The 2007 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 136th Open Championship, played from 19–22 July at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland. Pádraig Harrington defeated Sergio García 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 £4.2 million (an increase of £200,000 over 2006); the winner received £750,000 (an increase of £30,000 over 2006). 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 US$8,637,720 for the PGA Tour's money list.
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. Jean van de Velde stood on the 72nd tee with a three-shot lead, needing only a double-bogey to win. He memorably triple-bogeyed the hole and went to a four-hole playoff with Lawrie and Justin Leonard, in which Lawrie prevailed. Watson's win in 1975, his first of five Open Championships (and eight majors), came after an 18-hole Sunday playoff with Jack Newton.
Course layout
Carnoustie Golf Links – Championship Course HoleNameYardsPar HoleNameYardsPar1Cup4064 10South America46642Gulley4634 11Dyke38343Jockie's Burn3584 12Southward Ho49944Hillocks4124 13Whins17635Brae4154 14Spectacles51456Hogan's Alley ^5785 15Lucky Slap47247Plantation4104 16Barry Burn24838Short1833 17Island46149Railway4784 18Home4994Out3,70336In3,71835 Total7,42171 ^ the 6th hole was named Long until 2003
Lengths of the course for previous Opens:
1999: , par 71 1975: , par 72 1968: , par 72
1953: , par 72 1937: , par 72 1931: , par 72
Field The field consisted of 156 golfers.British Open field: Who's in, and how they got there – Golf – ESPN Seventy players made the 36-hole cut at 146 (+4) or better.
1. First 10 and anyone tying for 10th place in the 2006 Open Championship Ángel Cabrera (3,4,5,9), Chris DiMarco (3,17), Ernie Els (2,3,4), Jim Furyk (3,9,13,17,21), Sergio García (3,4,17), Carl Pettersson (3,13), Andrés Romero, Adam Scott (3,13), Hideto Tanihara, Tiger Woods (2,3,10,11,13,17)
2. Past Open Champions aged 65 or under Mark Calcavecchia, Ben Curtis, John Daly, Nick Faldo, Todd Hamilton, Tony Jacklin, Paul Lawrie, Tom Lehman, Justin Leonard, Sandy Lyle, Mark O'Meara Eligible but not competing: Ian Baker-Finch, Seve Ballesteros, David Duval, Johnny Miller, Greg Norman, Nick Price, Bill Rogers, Tom Watson, Tom Weiskopf
3. The first 50 players on the Official World Golf Rankings for 28 May 2007 Robert Allenby, Stephen Ames (12), Stuart Appleby (13), Aaron Baddeley, Chad Campbell (13,17), Paul Casey (4,17), K. J. Choi, Stewart Cink (13,17), Luke Donald (4,13,17), Joe Durant (13), Niclas Fasth (4), Retief Goosen (4,9,13), Anders Hansen (5), Pádraig Harrington (4,17), Charles Howell III, David Howell (4,5,17), Trevor Immelman (13), Zach Johnson (10,17), Robert Karlsson (4,17), Davis Love III (13), Phil Mickelson (10,11,12,13,17), Colin Montgomerie (4,17), Arron Oberholser, Geoff Ogilvy (9,13), Nick O'Hern (19), Rod Pampling (13), Ian Poulter (4), John Rollins, Justin Rose, Rory Sabbatini (13), Charl Schwartzel (4,20), Vijay Singh (11,13), Henrik Stenson (4,17), Richard Sterne, Steve Stricker, Vaughn Taylor (17), David Toms (13,17), Scott Verplank (17), Mike Weir (10), Lee Westwood (17), Brett Wetterich (13,17) Eligible but not competing: Tim Clark, José María Olazábal (17)
4. First 20 in the European Tour Final Order of Merit for 2006 John Bickerton, Thomas Bjørn, Paul Broadhurst, Johan Edfors, Jeev Milkha Singh (18), Anthony Wall
5. The BMW PGA Championship winners for 2005-2007
6. Top three players, not otherwise exempt, in the top 20 of the 2007 European Tour Order of Merit through 27 May Markus Brier, Raphaël Jacquelin, Yang Yong-eun
7. Top two players, not otherwise exempt, with the most European Tour prize money from the Italian Open through the French Open, including the U. S. Open Bradley Dredge, Graeme Storm
