2004 Open Championship News

July 2004

Sunday

• Open Championship Notebook: Westwood inspired — Lee Westwood believes his best-ever finish in a major is just a sign of things to come, while Vijay Singh needs some rare time off to regroup before the PGA Championship and the final hole at Troon turned into a Love-fest. Plus, Jerry Kelly hustles back to Milwaukee, while low amateur Stuart Wilson will be back at work Monday morning, and more.
• Woods now reduced to talking about contending — Tiger Woods failed to win a major for the ninth time in a row Sunday at Royal Troon, and has finished an average of eight shots back in those losses. Where once all he discussed was winning, Woods now can only talk about what he needs to do to get back into the hunt in future majors.
• Els haunted by the Open-winning putt that got away — Ernie Els had a 10-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole of The Open Championship Sunday, but misread it. An hour later, he lost a playoff to Todd Hamilton, and admitted afterward that he will be thinking about that lost chance to win his second Open title for along time.
• Mickelson can't wait for next year at St. Andrews — Don't get Phil Mickelson wrong. He's disappointed about coming up short in The Open Championship on Sunday, but he's also very encouraged. After having never finished in the top 10 in the Open, his third-place finish at Royal Troon has him believing he's come to grips with links golf and salivating for another chance to win on the famed Old Course in 2005.
• Montgomerie falls short but proves he's not done yet — Colin Montgomerie didn't win The Open Championship on his home course of Royal Troon, as he failed to mount a rally on Sunday. But a strong performance in front of a supportive crowd proved that he's still an elite player and worthy of a wild-card selection to the European Ryder Cup team.
• Hamilton stuns Els in playoff to win claret jug — Move over Ben Curtis. You have company in the major shocker department. Little-known Todd Hamilton stared down the best players in the world and never blinked Sunday, winning the 133rd Open Championship in a stunning four-hole playoff over three-time major winner Ernie Els at Royal Troon Golf Club.
• Sunday Q&A with TNT's Billy Kratzert — TNT course reporter Billy Kratzert spent two hours Sunday morning in the tower off the 18th green and got a first-hand look at what the players faced at Royal Troon Golf Club. In his opinion, the conditions were the toughest they had been all week. He also offered his thoughts on surprise third-round leader Todd Hamilton's chances.

Saturday

• The Open is poised for a dramatic finish on Sunday — Ten players, half of them major champions, are within five shots of the lead heading into the final round at Royal Troon, setting up a final round that should have a little bit of everything. The fantastic finish will include everyone from superstars like Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods to journeymen like Todd Hamilton and Barry Lane to sentimental favorites like, yes, Colin Montgomerie.
• Open Championship Notebook: Tough day for Kendall — Plus, the Royal Troon rough does damage to Davis Love, Retief Goosen can join an exclusive club, something is missing from Mark Calcavecchia's scorecard, Lee Westwood is looking for consistency, while Ian Poulter wants somebody to buy his pants and all Darren Clarke can do is laugh.
• Lucky bounce keeps Lefty in bounds and in the hunt — Benefiting from a timely ricochet off a man's leg that kept a wayward shot in bounds, Phil Mickelson finished the third round only two shots off the lead. Now he is hoping that his extra practice at Troon last week will pay off for him on Sunday.
• After two near-misses, Els hopes Sunday is his day — Ernie Els believes he can win his fourth major title on Sunday, after finishing second at the Masters and in the top 10 at the U.S. Open. Anyone within four shots has a good shot at the Claret Jug, he says, including surprise leader Todd Hamilton, whom Els says has the stuff to be a major champ.
• Big names chasing unheralded Hamilton at Royal Troon — Rich Beem. Shaun Micheel. Ben Curtis. Why not Todd Hamilton? Setting the stage for another possible major shocker, Hamilton, an American known only by hard-core golf fans, shot himself to the top of the leaderboard at the 133rd Open Championship with a second straight 67 Saturday that left him alone at 8-under. But several of the game's biggest stars are within striking distance.
• Woods gets off the blistering start at Royal Troon — While unlikely midway leader Skip Kendall (left) was beginning his chase for history Saturday, a host of likely challengers were closing in on him at the 133rd Open Championship. Chief among them was Tiger Woods, who birdied four of his first seven holes to get to 5-under. Also making moves on a misty day at Royal Troon were Phil Mickelson, Scott Verplank, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, all also 5-under.

