship  The 1997 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 126th Open Championship, held from 17–20 July at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland. Justin Leonard won his only major championship and was the fifth consecutive American to win at Royal Troon. Five strokes back after a 72 in the third round, Leonard had six birdies on the front nine in the final round; he added two more at 16 and 17 for 65 (–6) to win by three strokes over runners-up Darren Clarke and Jesper Parnevik, the 54-hole leader. Old Course   Lengths of the course for previous Opens (since 1950):  Opens from 1962 through 1989 played the 11th hole as a par-5. Source: Source:  "Thursday, 17 July 1997"  Source:  "Friday, 18 July 1997"  Source: Amateurs: "Howard (+2)", Watson (+7), Bladon (+10), Olsson (+11), Webster (+11), Taylor (+15), Young (+17), Miller (+22). "Saturday, 19 July 1997"  Source:  "Sunday, 20 July 1997"  Source: Amateurs: Howard (+9)  "Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par"  Source: