2004 Open Championship

Infobox_Individual_Golf_Tournament
tournament_name = 2004 Open Championship


dates = July 15 - 18, 2004
location = flagicon|Scotland Troon, Scotland
course = Royal Troon Golf Club
tour = PGA Tour
PGA European Tour
Japan Golf Tour
par = 71
yardage=7,150
field = 156 players, 73 after cut
cut = 145 (+3)
purse =£4,000,000
€6,001,690
$7,490,400
winners_share =£720,000
€1,078,430
$1,348,272
Champion = Todd Hamilton
Score = 274 (-10)The 2004 Open Championship was the 133rd Open Championship, played from July 15 to July 18 2004 at Royal Troon Golf Club. Todd Hamilton held off Ernie Els in a playoff after carding a final round 69. Phil Mickelson finished third, followed by Lee Westwood in fourth. The win made Todd the fifth consecutive American winner to win the open at Royal Troon. The purse was £4,000,000, and the winner received £720,000. Using conversion rates at the time of the tournament, the purse was €6.001.690 for the European Tour's Order of Merit rankings and $7,490,400 for the PGA Tour's money list.

History of The Open Championship at Royal Troon

Royal Troon first hosted The Open Championship in 1923 and the 2004 Open was the 8th to be held at there. Royal Troon's list of champions includes Arthur Havers (1923), 4 time Open winner Bobby Locke (1950), 7 time major winner Arnold Palmer (1962), Tom Weiskopf (1973), Tom Watson (1982), Mark Calcavecchia (1989) and Justin Leonard (1997).

Course

Round-by-round summary

First round (Thursday)

Englishman Paul Casey and Frenchman Thomas Levet both held a two shot lead over a group of nine players after both carding a 5 under 66. The group at 3 under included amateur Stuart Wilson and Fiji's Vijay Singh. Defending champ Ben Curtis carded a 4 over 75. In total there were 39 rounds under par, 25 of those being in the 60s. Home favourite Colin Montgomerie started with a 2 under 69.

Fourth round (Sunday)

A see saw final round led to a two man playoff between Todd Hamilton and Ernie Els. Hamilton, playing in only his eighth major, looked like a sure bet to win after chipping in for birdie from 30 feet on the par-3 14th to get to 10 under. Then he holed a 12-foot birdie on the par-5 16th to keep his cushion. Els had to make birdies to keep up, and he came through with pure putts on the 16th and 17th. Then came the wild 72nd hole, with Hamilton holding a one shot lead. Hamilton pushed his iron off the tee and into the rough, then chopped it across the fairway next to a guard railing that restricted his swing. Els hit his approach to within the shadow of the flag, a 12-foot birdie attempt. Hamilton chipped to 20 feet and missed to take bogey. Els suddenly had a putt to win, but left it short. Phil Mickelson carded a final round 68 to finish a shot back at nine under. A round of 67 moved Lee Westwood into sole fourth, only Davis Love III matching that round on day four.

Playoff (Sunday)

After 72 holes, Hamilton and Els both were tied on 10 under par, requiring a four hole playoff, first used in the 1989 Open held at Royal Troon, played over the 1st, 2nd, 17th and 18th. Both players pared the first two holes, befor reaching the 222 yard par 3 17th. Todd managed a par 3, however Ernie could only manage a bogey 4 at best. Els pared the last leaving Hamilton a par putt to win the Open, which he subsequently holed. Els had all four rounds in the 60s for the second time in an Open without winning; the other time was at Royal St. George's in 1993.

External links

* [http://www.opengolf.com/history/past_results.sps?tourn=2004041&pageno=-1 Full Results]
* [http://www.opengolf.com/ The Open Championship official site]
* [http://www.pga.com/openchampionship/2004/ The 2004 Open Championship site]