Friday

• Mickelson emulates Palmer with a charge of his own — After playing it safe on Thursday, Phil Mickelson came out swinging on Friday and put himself right backing the thick of things at The Open Championship. His charge was similar to those made famous by his idol Arnold Palmer, and now he hopes to further emulate Palmer, who won the 1962 Open at Troon.
• Open Championship Notebook: Monty's dream lives on — Plus, Ernie Els is frustrated with his putting, while Vijay Singh says he likes his position heading into the weekend. After a nine-year absence, Michael Campbell is back in contention, while Retief Goosen hopes his steadiness will lead to a second straight major victory, and more.
• Kendall's late eagle lands him atop Troon's leaderboard — Skip Kendall has played 310 career PGA Tour events without winning a single one. But thanks to a late eagle at Royal Troon Golf Club, the 40-year-old Florida resident finds himself perched atop the leaderboard at the 133rd Open Championship. Kendall eagled No. 16 for a 5-under 66 to get to 7-under par for a one-shot lead over France's Thomas Levet.
• Curtis among former Open champs to miss the cut — Ben Curtis, who shocked the golf world by winning the 2003 Open, missed the cut Friday by four shots. Joining Curtis among the early departures from Royal Troon are former champs Greg Norman and Nick Faldo, along with 2003 U.S. Open winner Jim Furyk and PGA Championship runner-up Chad Campbell.
• Friday Q&A with TNT's Billy Kratzert — TNT course reporter Billy Kratzert offers his thoughts on the first round of the 133rd Open Championship, among them the conditions at Royal Troon Golf Club, the somewhat surprising showing of the Americans in the field, and what he thought of Tiger Woods' opening 70. Check back each day during the Championship for another edition of his Q&A.

Thursday

• Campbell, Singh sitting pretty on blustery day at Royal Troon — While most of the field fought hard to master Royal Troon on a windy Friday at the 133rd Open Championship, Vijay Singh and New Zealand's Michael Campbell steered clear of any disasters and shared the clubhouse lead at 4-under par. Lurking in a pack three back was Tiger Woods, who was steady but not spectacular while carding an even-par 71.
• Open Championship Notebook: Mickelson feels left out — Phil Mickelson can't keep up with the leaders on a good day for scoring, while Chris DiMarco is just happy to be at Royal Troon after a trip gone awry. Plus, Ian Poulter makes another fashion statement, while former Open champ Tom Weiskopf had an unhappy return to Troon, and more.
• Els' opening day is a tale of two memorable par 3s — On the par-3 eighth hole Thursday, Ernie Els was perfect. But nine holes later on the par-3 17th hole, he looked more like a weekend hacker. His hole-in-one on the eighth had him thinking about leading the Open, but his double-bogey on the 17th left him lamenting what might have been.
• After an opening 70, Tiger is well placed to pounce — Tiger Woods never threatened the top of the leaderboard Thursday at Royal Troon, but his opening round of 1-under 70 left him in good shape to make a run for the Claret Jug as the week wears on. Using a 4-iron off several tees, Woods played a smooth and sensible round, and said he was happy with the way he controlled his shots.
• Monty has a happy return in front of his hometown fans — The cheers of encouragement for local favorite Colin Montgomerie detonated like mortar blasts around the tees and greens of Royal Troon, where Montgomerie first flailed a club at the age of six. Montgomerie responded with smiles for his loyal fans and an encouraging opening round of 2-under 69.
• Q&A with TNT course reporter Billy Kratzert — TNT course reporter Billy Kratzert, a former PGA Tour veteran with four victories to his credit, sat down with PGA.com managing editor John L. Byrwa on Thursday morning at Royal Troon Golf Club to give his thoughts on the 133rd Open Championship. Check back each day during the Championship for another edition of his Q&A.

Tuesday & Wednesday

• Open Notebook: Scott not one to dump Butch — Tiger Woods may not want Butch Harmon as his coach anymore, but Adam Scott sure likes the arrangement. Plus Kenny Perry reflects on his awesome run last year; Ben Curtis used to be quite the pig farmer; the R&A likes the setup at Royal Troon; and an early tee time for Brad Faxon.
• APs Dahlberg: The Tiger mystique factor is gone — Eight majors have come and gone since Tiger Woods last won one. In fact, he's not even the bookies' favorite pick this week at the 133rd Open Championship. As AP's Tim Dahlberg writes, the Woods mystique and intimidation factor are gone and one thing can bring them back -- a win.
• Of gorse: Professional tips on playing Troon — Brian Anderson has been the head professional at Royal Troon for the past 34 years. In this exclusive feature, he provides his thoughts on what players must do -- and not do -- to be successful at this week's 133rd Open Championship.
• Bjorn insists no bad dreams for Open he let get away — Thomas Bjorn had the Open Championship in his back pocket last year before imploding on the 16th hole, where he left not one but two shots in a greenside bunker. But the Dane enters the 133rd Open Championship at Royal Troon intent on putting his blunder behind him.
• The two faces of Royal Troon — Perhaps no other links course in the Open Championship has two nines that are more diverse than at Royal Troon, where the relatively easy front nine leads to a back nine that, when the wind is blowing hard off the Irish Sea, can send scores soaring.
• Calcavecchia returns to Troon hoping for another miracle — Mark Calcavecchia won his first and only major at Royal Troon 15 years ago, thanks to a stroke of good luck. Now 44 and knowing his time is running out, he returns to the Open Championship hoping lightning strikes again.

