Gary Player won his third Open Championship, four strokes ahead of runner-up Peter Oosterhuis.

[2][3] It was the eighth of his nine major titles and second of the year; he won the Masters in April.

[4] In the other two majors in 1974, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship, Player had top ten finishes.

In previous Opens, players could use the smaller "British ball" (1.62 in, 41.15 mm).

[5][6][7] Source:[8]Previous lengths of the course for The Open Championship (since 1950):[1] Wednesday, 10 July 1974 Source:[9] Thursday, 11 July 1974 Amateurs: Lyle (+10), James (+16), Clark (+21), Burch (+22), Homer (+23), Shaw (+31).