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British Open History

The first Open Championship - 1860 - The 1st Open Championship - Prestwick

On 17 October 1860, the first Open Championship is played over the links at Prestwick. The competition is started by Prestwick Golf Club. The first competition is open to professionals only and entry is by invitation. A total of eight competitors participate in the Championship, which is played over 36 holes in a single day. Each of the three rounds are competed for over the 12 hole course at Prestwick. Willie Park Senior takes the title to become the first Open Champion. He scores 174, beating the favourite, Tom Morris Senior, by two strokes. The prize is an ornate Challenge Belt, subscribed for by Prestwick Golf Club members. Prixe money of £10 is introduced in 1863 and shared between the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place finishers, who are Tom Morris, David Park and Andrew Strath. This year's Champion, Willie Park, receives only the Challenge Belt.

1892 Radical changes made to improve The Open. The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers introduces four changes to the Championship that will transform the event. Prize money increases from £28/10s to £100. This is introduced to attract competitors in the face of a rival tournament being played at Musselburgh. Competitors are to pay a 10/- entry fee. Play is extended to two days over 72 holes, with two rounds played each day.

Champion uses new rubber-cored ball in 1902 on the 42nd Open Championship, Sandy Herd becomes the first Open Champion to win using a rubber-cored ball. He had only started using it the day before the competition, during practice with John Ball. Born in St Andrews, Herd had worked as an apprentice baker and then as a plasterer before taking up golf to earn a living. He finished in the top five at The Open on a remarkable thirteen occasions between 1892 and 1920.

Over 1907 Qualifying rounds are introduced to the Championship. The entire field has to qualify and there are no exemptions. Play, which has been over three days from 1904 to 1906, reverts to two days.

No Championship is played this year owing to the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. The Championship is next played in 1920.

On 1955 the 84th Open Championship at St. Andrews was broadcasted on television by the BBC for first time. On 1960 the Open reaches its centenary year and is competed for at St.Andrews, the home of golf. Weather conditions lead to the flooding of the Old Course and the abandoning of play on the final day. Players who start their final round on Friday afternoon have to start over again. The champion is Kel Nagle of Australia, who wins his only Open Championship, and Arnold Palmer takes second place. Grandstands are introduced to the Championship this year and will become a regular feature from 1963 onwards.

On 1963 at The 92nd Open A significant change is made to qualifying for The Open with the introduction of exemptions. In 1963, the list of players exempt from qualifying includes those who finished in the first 20 places at the 1962 Open, the last 10 Open and US Open Champions and players placed in the first 30 of the 1962 PGA Order of Merit. The last 5 Amateur and US Amateur Champions, the first 30 placed money winners in the USPGA Official List and the 1962 British Eisenhower Trophy Team are also exempt.

The 1970 Championship at St Andrews gets off to a troublesome start when play is interrupted on the first day because of rain. Going into the final round, Lee Trevino is two strokes ahead of Jack Nicklaus, Doug Sanders and Tony Jacklin. Lee Trevino finishes on 285, matched by Harold Henning, leaving Nicklaus two strokes ahead with a total of 283. Sanders is still on the course. Sanders' second shot at the 17th lands in the bunker but a single shot takes him close to the hole. At the 18th, he requires a four to win. In a fateful break in concentration, Sanders' putt misses the hole, losing him the title and putting him in a playoff with Jack Nicklaus. The two players compete in the first 18 hole playoff in the history of The Open. At the 14th hole, Nicklaus leads by four strokes but Sanders birdies the 14th and 15th and is just one stroke behind at the 18th. In a dramatic finish, Nicklaus' putt for victory appears to be about to miss but falls into the hole at the last moment. Nicklaus celebrates his second win by throwing his putter into the air, narrowly missing his opponent.

Over the 114th on the final day of the Championship, the early leader is José Rivero, who finishes on a final round of 68 for 284. Payne Stewart also takes a final 68 to finish on 283, but as an early finisher, his score goes almost unnoticed by the crowds. Sandy Lyle birdies the 15th to go into the lead. He then takes two pars before arriving at the 18th. At the 18th, two shots take him just to the left of the green. As Lyle's chip shot, to take him out of Duncan's Hollow, rolls back almost to his feet, he falls to the ground in frustration. When a putt rolls past the hole, he is suddenly in danger of taking a 6. His partner, Christy O'Connor, asks spectators for silence. Lyle putts the ball for a 5 and a new target aggregate of 282. David Graham and Bernhard Langer, who are still on the course, are now the only likely contenders for the title. Graham drops shots at the 15th, 16th and 18th to finish on 284. Langer arrives at the par four 18th needing a birdie to tie. His third shot hits the hole but runs past. He misses the return par to take a 5 and finish on 284. Sandy Lyle becomes the first British player to win since 1969.