June 2004

• Open and Closed: Final qualifiers determined — Monday's 36-hole final qualifiers for the British Open brought heartbreak for several big-name players who had hoped to pick up the claret jug at Royal Troon next month. Chief among them was British star Justin Rose, whose chances disappeared with a killer triple-bogey. Also missing out were Ian Woosnam, Jose Maria Olazabal and Jesper Parnevik.

March 2004

• Major accomplishment — India's Jyoti Randhawa fired a 4-under 68 Wednesday at the Saujana Golf and Country Club to earn a trip to Royal Troon in Scotland, July 15-18, along with Australia's Scott Barr and Kim Felton and Japan's Yoshinobu Tsukada.

January 2004

• An outstanding test of links golf — The Open Championship will return to Carnoustie in 2007, eight years after Frenchman Jean Van de Velde shocked us all with collosal collapse on the final hole.
• Troon-bound — First-round co-leader Adam Le Vesconte mastered his nerves Wednesday and fired a 3-under 69 at Kingston Heath in Melbourne to earn at berth in 2003 Open Championship to be played at Royal Troon.
• James Kingston earns top spot in Open qualifying — South Africa's James Kingston earned a place at this year's Open Championship with victory at the International Final Qualifying-Africa event, played at Atlantic Beach near Cape Town.
• South Africans share Open qualifying lead — The South African pair of James Kingston and Louis Oosthuizen shared the lead on six-under par 66 after the first round of the Open Championship International Final Qualifying tournament at Atlantic Beach.
• Open qualifying under way in South Africa — A two-club wind from the south-east is making scoring conditions difficult at South Africa's Atlantic Beach course as play gets under way in the first international final qualifying event for The Open Championship.
• Chase for Open glory starts in Cape Town — The first four players to win a place in the field for The 2004 Open at Royal Troon will be decided in South Africa on Thursday and Friday this week when the first ever International Final Qualifying event is held at Atlantic Beach near Cape Town.

2003 News

• More grandstand seats for Troon Open — There will be 2,000 more grandstand seats available for spectators when The Open returns to Royal Troon in July 2004 than when Justin Leonard won the Championship over the famed links in 1997.
• Open IFQ draw for Australasia — The draw for the second of five International Final Qualifying tournaments for The Open Championship is now published under Qualification.
• Strong entry for first Open Championship international qualifying — An international field from 10 countries including 45 from South Africa will be competing at Atlantic Beach Golf Club on January 8-9 in the first of five International Final Qualifying competitions for the 2004 Open Championship.
• Clarke, Westwood and Goosen sign up for Troon — Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood have sent in early entries for the 2004 Open Championship at Royal Troon.
• Closing dates for first international Open qualifying — The closing date for entries to the first International Final Qualifying competition ever held is tomorrow, Thursday, December 4.
• Coltart and Frost enter international qualifying — Andrew Coltart of Scotland and South Africa's David Frost will start their campaign for the 2004 Open Championship title at the first International Final Qualifying event which will be played at Atlantic Beach, Cape Town on January 8-9.
• Clarke's 383-yard Open drive — The average driving distance achieved by the 156 players who took part in The Open Championship at Royal St George's was 295 yards.
• St George's action captured on video — Dramatic action from the 132nd Open Championship at Royal St George's has been graphically captured on the official video.
• Open qualifying date change for Australasia — The Australasian International Final Qualifying event for the 2004 Open Championsip will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday January 20-21, 2004, one day later than previously announced.
• Open ticket prices frozen for 2004 — Ticket prices for The Open Championship have been frozen for the second time in three years.
• Old Course hazards brought back into play — When the Open Championship returns to St Andrews in July 2005 the Old Course will measure 7,275 yards, 160 more than when Tiger Woods won the title in 2000.
• Bjorn to try again for Open victory — Two of the leading players from the battle for The Open at Royal St George's in July have sent in early entries for the 2004 championship to be played at Royal Troon.
• First entry for 2004 Open at Royal Troon — The first player to enter for the 2004 Open Championship at Royal Troon is Gary Birch jnr, who made rapid progress through the European Challenge Tour after turning pro in July 2001.

2003 Open Championship Archives

• Relive last year's exciting Open! — Take a look back at what made 2003 such an exciting year for Open Championship golf.