The 2012 Open Championship was a battle between two players using the anchored putting stroke. Adam Scott had a four-shot lead with four holes to play. However, he couldn't hold onto it. Instead, it was Ernie Els who won his fourth major and second Claret Jug at Royal Lytham and St. Anne's in England.
Els won more than $1.4 million, the winner's share of the $8 million purse.
2012 British Open leaderboard and final results and prize money payouts
| POS | PLAYER | TO PAR | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | TOTAL | MONEY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ernie Els | -7 | 67 | 70 | 68 | 68 | 273 | $1,405,890 |
| 2 | Adam Scott | -6 | 64 | 67 | 68 | 75 | 274 | $812,292 |
| T3 | Tiger Woods | -3 | 67 | 67 | 70 | 73 | 277 | $464,725 |
| T3 | Brandt Snedeker | -3 | 66 | 64 | 73 | 74 | 277 | $464,725 |
| T5 | Luke Donald | -2 | 70 | 68 | 71 | 69 | 278 | $304,610 |
| T5 | Graeme McDowell | -2 | 67 | 69 | 67 | 75 | 278 | $304,610 |
| T7 | Nicolas Colsaerts | -1 | 65 | 77 | 72 | 65 | 279 | $222,599 |
| T7 | Thomas Aiken | -1 | 68 | 68 | 71 | 72 | 279 | $222,599 |
| T9 | Miguel Angel Jimenez | E | 71 | 69 | 73 | 67 | 280 | $124,343 |
| T9 | Geoff Ogilvy | E | 72 | 68 | 73 | 67 | 280 | $124,343 |
| T9 | Ian Poulter | E | 71 | 69 | 73 | 67 | 280 | $124,343 |
| T9 | Alexander Noren | E | 71 | 71 | 69 | 69 | 280 | $124,343 |
| T9 | Vijay Singh | E | 70 | 72 | 68 | 70 | 280 | $124,343 |
| T9 | Matt Kuchar | E | 69 | 67 | 72 | 72 | 280 | $124,343 |
| T9 | Dustin Johnson | E | 73 | 68 | 68 | 71 | 280 | $124,343 |
| T9 | Mark Calcavecchia | E | 71 | 68 | 69 | 72 | 280 | $124,343 |
| T9 | Thorbjorn Olesen | E | 69 | 66 | 71 | 74 | 280 | $124,343 |
| T9 | Zach Johnson | E | 65 | 74 | 66 | 75 | 280 | $124,343 |
| T19 | Hunter Mahan | 1 | 70 | 71 | 70 | 70 | 281 | $79,277 |
| T19 | Steven Alker | 1 | 69 | 69 | 72 | 71 | 281 | $79,277 |
| T19 | Louis Oosthuizen | 1 | 72 | 68 | 68 | 73 | 281 | $79,277 |
| T19 | Bill Haas | 1 | 71 | 68 | 68 | 74 | 281 | $79,277 |
| T23 | Carl Pettersson | 2 | 71 | 68 | 73 | 70 | 282 | $60,044 |
| T23 | Simon Dyson | 2 | 72 | 67 | 73 | 70 | 282 | $60,044 |
| T23 | Steve Stricker | 2 | 67 | 71 | 73 | 71 | 282 | $60,044 |
| T23 | Peter Hanson | 2 | 67 | 72 | 72 | 71 | 282 | $60,044 |
| T23 | Matthew Baldwin | 2 | 69 | 73 | 69 | 71 | 282 | $60,044 |
| T23 | James Morrison | 2 | 68 | 70 | 72 | 72 | 282 | $60,044 |
| T23 | Nick Watney | 2 | 71 | 70 | 69 | 72 | 282 | $60,044 |
| T23 | Bubba Watson | 2 | 67 | 73 | 68 | 74 | 282 | $60,044 |
| T31 | Rickie Fowler | 3 | 71 | 72 | 70 | 70 | 283 | $47,124 |
| T31 | Anirban Lahiri | 3 | 68 | 72 | 70 | 73 | 283 | $47,124 |
| T31 | Jason Dufner | 3 | 70 | 66 | 73 | 74 | 283 | $47,124 |
| T34 | John Senden | 4 | 70 | 71 | 75 | 68 | 284 | $40,615 |
