2007 Open Championship

Infobox_Individual_Golf_Tournament
tournament_name = 2007 Open Championship


location = flagicon|Scotland Angus, Scotland
course = Carnoustie Golf Links
dates = July 19 - 22, 2007
tour = PGA Tour
PGA European Tour
Japan Golf Tour
par = 71
yardage= 7,421
field = 156 players, 70 after cut
cut = 146 (+4)
purse =£4,200,000
€6,158,474
$8,637,720
winners_share =£750,000
€1,106,618
$1,542,450
Champion = Pádraig Harrington
Score = 277 (-7)The 2007 Open Championship was the 136th Open Championship, played from July 19 to July 22 2007 at Carnoustie Golf Links. Pádraig Harrington defeated Sergio García in a playoff to take the title. 156 players participated in this year's Championship. The purse was £4,200,000 (an increase of £200,000 over 2006), and the winner received £750,000 (an increase of £30,000 over 2006). [cite web|url=http://www.opengolf.com/news/displayNewsItem.sps?id=60005951|title=Open prize fund increased to £4.2 million|date=2007-07-03|accessdate=2007-07-16] 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.

History of The Open Championship at Carnoustie

Carnoustie first hosted The Open Championship in 1931 and the 2007 Open was the 7th to be held at Carnoustie. 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 was. 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. Lawrie won the Open after a four hole playoff.

Course layout

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

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 Irishmen finished in second place on day 1. Tiger Woods shot a disappointing 74 (+3) including a double bogey on the 1st hole. Mike Weir shot the best round of the day with a 68 (-3). That moved him into a tie for 3rd place going into the weekend. The cut was at +4. Late in the day it fluctuated between +4 and +5 until it settled at +4. The scoring average on the day was 74.10 (+3.10).

Fourth round (Sunday)

Another wild final round had numerous lead changes, and it came down to Sergio García 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 (+1 for the day) entering the last couple of holes. Harrington meanwhile had four birdies followed by an eagle at 14 to move to -9 for the tournament, and went to the 18th hole with a one-shot lead. Harrington went into the burn twice, but salvaged a double-bogey 6 to finish with a round of 67 (-4), -7 for the tournament. García, who now had a one-shot lead himself on the 72nd hole, found a greenside bunker with his approach shot. He left himself a ten footer 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.

Andrés Romero shot par or better in every round, and had ten birdies Sunday. He got to -9 late in the day, but was done in by a double bogey, bogey finish to end his round one shot 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 4th. The scoring average on the day was 72.79 (+1.79).

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

" [http://www.golfsurround.com/openchampionship/2007/scoring/index3.html 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 playoff included holes 1, 16, 17, and 18. Harrington birdied the first hole while García bogeyed, giving Harrington a two-stroke edge. The two players each parred the next two holes (García hit the pin on the par-3 16th but his ball rolled a distance away), and Harrington still lead by two strokes heading into 18. Harrington played the hole more cautiously this time, reaching 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 then made his short bogey putt for the win. He was the first European winner of a major since Briton Paul Lawrie triumphed at Carnoustie in 1999, and the win moved his ranking up to No. 6 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

References

External links

* [http://www.opengolf.com/history/past_results.sps?tourn=2007060&pageno=-1 Full Results]
* [http://www.opengolf.com/ The Open Championship official site]
* [http://www.opengolf.com/players/entry_list.sps?ipage=0 List of participants]