Todd Hamilton

Todd Hamilton
— Golfer —

Personal information
Full name	William Todd Hamilton
Born	(1965-10-18) October 18, 1965 Galesburg, Illinois
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13.9 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Westlake, Texas
Children	Tyler, Kaylee, Drake
Career
College	University of Oklahoma
Turned professional	1987
Current tour(s)	Web.com Tour
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour (2004–12) Japan Golf Tour (1992–2003)
Professional wins	17
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	2
Japan Golf Tour	11
Other	4
Best results in major championships (Wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	T15: 2009
U.S. Open	T36: 2008, 2009
The Open Championship	Won: 2004
PGA Championship	T29: 2003
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour Rookie of the Year	2004

William Todd Hamilton (born October 18, 1965) is an American professional golfer.

Hamilton was born in the small west-central Illinois city of Galesburg. He grew up in an even smaller town, Oquawka, in Henderson County on the Mississippi River. He attended Union High School in Biggsville, Illinois. He attended the University of Oklahoma, where he played collegiately.

Hamilton turned professional in 1987 but was unable to gain entrance to the PGA Tour. Instead he played internationally for many years, primarily on the Japan Golf Tour. When he left the Japan Golf Tour, he was the tour's all-time leading non-Japanese money winner, with earnings of over 630 million yen (about $6.18 million in 2014 US dollars) with 11 tour wins.

After eight tries, at the age of 38, Hamilton went back to Qualifying School in 2003, where he finally earned his first PGA Tour card.

Hamilton won his first PGA Tour event at the 2004 Honda Classic. He birdied the final two holes to beat Davis Love III by one stroke at 12 under par. Later that year, Hamilton won a major championship in one of golf's all-time upsets when he defeated Ernie Els in a four-hole playoff to win The Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club. After shooting an opening round 71, Hamilton fired a second round 67 to move to -4 and a fifth-place tie with future World Golf Hall of Famers Els, Vijay Singh and Colin Montgomerie as well as Michael Campbell. Hamilton again shot a 67 in the third round to take a one-shot lead over Els. Entering the tournament's 72nd hole, Hamilton held a one-shot lead over Els, but Hamilton bogeyed the 18th hole, leaving Els with a 12-foot birdie putt for the win, which he missed. Els and Hamilton headed for the four-hole aggregate playoff, in which Hamilton carded four pars while Els managed three pars and a bogey, and Hamilton took the win.^[1]

These two victories in his first season on the PGA Tour led to Hamilton being named the 2004 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. He continued to play well in the wake of the Open Championship win, making the cut in the five remaining tour events he played. However, in his 187 subsequent tour starts, he missed the cut 111 times and had just three top-10 finishes.^[2] In 2006, Hamilton captained the American team in ITV's celebrity golf tournament, the All*Star Cup.

He lost his full exempt status on the PGA Tour in 2010. As of 2014, he was playing on the Web.com Tour^[3] as a bridge to the Champions Tour once he turns 50 in October 2015. His Official World Golf Ranking as of April 13, 2014 was 976,^[4] a far cry from his career high ranking of 16th in 2004.

Hamilton lives in Westlake, Texas.

Professional wins (17)

PGA Tour wins (2)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Mar 14, 2004	Honda Classic	−12 (68-66-6874=276)	1 stroke	Davis Love III
2	Jul 18, 2004	The Open Championship	−10 (71-67-67-69=274)	Playoff	Ernie Els

Japan Golf Tour wins (11)

1992 (1) Maruman Open
1993 (1) Acom International
1994 (2) PGA Philanthropy Tournament, Japan PGA Match-Play Championship Promise Cup
1995 (1) Token Corporation Cup
1996 (1) PGA Philanthropy Tournament
1998 (1) Gene Sarazen Jun Classic
2003 (4) Fujisankei Classic, Diamond Cup Tournament, Gateway to the Open Mizuno Open, Japan PGA Match-Play Championship

Other wins (4)

1992 (2) Singapore Rolex Masters, Maekyung Open
1994 (1) Thailand Open
1999 (1) Oklahoma Open

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
2004	The Open Championship	1 shot lead	−10 (71-67-67-69=274)	Playoff ¹	Ernie Els

¹ Defeated Ernie Els in 4-hole playoff: Hamilton (4-4-3-4=15), Els (4-4-4-4=16)

Results timeline

Tournament	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	CUT	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	T45	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	40	T39	CUT	CUT	T36	T15
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	T36	T36
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	1	CUT	T68	CUT	T32	CUT
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	T29	T37	T47	CUT	T66	CUT	DNP

Tournament	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Masters Tournament	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	T60	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	CUT	CUT	CUT	T73	CUT
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament	Wins	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	0	1	7	4
U.S. Open	0	0	0	0	7	3
The Open Championship	1	1	1	1	13	5
PGA Championship	0	0	0	0	6	4
Totals	1	1	1	2	33	16

Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (2007 PGA – 2008 Open Championship)
Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Quotes

"There are probably a lot of other golfers who deserve it talent-wise to win this, but I can guarantee you that there is no one that'll appreciate it more than me." – On winning his first PGA tour event the 2004 Honda Classic.

"I was trying to look around as much as I could to soak it all in, I've won tournaments around the world before, but nothing on a stage like this, so to be Open champion is very special." – On winning the 133rd Open Championship.

References

↑ "Troon – 2004 Results". The Open. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
↑ Rosaforte, Tim (July 29, 2013). "The Anonymous Champion". Golf Digest.
↑ "Todd Hamilton Tournament Results – 2014". ESPN. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
↑ "Todd Hamilton". OWGR. Retrieved April 15, 2014.