| T34 | Jim Furyk | 4 | 72 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 284 | $40,615 |
| T34 | Gary Woodland | 4 | 73 | 70 | 70 | 71 | 284 | $40,615 |
| T34 | Paul Lawrie | 4 | 65 | 71 | 76 | 72 | 284 | $40,615 |
| T34 | Keegan Bradley | 4 | 71 | 72 | 68 | 73 | 284 | $40,615 |
| T39 | Richard Sterne | 5 | 69 | 73 | 73 | 70 | 285 | $32,023 |
| T39 | K.J. Choi | 5 | 70 | 73 | 71 | 71 | 285 | $32,023 |
| T39 | Troy Matteson | 5 | 70 | 72 | 71 | 72 | 285 | $32,023 |
| T39 | Francesco Molinari | 5 | 69 | 72 | 71 | 73 | 285 | $32,023 |
| T39 | Padraig Harrington | 5 | 70 | 72 | 70 | 73 | 285 | $32,023 |
| T39 | Kyle Stanley | 5 | 70 | 69 | 70 | 76 | 285 | $32,023 |
| T45 | Ross Fisher | 6 | 72 | 71 | 74 | 69 | 286 | $23,180 |
| T45 | Bob Estes | 6 | 69 | 72 | 74 | 71 | 286 | $23,180 |
| T45 | Pablo Larrazabal | 6 | 73 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 286 | $23,180 |
| T45 | Lee Westwood | 6 | 73 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 286 | $23,180 |
| T45 | Rafael Echenique | 6 | 73 | 69 | 71 | 73 | 286 | $23,180 |
| T45 | Joost Luiten | 6 | 73 | 70 | 69 | 74 | 286 | $23,180 |
| T45 | Justin Hicks | 6 | 68 | 74 | 69 | 75 | 286 | $23,180 |
| T45 | Greg Chalmers | 6 | 71 | 68 | 71 | 76 | 286 | $23,180 |
| T45 | Simon Khan | 6 | 70 | 69 | 71 | 76 | 286 | $23,180 |
| T54 | Freddie Jacobson | 7 | 69 | 73 | 73 | 72 | 287 | $20,073 |
| T54 | Yoshinori Fujimoto | 7 | 71 | 70 | 73 | 73 | 287 | $20,073 |
| T54 | Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano | 7 | 71 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 287 | $20,073 |
| T54 | Greg Owen | 7 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 74 | 287 | $20,073 |
| T54 | Harris English | 7 | 71 | 71 | 70 | 75 | 287 | $20,073 |
| T54 | Thomas Bjorn | 7 | 70 | 69 | 72 | 76 | 287 | $20,073 |
| T60 | Rory McIlroy | 8 | 67 | 75 | 73 | 73 | 288 | $19,292 |
| T60 | Ted Potter, Jr. | 8 | 69 | 71 | 74 | 74 | 288 | $19,292 |
| T60 | Dale Whitnell | 8 | 71 | 69 | 72 | 76 | 288 | $19,292 |
| T60 | Jamie Donaldson | 8 | 68 | 72 | 72 | 76 | 288 | $19,292 |
| T64 | Charles Howell III | 9 | 72 | 71 | 74 | 72 | 289 | $18,589 |
| T64 | Lee Slattery | 9 | 69 | 72 | 75 | 73 | 289 | $18,589 |
| T64 | Retief Goosen | 9 | 70 | 70 | 75 | 74 | 289 | $18,589 |
| T64 | Sang-Moon Bae | 9 | 72 | 71 | 71 | 75 | 289 | $18,589 |
| T64 | Garth Mulroy | 9 | 71 | 69 | 72 | 77 | 289 | $18,589 |
| T69 | Jeev Milkha Singh | 10 | 70 | 71 | 76 | 73 | 290 | $17,964 |
| T69 | Aaron Baddeley | 10 | 71 | 71 | 74 | 74 | 290 | $17,964 |
| T69 | Adilson da Silva | 10 | 69 | 74 | 71 | 76 | 290 | $17,964 |
| T72 | Martin Laird | 11 | 70 | 69 | 82 | 70 | 291 | $17,339 |
| T72 | Chad Campbell | 11 | 73 | 70 | 74 | 74 | 291 | $17,339 |
