2007 Open Championship

2007 Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates 19–22 July 2007
Location Angus, Scotland
Course(s) Carnoustie Golf Links
Tour(s) PGA Tour
PGA European Tour
Japan Golf Tour
Statistics
Par 71
Length 7,421 yards (6,786 m)
Field 156 players, 70 after cut
Cut 146 (+4)
Prize fund £4,200,000
€6,158,474
$8,637,720
Winner's share £750,000
€1,106,618
$1,542,450
Champion
Pádraig Harrington
277 (-7)

The 2007 Open Championship was the 136th Open Championship, played 19-22 July at Carnoustie Golf Links. Pádraig Harrington of Ireland defeated Sergio García of Spain in a playoff to take the title and his first major championship. A field of 156 players participated in the championship, and the purse was £4,200,000 (an increase of £200,000 over 2006); the winner received £750,000 (an increase of £30,000 over 2006).[1] Using conversion rates at the time of the tournament, the purse was €6,158,474 for the European Tour's Order of Merit rankings and $8,637,720 for the PGA Tour's money list.

Contents

History of The Open Championship at Carnoustie

Carnoustie hosted its first Open Championship in 1931 and the 2007 Open was the seventh to be held at Carnoustie, and third consecutive to end in a playoff. Carnoustie's prestige in the golf community is irrefutable as the list of champions includes Tommy Armour (1931), Henry Cotton (1937), Ben Hogan (1953), Gary Player (1968), Tom Watson (1975) and Paul Lawrie (1999). The 1999 championship was nicknamed "Carnastie" due to how difficult the course and conditions were. Frenchmen Jean van de Velde went into the 18th hole needing only a double-bogey to win the championship. He triple-bogeyed the hole and went to a playoff with Lawrie and Justin Leonard of the United States. Lawrie won the Open after a four hole playoff. Watson's win in 1975, his first of five Open Championships (and eight majors), came after a full-round playoff with Jack Newton of Australia.

Course layout

Front Nine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 OUT
Yardage 406 463 358 412 415 578 410 183 478 3,703
Par 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 3 4 36
Back Nine 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 IN TOTAL
Yardage 466 383 499 176 514 472 248 461 499 3,718 7,421
Par 4 4 4 3 5 4 3 4 4 35 71

Field

The field consisted of 156 golfers.[2] Seventy players made the 36-hole cut at 146 (+4) or better.

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Player Country Year(s) Won 1R 2R 3R 4R OVR Finish
Ernie Els  South Africa 2002 72 70 68 69 -5 (279) T4
Ben Curtis  United States 2003 72 74 70 65 -3 (281) T8
Tiger Woods  United States 2000, 2005, 2006 69 74 69 70 -2 (282) T12
Mark Calcavecchia  United States 1989 74 70 72 69 +1 (285) T23
Tom Lehman  United States 1996 73 73 74 73 +9 (293) T51
Mark O'Meara  United States 1998 74 72 76 74 +12 (296) T60
Sandy Lyle  Scotland 1985 73 73 73 79 +14 (298) T65

Missed the cut

Player Country Year(s) Won 1R 2R Overall
Paul Lawrie  Scotland 1999 73 74 +5 (147)
Justin Leonard  United States 1997 74 73 +5 (147)
John Daly  United States 1995 74 76 +8 (150)
Nick Faldo  England 1987, 1990, 1992 79 73 +10 (152)
Todd Hamilton  United States 2004 81 72 +11 (153)
Tony Jacklin  England 1969 78 83 +19 (161)

Round-by-round summary

First round (Thursday)

Sergio García led the field after the first round. When the Open was last held at Carnoustie in 1999, García shot a first round 89 and went on to miss the cut. Amateur Rory McIlroy shot the only bogey-free round on the day, finishing with a 68 (-3). McIlroy qualified for the Open by winning the European Amateur Championship for 2006. Tiger Woods began his campaign for his third straight Open Championship by shooting a 69 (-2), including an eagle at Hogan’s Alley, the famous 6th hole at Carnoustie. Paul McGinley shot a bogey-free round through 14 but then bogeyed the 15th and 16th holes. John Daly suffered an incredible swoon, scoring -5 after three birdies and an eagle on 11, only to get a double bogey on 12, triple bogey on 14, and three more bogeys on the way to a 74 (+3) for the round and eventually missed the cut. The scoring average on the day was 73.72 (+2.72).

