Hamilton wins Open after playoff with Els
BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2004 British Open | Wrap | 19 Jul 2004
He may have been unheralded leading into the event, but Todd Hamilton was certainly not an undeserving winner of the 133rd Open Championship this morning.
Last year Ben Curtis was outstanding in taking the title at Royal St Georges, but there will be forever, or at least until Curtis wins the event again, a question mark over the way the course was set up in 2003. This year however, there are no excuses for either Hamilton or those who finished behind him. The course was set up beautifully by the R&A as they set about redeeming some of their actions at Royal St Georges in 2003. Seve Ballesteros, who now finds himself commentating on the British Open, was moved to say it was the best set up he had seen at a British Open since 1980. Even putting exaggeration aside, it was a very fair test and Hamilton proved simply too good at a time when most felt his experience, or lack of it, at this level would tell in this most intense of golfing atmospheres.
While it is true that he has had a lack of experience at this level, he is no stranger to winning. He has been a prolific winner of money and titles over an eleven year period on the Japan Golf Tour, his first win there coming in 1993 and although he had a winless drought of five years until his Fujisankei Classic win last year, he dominated the Japan Golf Tour for much of 2003, winning four titles in that season.
This was Hamilton’s fourth appearance at the Open, twice missing cuts with his best being 44th in 1996 at Royal Lytham. He missed the cut last year at Royal St Georges but managed to again earn a start this year via his 3rd position on the 2003 money list in Japan in 2003. This year however, he was coming off twenty events on the 2003 PGA Tour, one of those his win at the Honda earlier in the season, but his last few events gave no indication of what was to come. In fourteen USPGA Tour starts since the win at the Honda Hamilton had not finished closer than 21st, hardly the sort of lead up to bring confidence to him or his supporters.
He opened with a solid first round of even par 71, playing late in the day, but when he holed from the fairway on the par four seventh for an eagle on day two, things were looking up. He consolidated that brilliance by finishing with a 67 to have him at four under and within three shots of thirty-six hole leader, Skip Kendall. A bogey free third round of 67 had him leading by one over Els as that pair teed off in the last group on day four and although he bogeyed the second, he quickly bounced back with birdies at the fourth and fifth to again take the lead after being headed briefly by Els.
Ahead, Phil Mickelson was also making his move. An eagle at the par five fifth had him at eight under and looking to silence his British Open critics. He birdied the 7th and made two crucial putts from fifteen feet for par at the 9th and 10th holes to be at nine under and sharing the lead with both Els and Hamilton. After making several good pars Mickelson eventually dropped a shot at the 13th, but followed with a birdie at the 16th after two great hits to the front of the green. He then parred the 17th after a brilliant pitch and when he hit the green at the 18th, he likely knew the importance of the putt he faced from long distance. Although he hit a fine putt, he was unable to make it and effectively his chance was gone.
Els and Hamilton both made mistakes at the tenth with Hamilton a bogey and Els a double bogey. When they walked to the 11th tee Hamilton was at eight under and Els at seven. Mickelson was ahead by one at that stage but Hamilton and Els were about to unleash some of the classiest golf one could wish to see under such pressure. Hamilton made a brilliant three at the 11th to join Mickelson in the lead and then when Mickelson bogeyed the 13th, the lead was Hamilton’s alone. Mickelson bogeyed the 14th to slip back to eight under and when Hamilton birdied the 14th and the 16th it appeared the two shot margin he had established over Mickelson and Els may have been too great. Nobody told Ernie that however and with a birdie from 12 feet at the 16th and another from a similar distance on the 17th after a great tee shot, he was within one and with the dangerous 18th to come.
Both players took iron from the tee and Els found the fairway. Hamilton now needing to make par to force an Els birdie, missed the fairway from the tee then pulled his second left and short of the green, some fifty five yards from the hole. With Hamilton unable to get up and down, Els all of a sudden had a putt from 13 feet to win the Open Championship. It was a weak effort as it fell short and left and so it was to the four hole playoff.
Both parred the first two holes but when they reached the 3rd (the course’s par three seventeenth) it was surprisingly Els who cracked first. Hamilton had hit his tee shot to eighteen feet and two putted for par. Els missed the green left and was faced with a very difficult up and down. He chipped to twelve feet but missed the sliding left to righter and again they headed to the 18th tee with Els one behind. This time Hamilton again missed the fairway right but it was not as bad as the previous visit. From 220 yards he was able to get within ten yards of the front of the green. Els, again from the fairway, hit a delightful seven iron to twenty feet. Hamilton ran his bump and run shot from well short of the green with a three wood to less than two feet and so Els knew what he needed to do. This time the putt looked very good but turned sharply at the finish, missing his last chance.
Todd Hamilton is therefore the 2004 Open Championship winner and a deserved one. He fought off all challengers and displayed a calm and precision to his game that belied his lack of experience in this league.
Time will tell where he goes with it from now. Ben Curtis is still battling back from his surprise victory last year and six years ago another Japan Tour success, Brian Watts, lost a playoff to Mark O’Meara before slipping from the scene. Something tells me however, that despite being 38 years of age, the name Todd Hamilton will stand the test of time to a much greater extent.