From the 90's up to now

1990 on the 119th Open the glorious weather in St Andrews produced record crowds and low scoring. The 36 hole cut came at one under par 143. Nick Faldo played near flawless golf. He became the first player to break the 200 barrier for 54 holes when he finished his third round with an aggregate total of 199. He did not land in any bunkers until the 4th hole in the fourth round. He and Greg Norman were tied for the lead after two rounds on 132. Playing head to head in the third round, Faldo shot an error free 67 while Norman could only manage a 76. Faldo had a five stroke lead after three rounds and still maintained that margin over the field after four rounds, with a winning total of 270.

1991 on the 120th Open at the start of the fourth round, Ian Baker-Finch and Mark O'Meara were tied for the lead on 206. Going out last, Baker-Finch started with a par at the 1st and then birdied the 2nd, 3rd and 4th holes. A par at the 5th was followed by a pair of birdies at the 6th and 7th holes. Two more pars ended his front nine in 29 strokes and a five shot lead over O'Meara. Fred Couples launched a challenge against the Australian with consecutive birdies at the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th holes but could do no better than par for the remaining holes. Baker-Finch finished his round in 66 strokes, for a total of 272, two ahead of Mike Harewood.

1993 on the 122th Open Greg Norman and Bernhard Langer enter the final round of the 1993 Open one stroke behind defending Champion Nick Faldo and Corey Pavin. Pavin finishes on 70 to go out of contention. The other three players battle it out for the lead. At the 16th hole, Norman gets a birdie to go 14 under par. A final round 63 and Norman is assured of the title. Norman's score of 267 sets a new record for The Open. It is the lowest winning aggregate by an Open Champion. Earlier in the day, Ernie Els had become the first player to score four rounds all under 70 and Iain Pyman's 281 set the record for the lowest score by an amateur in the Championship. The reward for first prize is now £100,000.

1994 - It all came down to the last two holes. After three rounds, Nick Price and Jesper Parnevik were both tied for third place, a shot behind Fuzzy Zoeller and Brad Faxon. Parnevik took the Championship lead for the first time after a birdie at the 11th hole. He continued his assault on the course, holing his putt at the 17th and believed, at two strokes in front, that the Open title was his. Meanwhile, Price sank a birdie at the 16th and then holed an unbelievable 50-foot putt for an eagle at the 17th. Parnevik needed to make par at the 18th for a win, or in the worst case, a tie. However, he did not check the scoreboard as he stood at the 18th tee and assumed that he needed a birdie on the final hole. Parnevik's drive went down the right edge of the fairway and he decided to attack the pin with a pitching wedge. The ball fell short against a grassy bank and he was short with his recovery shot. He finished with a bogey five for a total of 269. That left Price needing to play the 18th in four strokes, which he did to win The Open Championship with a total of 268.

In the 1995 Open at St Andrews, with seven holes of the final left to play, John Daly seems a certain bet for the Championship. Over the final few holes, however, Costantino Rocca is able to pose a challenge for the title. Rocca birdies the 16th hole, while Daly takes a 5. At the next hole, Daly drops a stroke to narrow his lead to one stroke. Rocca's second shot at the 17th goes onto the road, hits the wall and lands back on the road to sit in a small depression. Rocca putts his ball out of an apparently impossible situation to within four feet of the hole. He holes his next putt to take par. Rocca arrives at the final tee needing a birdie three to tie for the Championship. His drive takes him just to the left of the green. His next shot travels barely 40 feet, however, and lands in the bottom of the Valley of Sin, about 60 feet from the hole. Rocca's next shot is remarkable. His putt goes through the Valley of Sin and lands in the hole. The crowd, previously sympathetic, are now ecstatic as Rocca ties for the title. The playoff, competed for over the first and last two holes, is less dramatic. Rocca takes a seven at the 17th to trail Daly by five strokes. John Daly wins the Championship.