8. The leading player, not exempt having applied above, in the first 5 and ties of each of the 2007 European Open and the 2007 Barclays Scottish Open. Pelle Edberg, Grégory Havret
9. The U.S. Open Champions for 2003–2007 Michael Campbell
10. The U.S. Masters Champions for 2003–2007
11. The U.S. PGA Champions for 2002–2006 Rich Beem, Shaun Micheel
12. The Players Champions for 2005–2007 Eligible but not competing: Fred Funk
13. Top 20 on the Official Money List of the 2006 PGA Tour Brett Quigley
14. First 3 and anyone tying for 3rd place, not exempt having applied above, in the top 20 of the Official Money List of the 2007 PGA Tour on completion of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Nick Watney, Boo Weekley
15. First 2 PGA Tour members and any PGA Tour members tying for 2nd place, not exempt, in a cumulative money list taken from The Players Championship and the five PGA Tour events leading up to and including the 2007 AT&T National Hunter Mahan Eligible but not competing: Woody Austin
16. The leading player, not exempt having applied above, in the first 5 and ties of each of the 2007 AT&T National and the 2007 John Deere Classic Pat Perez, Jonathan Byrd
17. Playing members of the 2006 Ryder Cup teams Darren Clarke, J. J. Henry, Paul McGinley
18. Winner of the Order of Merit of the Asian Tour for 2006
19. First 2 on the Order of Merit of the PGA Tour of Australasia for 2006 Kevin Stadler
20. Winner of the Order of Merit of the Sunshine Tour for 2006/07
21. The Canadian Open Champion for 2006
22. The Japan Open Champion for 2006 Paul Sheehan
23. First 2 on the Official Money List of the Japan Golf Tour for 2006 Toru Taniguchi Eligible but not competing: Shingo Katayama
24. The leading 4 players, not exempt, in the 2007 Mizuno Open Yomiuri Classic Lee Dong-hwan, Lee Seong-ho, Toshinori Muto, Achi Sato
25. First 2 and anyone tying for 2nd place, not exempt having applied (24) above, in a cumulative money list taken from all official Japan Golf Tour events from the 2007 Japan PGA Championship up to and including the 2007 Mizuno Open Yomiuri Classic Tomohiro Kondo, Toshimitsu Izawa
26. The Senior British Open Champion for 2006 Loren Roberts
27. The 2007 Amateur Champion Drew Weaver (a)
28. The U.S. Amateur Champion for 2006 Richie Ramsay (a)
29. The European Individual Amateur Champion for 2006 Rory McIlroy (a)
International Final Qualifying Africa: Desvonde Botes, Adilson da Silva, Doug McGuigan, Terry Pilkadaris Australasia: Ben Bunny, Peter Fowler, Scott Laycock, Ewan Porter Asia: Ross Bain, David Gleeson, Adam Groom, Lam Chih Bing, Won Joon Lee America: Brian Davis, Mark Hensby, Charley Hoffman, Anders Hultman, Jerry Kelly, Matt Kuchar, Spencer Levin, Ryan Moore, Sean O'Hair, Michael Putnam, John Senden, Duffy Waldorf Europe: Fredrik Andersson Hed, Benn Barham, Grégory Bourdy, Peter Baker, Nick Dougherty, Mattias Eliasson, Ross Fisher, Alastair Forsyth, Mark Foster, David Frost, Peter Hanson, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, José-Filipe Lima, Graeme McDowell, Francesco Molinari, Oliver Wilson
Local Final Qualifying (Monday 9 July and Tuesday 10 July) Downfield: Jon Bevan, Scott Drummond, David Higgins Monifieth: Dave Coupland (a), Paul Waring (a), Llewellyn Matthews (a) Montrose: Justin Kehoe, David Shacklady, Matthew Zions Panmure: Kevin Harper, Steven Alker, Steve Parry
Alternates Richard Green – took spot not taken by Woody Austin Lucas Glover – replaced Shingo Katayama Tom Pernice Jr. – replaced José María Olazábal
Round summaries First round Thursday, 19 July 2007
Sergio García led the field with a six-under 65; eight years earlier in 1999, he shot 89 in the opening round at Carnoustie and missed the cut by eighteen strokes. Amateur Rory McIlroy had the only bogey-free round on the day at 68 (−3); he qualified for the Open by winning the European Amateur Championship in 2006.
