What is the biggest comeback win recorded at The Open Championship at Royal Troon? Record explored

While action at the Royal Troon is underway, the Open Championship also brings forth a lot of memories from the past. One of which is the biggest comeback win in the tournament, achieved by Tom Watson in the 1982 Open Championship. Watson was 7 shots behind Bobby Clampett after the second round but the American crawled up to the top by Sunday.

Reminding fans of his victory, the Society of Golf History posted a picture of Watson from 1982, holding the Open Championship trophy. It was shared on X (formerly twitter) and was captioned:

“While the leaders seem to be running away from the field at @RoyalTroonGC, there is plenty of time to win @TheOpen. The biggest comeback to win the Open at Royal Troon after the completion of the 2nd round was in 1982. Tom Watson was 7 strokes back from Bobby Clampett.”

Watson was at 3-under and Clampett at 5-under after the first round of the 1982 Open Championship. Then, on the second day, Watson stood at 4-under and Bobby at 11-under, a 7 stroke difference between the two golfers.

After the third round, Watson had taken his score to 2-under while Clampett was at 5-under. Finally, Watson finished Sunday's play with a 4-under for the round, while Clampett had an even-par score. Watson finished The 1982 Open with scores of 69, 71, 74, and 70. Ever the gracious winner, he said after his win, "I didn’t win this Championship, I had it handed to me.”

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Which golfers made it through the cutline at the Open Championship?

The cutline was set at 6-over and the top 70 players and ties have qualified for the third round. The list includes leader Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Dean Burmester, and more. Here's a look at the golfers who will play the round three at Royal Troon:

• Shane Lowry (-7)
• Justin Rose (-5)
• Daniel Brown (-5)
• Billy Horschel (-2)
• Dean Burmester (-2)
• Scottie Scheffler (-2)
• Jason Day (-1)
• Patrick Cantlay (-1)
• Corey Conners (-1)
• Xander Schauffele (-1)
• Matthew Jordan (E)
• Joaquin Niemann (E)
• Dustin Johnson (+1)
• Collin Morikawa (+1)
• Jon Rahm (+1)
• Brooks Koepka (+1)
• Mackenzie Hughes (+1)
• Gary Woodland (+2)
• Tom Hoge (+2)
• Marcel Siem (+2)
• Minkyu Kim (+2)
• Jeunghun Wang (+2)
• Matthieu Pavon (+2)
• Sepp Straka (+2)
• Alex Noren (+2)
• Nicolai Højgaard (+2)
• Russell Henley (+2)
• Sam Burns (+3)
• Adrian Meronk (+3)
• Tom McKibbin (+3)
• Eric Cole (+3)
• Padraig Harrington (+3)
• Thorbjørn Olesen (+3)
• Jordan Spieth (+3)
• Emilian Grillo (+3)
• Laurie Center (+3)
• Thriston Lawrence (+3)
• Kurt Kitayama (+4)
• John Catlin (+4)
• Richard Mansell (+4)
• Byeong Hun An (+4)
• Rasmus Højgaard (+4)
• Ryan Fox (+4)
• Brendon Todd (+4)
• Cameron Young (+4)
• Matteo Manassero (+4)
• Austin Eckroat (+4)
• Brian Harman (+4)
• Sean Crocker (+4)
• Calum Scott (+4)
• Chris Kirk (+4)
• Joe Dean (+4)
• Justin Thomas (+4)
• Jacob Skov Oleson (+5)
• Si Woo Kim (+5)
• Daniel Hillier (+5)
• Harris English (+5)
• Hideki Matsuyama (+5)
• Andy Ogletree (+5)
• Ewen Ferguson (+5)
• Davis Thompson (+5)
• Alex Cejka (+5)
• Phil Mickelson (+5)
• Aaron Rai (+5)
• Robert MacIntyre (+5)
• Young-han Song (+5)
• Adam Scott (+5)
• Matt Wallace (+5)
• Jorge Campillo (+6)
• Rickie Fowler (+6)
• Darren Clarke (+6)
• Darren Fichardt (+6)
• Sungjae Im (+6)
• Shubhankar Sharma (+6)
• Max Homa (+6)
• Tommy Morrison (+6)
• Luis Masaveu (+6)
• Abraham Ancer (+6)
• Guido Migliozzi (+6)
• Matt Fitzpatrick (+6)