Jack Nicklaus won the second of his three Opens in an 18-hole Sunday playoff over Doug Sanders, 72 to 73.

After a lengthy drive on the short par-4, he took four shots from just 74 yards (68 m) and missed a downhill putt for par from three feet to win.

Prior to 1966, the final two rounds of The Open were played on Friday.

A thunderstorm late in the opening round on Wednesday evening caused a suspension in play;[7] it was competed early the next day.

[8] ^ The 10th hole was posthumously named for Bobby Jones in 1972 Previous lengths of the course for The Open Championship (since 1950):[1] Wednesday, 8 July 1970 Thursday, 9 July 1970 Source:[1][7] Thursday, 9 July 1970 Source:[1][8] Amateurs: Melnyk (-1), Bonallack (+1), Humphreys (+2), George (+2), Webster (+5),MacDonald (+7), Berry (+8), Steel (+10), Mosey (+11), Sumner (+11), Sweeny Jr (+11), Farmer (+14) Friday, 10 July 1970 Source:[1][10] Amateurs: Melnyk (+3), Humphreys (+6), Bonallack (+8), George (+9), Webster (+11) Saturday, 11 July 1970 Source:[1][3][11] Amateurs: Melnyk (+10), Humphreys (+13) Sunday, 12 July 1970 Source:[3]