| T72 | Juvic Pagunsan | 11 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 75 | 291 | $17,339 |
| T72 | Brendan Jones | 11 | 69 | 74 | 72 | 76 | 291 | $17,339 |
| T72 | Toshinori Muto | 11 | 67 | 72 | 74 | 78 | 291 | $17,339 |
| T77 | Tom Watson | 12 | 71 | 72 | 76 | 73 | 292 | $16,636 |
| T77 | Warren Bennett | 12 | 71 | 70 | 75 | 76 | 292 | $16,636 |
| T77 | Thongchai Jaidee | 12 | 69 | 71 | 74 | 78 | 292 | $16,636 |
| T77 | Branden Grace | 12 | 73 | 69 | 71 | 79 | 292 | $16,636 |
| T81 | John Daly | 14 | 72 | 71 | 77 | 74 | 294 | $16,168 |
| T81 | Rafael Cabrera Bello | 14 | 70 | 71 | 76 | 77 | 294 | $16,168 |
| 83 | Andres Romero | 18 | 70 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 298 | $15,933 |
| MC | Mardan Mamat | CUT | 77 | 72 | MC | MC | 149 | $0 |
| MC | Nick Cullen | CUT | 73 | 71 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | Marcel Siem | CUT | 74 | 70 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | George Coetzee | CUT | 74 | 70 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | Marcus Fraser | CUT | 71 | 73 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | Mark Wilson | CUT | 72 | 72 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | Anders Hansen | CUT | 68 | 76 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | Koumei Oda | CUT | 72 | 72 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | Marc Leishman | CUT | 69 | 75 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | Richie Ramsay | CUT | 71 | 73 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | Jbe' Kruger | CUT | 68 | 76 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | Raphael Jacquelin | CUT | 72 | 72 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | Y.E. Yang | CUT | 74 | 70 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | Justin Rose | CUT | 74 | 70 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | Sergio Garcia | CUT | 72 | 72 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | Charl Schwartzel | CUT | 69 | 75 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | Steven Tiley | CUT | 72 | 72 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | Aaron Townsend | CUT | 70 | 74 | MC | MC | 144 | $0 |
| MC | Scott Pinckney | CUT | 68 | 77 | MC | MC | 145 | $0 |
| MC | Tom Lehman | CUT | 73 | 72 | MC | MC | 145 | $0 |
| MC | Gregory Havret | CUT | 73 | 72 | MC | MC | 145 | $0 |
| MC | Kyung Kim | CUT | 75 | 70 | MC | MC | 145 | $0 |
| MC | Bo Van Pelt | CUT | 71 | 74 | MC | MC | 145 | $0 |
| MC | Morten Orum Madsen | CUT | 74 | 71 | MC | MC | 145 | $0 |
| MC | David Duval | CUT | 74 | 71 | MC | MC | 145 | $0 |
| MC | Stewart Cink | CUT | 72 | 73 | MC | MC | 145 | $0 |
| MC | Steven O'Hara | CUT | 74 | 72 | MC | MC | 146 | $0 |
| MC | Jonathan Byrd | CUT | 74 | 72 | MC | MC | 146 | $0 |