External links

Todd Hamilton at the PGA Tour official site
Todd Hamilton at the Japan Golf Tour official site
Todd Hamilton at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
Article about "outsider" Open Winners

The Open Championship champions

1860 Willie Park, Sr. 1861 Tom Morris, Sr. 1862 Tom Morris, Sr. 1863 Willie Park, Sr. 1864 Tom Morris, Sr. 1865 Andrew Strath 1866 Willie Park, Sr. 1867 Tom Morris, Sr. 1868 Tom Morris, Jr. 1869 Tom Morris, Jr. 1870 Tom Morris, Jr. 1871 No championship 1872 Tom Morris, Jr. 1873 Tom Kidd 1874 Mungo Park 1875 Willie Park, Sr. 1876 Bob Martin† 1877 Jamie Anderson 1878 Jamie Anderson 1879 Jamie Anderson 1880 Bob Ferguson 1881 Bob Ferguson 1882 Bob Ferguson 1883 Willie Fernie† 1884 Jack Simpson 1885 Bob Martin 1886 David Brown 1887 Willie Park, Jr. 1888 Jack Burns 1889 Willie Park, Jr.† 1890 John Ball# 1891 Hugh Kirkaldy 1892 Harold Hilton# 1893 William Auchterlonie 1894 John Henry Taylor 1895 John Henry Taylor 1896 Harry Vardon† 1897 Harold Hilton# 1898 Harry Vardon 1899 Harry Vardon 1900 John Henry Taylor 1901 James Braid 1902 Sandy Herd 1903 Harry Vardon 1904 Jack White 1905 James Braid 1906 James Braid 1907 Arnaud Massy 1908 James Braid 1909 John Henry Taylor 1910 James Braid 1911 Harry Vardon† 1912‡ Edward Ray 1913 John Henry Taylor 1914 Harry Vardon 1915-19 No Championships due to World War I 1920 George Duncan 1921 Jock Hutchison† 1922 Walter Hagen 1923 Arthur Havers 1924 Walter Hagen 1925 Jim Barnes 1926 Bobby Jones# 1927‡ Bobby Jones# 1928 Walter Hagen 1929 Walter Hagen 1930 Bobby Jones# 1931 Tommy Armour 1932‡ Gene Sarazen 1933 Denny Shute† 1934‡ Henry Cotton 1935 Alf Perry 1936 Alf Padgham 1937 Henry Cotton 1938 Reg Whitcombe 1939 Dick Burton 1940-45 No Championships due to World War II 1946 Sam Snead 1947 Fred Daly 1948 Henry Cotton 1949 Bobby Locke† 1950 Bobby Locke 1951 Max Faulkner 1952 Bobby Locke 1953 Ben Hogan 1954 Peter Thomson 1955 Peter Thomson 1956 Peter Thomson 1957 Bobby Locke 1958 Peter Thomson† 1959 Gary Player 1960 Kel Nagle 1961 Arnold Palmer 1962 Arnold Palmer 1963 Bob Charles† 1964 Tony Lema 1965 Peter Thomson 1966 Jack Nicklaus 1967 Roberto De Vicenzo 1968 Gary Player 1969 Tony Jacklin 1970 Jack Nicklaus† 1971 Lee Trevino 1972 Lee Trevino 1973‡ Tom Weiskopf 1974 Gary Player 1975 Tom Watson† 1976 Johnny Miller 1977 Tom Watson 1978 Jack Nicklaus 1979 Seve Ballesteros 1980 Tom Watson 1981 Bill Rogers 1982 Tom Watson 1983 Tom Watson 1984 Seve Ballesteros 1985 Sandy Lyle 1986 Greg Norman 1987 Nick Faldo 1988 Seve Ballesteros 1989 Mark Calcavecchia† 1990 Nick Faldo 1991 Ian Baker-Finch 1992 Nick Faldo 1993 Greg Norman 1994 Nick Price 1995 John Daly† 1996 Tom Lehman 1997 Justin Leonard 1998 Mark O'Meara† 1999 Paul Lawrie† 2000 Tiger Woods 2001 David Duval 2002 Ernie Els† 2003 Ben Curtis 2004 Todd Hamilton† 2005‡ Tiger Woods 2006 Tiger Woods 2007 Pádraig Harrington† 2008 Pádraig Harrington 2009 Stewart Cink† 2010 Louis Oosthuizen 2011 Darren Clarke 2012 Ernie Els 2013 Phil Mickelson 2014‡ Rory McIlroy

† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire in 72-holes; # indicates the event was won by an amateur

PGA Tour Rookies of the Year

1990 Robert Gamez 1991 John Daly‡ 1992 Mark Carnevale 1993 Vijay Singh† 1994 Ernie Els‡ 1995 Woody Austin 1996 Tiger Woods†∞ 1997 Stewart Cink† 1998 Steve Flesch 1999 Carlos Franco 2000 Michael Clark II 2001 Charles Howell III 2002 Jonathan Byrd 2003 Ben Curtis‡ 2004 Todd Hamilton‡ 2005 Sean O'Hair 2006 Trevor Immelman† 2007 Brandt Snedeker 2008 Andrés Romero 2009 Marc Leishman 2010 Rickie Fowler 2011 Keegan Bradley‡ 2012 John Huh 2013 Jordan Spieth† 2014 Chesson Hadley

‡ indicates won major in the year the golfer won award † indicates won major sometime in their respective golfing careers ∞ indicates won all four majors in the golfers career