Tiger Woods began his campaign for a third straight Open Championship with a 69 (−2), including an eagle at Hogan's Alley, the famous 6th hole at Carnoustie. Paul McGinley was bogey-free until the 15th and 16th holes and carded a 67. John Daly suffered an incredible swoon, scoring −5 after three birdies and an eagle on 11, then had a double bogey at 12, triple bogey at 14, and three more bogeys on the way to a 74 (+3) for the round and went on to miss the cut. The scoring average on the day was 73.72 (+2.72).
PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Sergio García 65 −62 Paul McGinley 67 −4T3 Markus Brier 68 −3 Ángel Cabrera Michael Campbell Rory McIlroy (a) Boo WeekleyT8 K. J. Choi 69 −2 Stewart Cink Pádraig Harrington Miguel Ángel Jiménez Tiger Woods Source:
Second round Friday, 20 July 2007
First round leader Sergio García shot a level par 71 to stay at −6 and led by two strokes. Rory McIlroy shot a 76 (+5) to drop to +2, tied for 31st going into the weekend. Paul McGinley's 75 (+4) dropped him to even par after starting the day in second place. Tiger Woods had a disappointing 74 (+3) which started with 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. The 36-hole cut fluctuated until it settled at +4, and the scoring average for the second round was 74.10 (+3.10).
PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Sergio García 65-71=136 −62 K. J. Choi 69-69=138 −4T3 Miguel Ángel Jiménez 69-70=139 −3 Mike Weir 71-68=139T5 Jim Furyk 70-70=140 −2 Boo Weekley 68-72=140T7 Ángel Cabrera 68-73=141 −1 Alastair Forsyth 70-71=141 Retief Goosen 70-71=141 J. J. Henry 70-71=141 Andrés Romero 71-70=141 Lee Westwood 71-70=141
Amateurs: McIlroy (+2), Weaver (+6), Ramsay (+9), Coupland (+11), Waring (+12), Matthews (+16).
Third round Saturday, 21 July 2007
Sergio García's 68 (−3) extended his lead to three strokes and was now at 204 (−9) after 54 holes. Paul McGinley rebounded with 68 (−3), three-under for the championship and tied for third place with six others. Tiger Woods shot a 69 (−2) which put him at −1 going into the weekend. At eight strokes behind the leader, his quest for a third straight Open Championship was improbable; he had never won a major when trailing after 54 holes.
The best round on Saturday was an amazing 64 (−7) by Steve Stricker, which was the lowest ever for an Open Championship round at Carnoustie. It 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 seven birdies and climbed the leaderboard into solo second place, three strokes behind García. Chris DiMarco's 66 (−5) moved him into a tie for third at −3, six shots back. García had yet to win a major championship, and for the first time in his career, led a major after 54 holes. The only Spaniard to win the Open is hall of famer Seve Ballesteros, with three titles. The scoring average on Saturday was 71.61 (+0.61).
PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Sergio García 65-71-68=204 −92 Steve Stricker 71-72-64=207 −6T3 Paul Broadhurst 71-71-68=210 −3 K. J. Choi 69-69-72=210 Stewart Cink 69-73-68=210 Chris DiMarco 74-70-66=210 Ernie Els 72-70-68=210 Pádraig Harrington 69-73-68=210 Paul McGinley 67-75-68=210T10 Jim Furyk 70-70-71=211 −2 Miguel Ángel Jiménez 69-70-72=211 Andrés Romero 71-70-70=211 Vijay Singh 72-71-68=211 Mike Weir 71-68-72=211 Source:
Final round Sunday, 22 July 2007