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Sergio García  Spain 65 -6
2 Paul McGinley  Ireland 67 -4
T3 Markus Brier  Austria 68 -3
Ángel Cabrera  Argentina
Michael Campbell  New Zealand
Rory McIlroy (a)  Northern Ireland
Boo Weekley  United States
T8 K.J. Choi  South Korea 69 -2
Stewart Cink  United States
Pádraig Harrington  Ireland
Miguel Ángel Jiménez  Spain
Tiger Woods  United States

Second round (Friday)

Day 1 leader Sergio García shot a 71 (E) today to stay at −6 and led by 2 strokes. Amateur Rory McIlroy was the story of day 1 and shot a 76 (+5) to drop to +2 which put him in a tie for 31st going into the weekend. Paul McGinley shot a 75 (+4) to drop to even par; the Irishman had started the day in second place. Tiger Woods shot a disappointing 74 (+3) including a double bogey on the first hole. Mike Weir shot the best round of the day with a 68 (-3), which moved him into a tie for third place going into the weekend. The 36-hole cut fluctuated between +4 and +5 until it settled at +4, and the scoring average for the second round was 74.10 (+3.10).

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Sergio García  Spain 65-71=136 -6
2 K.J. Choi  South Korea 69-69=138 -4
T3 Miguel Ángel Jiménez  Spain 69-70=139 -3
Mike Weir  Canada 71-68=139
T5 Jim Furyk  United States 70-70=140 -2
Boo Weekley  United States 68-72=140
T7 Ángel Cabrera  Argentina 68-73=141 -1
Alastair Forsyth  Scotland 70-71=141
Retief Goosen  South Africa 70-71=141
J. J. Henry  United States 70-71=141
Andrés Romero  Argentina 71-70=141
Lee Westwood  England 71-70=141

Amateurs: McIlroy (+2), Weaver (+6), Ramsay (+9), Coupland (+11), Waring (+12), Matthews (+16).

Notable players who missed the cut

Player Country Score To par
Paul Lawrie  Scotland 73-74=147 +5
Justin Leonard  United States 74-73=147
Colin Montgomerie  Scotland 73-74=147
Henrik Stenson  Sweden 71-76=147
Phil Mickelson  United States 71-77=148 +6
David Toms  United States 71-77=148
Geoff Ogilvy  Australia 75-74=149 +7
John Daly  United States 74-76=150 +8
Davis Love III  United States 79-71=150

Third round (Saturday)

Sergio García shot a 68 (-3) to extend his lead to three strokes and was now at −9 after 54 holes. Paul McGinley rebounded from his second round 75 to shoot a 68 (-3), −3 for the tournament, in a tie for third place with six other players going into the final round. Tiger Woods shot a 69 (-2) which put him at −1 going into the weekend. At 8 strokes behind the leader it appeared that his quest for a third straight Open Championship would fall short. Tiger had never won a major when trailing after 54 holes. The best round on the day was an amazing 64 (-7) by Steve Stricker, which was the lowest ever for an Open Championship round at Carnoustie, and also tied the course record (Alan Tait scored 64 during a pro-am in 1994, and Colin Montgomerie scored the same during the Scottish Open in 1995). Stricker birdied five of the first seven holes en route to a bogey-free round with 7 birdies. Stricker was at +1 going into the day and ended the day in second alone, 3 strokes behind García. Chris DiMarco scored a 66 (-5) to move into the group tied for third at −3, six shots behind. García has never won a major championship, and for the first time in his career held the lead at a major championship heading into the final round. The only Spaniard to win the Open is Hall of Famer Seve Ballesteros, who has won it three times. The scoring average on the day was 71.61 (+0.61).