On 1998 at the start of the final day, the little known American player Brian Watts held a two stroke lead over Jesper Parnevik, Jim Furyk and the Masters Champion, Mark O'Meara. The fourth round did not want for drama. Tiger Woods set a clubhouse total of 281 after a round of 66, while amateur golfer Justin Rose thrilled the crowd with a fourth place finish. At the top of the leader board, Watts was playing in the last pair, with O'Meara ahead of him. Down the back nine, the lead kept changing hands between the two of them. O'Meara finished with a 68 for a total of 280. Watts reached the 18th needing a birdie to win and a par to tie. His tee shot went into the rough on the left and then his approach shot landed short of the green and rolled into the left greenside bunker. From a down slope and his right foot out of the bunker, Watts played a perfect shot that landed about a foot from the hole. In the ensuing playoff, O'Meara birdied the 15th hole to take a one stroke lead and three more pars saw him home safely to win The Open Championship.

At the 128th Open by the end of the third round at the 1999 Open at Carnoustie, the leader by five strokes is French professional Jean Van de Velde. Van de Velde arrives at the 72nd hole still three strokes ahead and able to take a 6 for victory. His second shot, for which he uses a 2-iron, hits the grandstand before ending in rough behind the burn. His next shot lands in the burn, and the player enters the water to consider playing the ball. After taking a drop, he plays into a bunker. His playing partner, Craig Parry, plays out of the same bunker and straight into the hole for a birdie. Van de Velde, however, plays out to about six feet from the hole. He holes his putt to go into a playoff for the title. The other contenders are Paul Lawrie, who finished in sixth place at the 1993 Open, and Justin Leonard, the 1997 Open Champion. The playoff is over the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th holes. Lawrie and Leonard bogey the par four 15th and Van de Velde takes a 6. All three players bogey the next hole. Van de Velde birdies the 17th. Leonard takes a 4 while Paul Lawrie birdies it to move ahead by one stroke. Leonard's second shot at the 18th goes into the Barry Burn and he takes a 5. Lawrie finishes on another birdie to win the Championship. Paul Lawrie becomes the first Scottish player to win The Open since 1985 and the first qualifier to win since the introduction of exemptions in 1963.

At the 131th Open on 2002 for the first time ever, The Open ends in a 4-way tie. Ernie Els, Stuart Appleby, Steve Elkington and Thomas Levet play in a 4-hole playoff over the 1st, 16th, 17th and 18th holes. In another first, the 4-hole playoff ends in a tie between Els and Levet. In the sudden death playoff, Levet finishes on a five at the 18th. Els recovers from a shot into the left greenside bunker and single putts for a par four to become Open Champion.

2003 Ben Curtis finishes the Championship on 283 and two strokes behind Thomas Bjorn, who has three holes left to play. After landing in a bunker at the 15th, Bjorn drops a stroke. Bunker trouble and a 5 at the 16th hole put Bjorn into a tie with Curtis. A bogey by Bjorn at the 17th and it is twenty-six year old Ben Curtis who emerges Open Champion.

And on 2004 at the 133rd Open and for the second time in its' history, Troon is the setting for an Open playoff. Todd Hamilton and Ernie Els finish tied after a dramatic final round.Phil Mickelson finishes the Championship on 9 under par, helped by a birdie at the 16th. Els and Hamilton arrive at the 18th with one stroke between them. Hamilton is the leader at 11 under. Els' second shot takes him to twelve feet from the pin but Hamilton is in the rough. As his ball is near the barrier, Hamilton is allowed relief and takes a drop. His shot goes fifteen feet past the hole and a putt leaves him just short of it. Els has the opportunity to win if he can finish on a birdie. He takes par and the players finish in a tie.After two holes of the playoff, the players are even. Els drops a shot at the 17th and Hamilton takes par to move into the lead. They arrive at the 18th, again separated by one stroke.Hamilton's tee shot lands on the path, so he takes relief and drops back a few yards. His next shot leaves him short of the putting surface and a third takes him just to the right of the pin. Els' second shot lands fifteen feet from the flag. He is now in the difficult position of needing a birdie to win. His ball appears to be in but goes past the hole. Hamilton putts downhill to hole his ball and become the 2004 Open Champion.

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