| MC | Ash Hall | CUT | 71 | 75 | MC | MC | 146 | $0 |
| MC | Barry Lane | CUT | 73 | 73 | MC | MC | 146 | $0 |
| MC | Sandy Lyle | CUT | 74 | 72 | MC | MC | 146 | $0 |
| MC | Todd Hamilton | CUT | 72 | 74 | MC | MC | 146 | $0 |
| MC | Alejandro Canizares | CUT | 74 | 72 | MC | MC | 146 | $0 |
| MC | Alan Dunbar | CUT | 75 | 71 | MC | MC | 146 | $0 |
| MC | Martin Kaymer | CUT | 77 | 69 | MC | MC | 146 | $0 |
| MC | Ryo Ishikawa | CUT | 74 | 72 | MC | MC | 146 | $0 |
| MC | Sam Walker | CUT | 76 | 70 | MC | MC | 146 | $0 |
| MC | Michael Thompson | CUT | 74 | 73 | MC | MC | 147 | $0 |
| MC | Toru Taniguchi | CUT | 72 | 75 | MC | MC | 147 | $0 |
| MC | Robert Allenby | CUT | 75 | 72 | MC | MC | 147 | $0 |
| MC | Stephen Ames | CUT | 74 | 73 | MC | MC | 147 | $0 |
| MC | Darren Clarke | CUT | 76 | 71 | MC | MC | 147 | $0 |
| MC | Daniel Chopra | CUT | 73 | 74 | MC | MC | 147 | $0 |
| MC | Lucas Glover | CUT | 72 | 76 | MC | MC | 148 | $0 |
| MC | Andrew Georgiou | CUT | 74 | 74 | MC | MC | 148 | $0 |
| MC | Troy Kelly | CUT | 72 | 76 | MC | MC | 148 | $0 |
| MC | Tadahiro Takayama | CUT | 77 | 71 | MC | MC | 148 | $0 |
| MC | John Huh | CUT | 75 | 73 | MC | MC | 148 | $0 |
| MC | Justin Leonard | CUT | 75 | 73 | MC | MC | 148 | $0 |
| MC | Hiroyuki Fujita | CUT | 76 | 72 | MC | MC | 148 | $0 |
| MC | Brad Kennedy | CUT | 75 | 73 | MC | MC | 148 | $0 |
| MC | Chez Reavie | CUT | 74 | 75 | MC | MC | 149 | $0 |
| MC | Ben Curtis | CUT | 75 | 74 | MC | MC | 149 | $0 |
| MC | Trevor Immelman | CUT | 74 | 75 | MC | MC | 149 | $0 |
| MC | Alvaro Quiros | CUT | 74 | 75 | MC | MC | 149 | $0 |
| MC | Robert Rock | CUT | 78 | 71 | MC | MC | 149 | $0 |
| MC | Johnson Wagner | CUT | 73 | 76 | MC | MC | 149 | $0 |
| MC | Prayad Marksaeng | CUT | 75 | 75 | MC | MC | 150 | $0 |
| MC | Kodai Ichihara | CUT | 77 | 73 | MC | MC | 150 | $0 |
| MC | Davis Love III | CUT | 71 | 79 | MC | MC | 150 | $0 |
| MC | Tim Clark | CUT | 76 | 74 | MC | MC | 150 | $0 |
| MC | Kevin Na | CUT | 73 | 77 | MC | MC | 150 | $0 |
| MC | Paul Casey | CUT | 72 | 79 | MC | MC | 151 | $0 |
| MC | Phil Mickelson | CUT | 73 | 78 | MC | MC | 151 | $0 |
| MC | Elliot Saltman | CUT | 76 | 75 | MC | MC | 151 | $0 |
| MC | Angel Cabrera | CUT | 71 | 81 | MC | MC | 152 | $0 |
| MC | James Driscoll | CUT | 76 | 76 | MC | MC | 152 | $0 |
| MC | Paul Broadhurst | CUT | 75 | 78 | MC | MC | 153 | $0 |
| MC | Richard Finch | CUT | 74 | 79 | MC | MC | 153 | $0 |
| MC | Michael Hoey | CUT | 79 | 75 | MC | MC | 154 | $0 |
| MC | Grant Veenstra | CUT | 77 | 79 | MC | MC | 156 | $0 |
| MC | Manuel Trappel | CUT | 74 | 83 | MC | MC | 157 | $0 |
| MC | Ian Keenan | CUT | 76 | 83 | MC | MC | 159 | $0 |
| WD | Russ Cochran | WD | WD | WD | WD | WD | -0 | $0 |