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Sergio García  Spain 65-71-68=204 -9
2 Steve Stricker  United States 71-72-64=207 -6
T3 Paul Broadhurst  England 71-71-68=210 -3
K.J. Choi  South Korea 69-69-72=210
Stewart Cink  United States 69-73-68=210
Chris DiMarco  United States 74-70-66=210
Ernie Els  South Africa 72-70-68=210
Pádraig Harrington  Ireland 69-73-68=210
Paul McGinley  Ireland 67-75-68=210
T10 Jim Furyk  United States 70-70-71=211 -2
Miguel Ángel Jiménez  Spain 69-70-72=211
Andrés Romero  Argentina 71-70-70=211
Vijay Singh  Fiji 72-71-68=211
Mike Weir  Canada 71-68-72=211

Fourth round (Sunday)

Another wild final round had numerous lead changes, and it came down to Sergio García, Andres Romero, and Pádraig Harrington in the final holes. García struggled at times during his only over-par round of the tournament, but was still at 8-under (+1 for the day) entering the last couple of holes. Meanwhile, Harrington had four birdies followed by an eagle at the 14th hole to move to 9-under for the championship, and stood on the 18th tee with a one-shot lead. Harrington went into the Barry Burn twice, but salvaged a double-bogey six to finish with a round of 67 (-4), 7-under for the tournament. García, who now had a one-shot lead on the par-4 72nd hole, found a greenside bunker with his approach shot. He left himself a ten footer (3 m) for par and the title, but the putt lipped out and he had to settle for a playoff, scoring a 73 (+2) for the round.

Romero shot par or better in every round, and had ten birdies Sunday. He was at 9-under after 70 holes with a two-stroke lead, but the Argentine was done in by a double bogey-bogey ending to finish a single stroke out of the playoff. The best round of the day was by Richard Green who shot a 64 (-7). The Australian equaled the course record during an Open set the previous day by American Steve Stricker, and set the target in the clubhouse on 279. He began the day at +2 and his round put him in a tie for fourth. Rory McIlroy shot +1 on the day, +5 for the tournament, to finish tied 42nd and win the silver medal for top amateur in his first Open.[3] The scoring average on the day was 72.79 (+1.79).

Place Player Country Score To par Winnings (£)
T1 Pádraig Harrington  Ireland 69-73-68-67=277 -7 Playoff
Sergio García  Spain 65-71-68-73=277
3 Andrés Romero  Argentina 71-70-70-67=278 -6 290,000
T4 Ernie Els  South Africa 72-70-68-69=279 -5 200,000
Richard Green  Australia 72-73-70-64=279
T6 Stewart Cink  United States 73-73-69-65=280 -4 145,500
Hunter Mahan  United States 69-73-68-70=280
T8 K.J. Choi  South Korea 69-69-72-71=281 -3 94,750
Ben Curtis  United States 72-74-70-65=281
Steve Stricker  United States 71-72-64-74=281
Mike Weir  Canada 71-68-72-70=281

Top amateur: Rory McIlroy (+5).

The first 10 players, plus ties, are invited to the 2008 Open Championship.

Full Leaderboard

Playoff (Sunday)

Pádraig Harrington became the first Irishman to win the Open Championship in 60 years, defeating Sergio García in a playoff. The four-hole aggregate playoff included holes 1, 16, 17, and 18. Harrington birdied the par-4 first hole while García bogeyed, a two-stroke edge. Both players parred the next two holes (García hit the pin on the par-3 16th but his ball rolled a distance away), so Harrington still led by two strokes heading into the dangerous 18th. Harrington played the hole more cautiously this time, and reached the green in three shots. García gave himself a chance by reaching the green in two, but his birdie putt burned the left edge. Harrington made his short bogey putt to become the first European winner of a major since Paul Lawrie of Scotland triumphed in a three-way playoff at Carnoustie in 1999; the win moved Harrington's world ranking up to sixth.

Place Player Country Score To par Winnings (£)
1 Pádraig Harrington  Ireland 3-3-4-5=15 E 750,000
2 Sergio García  Spain 5-3-4-4=16 +1 450,000

References

  1. ^ "Open prize fund increased to £4.2 million". 2007-07-03. http://www.opengolf.com/news/displayNewsItem.sps?id=60005951. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  2. ^ British Open field: Who's in, and how they got there - Golf - ESPN
  3. ^ Open debut has McIlroy dreaming of the Claret Jug, PGA 2007.

External links

Preceded by
2007 U.S. Open		 Major Championships Succeeded by
2007 PGA Championship
The Masters · U.S. Open · The Open Championship · PGA Championship