Fuzzy Zoeller, 32, shot 67 and defeated Greg Norman in an 18-hole playoff. Norman shot 75. By shooting 276 for the 72 holes, Zoeller and Norman became the first men to be under par in four Opens played at Winged Foot Golf Club, in Mamaroneck, New York. Par is 280. The lowest previous score was 282 by Billy Casper in 1959. Norman and Zoeller finished five strokes in front of Curtis Strange of Kingsmill, Virginia, whose 69-70-74-68-281 would have won any previous Open at Winged Foot.

John Miller, the 1973 Open Champion and Jim Thorpe shared fourth at 282 while Hale Irwin, who led for most of the first three rounds, shot 79 on the final day and finished sixth at 284. In the first round 18 players bettered or equaled par. Irwin and Thorpe at 68 shared the lead with Hubert Green, the 1977 Champion and Mike Donald. Steve Ballesteros, Strange and Jay Sigel, 1982 and 1983 United States Amateur Champions were at 69, with Norman at par 70. Irwin, 39, added 68 and led after 36 holes with 136 but Zoeller shot 66, the lowest round ever during an Open at Winged Foot, to stand at 137. Norman had 68 for 138 along with David Canipe. Both Irwin and Zoeller shot 69 in the third round; Irwin led by a stroke at 205 and Norman and Thorpe had 207.

While Irwin and Thorpe faded in the fourth round, Zoeller and Norman pulled away. Zoeller holed consecutive birdie putts of 20, 22, 20 and 15 feet on the third through sixth holes, gaining five strokes on Irwin and, by then, only Norman and Zoeller were in contention. Zoeller led by three strokes with nine holes to play, but Norman pulled even at the 17th and saved par on the 18th by holing a 45-foot putt after hitting his approach into a grandstand and being given relief without penalty.

After both men birdied the first hole of the playoff, Zoeller birdied the second from 68 feet and gained three strokes when Norman made 6. Zoeller made the turn in 34 and led by five strokes - went ahead by seven on the 14th, by eight after 15 holes, and by nine after 16. Norman's birdie at 17 trimmed the margin to eight. Siegel, a contender for 36 holes and Richard Fehr were low amateurs. Arnold Palmer missed qualifying after playing in 31 consecutive Opens. He is tied with Gene Sarazen for the most consecutive Opens played. Prize money reached a record $596,925, with $95,000 going to Zoeller.