Tees2Greens on Golf

Well, here we are again, half way through the FedEx Cup and only about four guys even have a remote shot at winning the $10 million, and if Vijay gets a 10,501-point lead over second place next time around, he can’t lose even if he DQs during the final week.  There are ways he could lose, but even if Sergio Garcia wins the next two tournaments, Vijay still wins if he finishes with two thirds or with a second and an eighth place. Even if Singh finishes dead last in the next two events only a player in the top 24 with two wins could beat him.

If Singh has two last-place finishes, Garcia would still need a first and a third at BMW and THE TOUR Championship, or a fifth at BMW and a win in Atlanta. Mike Weir would need a win and a second at BMW and THE TOUR Championship, or a third at BMW and a win in Atlanta.

Everybody else needs to win twice and hope Singh falls asleep at the wheel and finishes last twice, and the chances of that happening are almost non-existent. Justin Leonard could help his checkbook $10 million ways with a second at BMW and a victory at THE TOUR Championship, but no one else has a chance, as long as Singh earns any points at all in both events. Leonard could pull off two wins and grab 128,888 points that would mean Singh would need 8,388 in the two events, which is equivalent to two fifth-place finishes.  Our boy Jim Furyk would have 127,729 points with two wins, only 7,229 more than Singh's already has. All Vijay needs is two ninth-place finishes to overcome that hill.

I may be wrong, but it looks like the self-proclaimed “best putter in the world” has ruined Tim Finchem’s surprise party.

By the way, in addition to the prize money at each event, did you know that there is a $35 million bonus pool at stake, with the winner receiving $10 million? The second-place finisher gets $3 million, and payouts will be made all the way down to 150th place , which is six spots outside the cutoff for qualifying for the playoffs and that makes no sense at all.  Here's the catch: This bonus money is deferred. It will be paid immediately, but into a tax-deferred retirement account. I know that you’ll agree that life is hard when you have to wait for the money.

Maybe the best reason to watch the BMW is the great golf course. The history of Bellerive Country Club goes back to 1897 in north St. Louis as a nine-hole course with 166 members. Back then it was known as the St. Louis Field Club. Perhaps the Field Club didn’t sound fancy enough; in any case, in 1910, the membership incorporated as Bellerive Country Club, naming the club after Louis St. Ange De Bellerive, the last French commander in North America. That same year, Scotsman Robert Foulis designed the “new Bellerive” in Normandy where the club remained for 50 years, but you knew that, didn’t you?

Under the leadership of a couple of dudes named Hord Hardin and Clark Gamble, the membership decided to move west in 1955, and allowed legendary architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr. to pick a prime farm location for the new site. The so called “Green Monster of Ladue Road” opened on Memorial Day, 1960.

In 1963, Mayor Raymond Tucker asked Hardin if Bellerive would pursue hosting the U.S. Open in 1965 to coincide with the St. Louis Bicentennial Celebration. With the USGA’s cooperation, Bellerive became the “youngest” course to ever host the Open. Gary Player won the event by defeating Kel Nagle in a playoff after the two had tied at two-over-par 282. Player then donated his entire $25,000 check to cancer research and junior golf.

The ‘65 Open was the first of many national and world championships to be held at Bellerive. In 1981, they hosted the inaugural Mid-Amateur Championship that was won by St. Louis native Jim Holtgrieve. Nick Price captured his first major by winning the PGA Championship there in 1992. The 2001 American Express World Golf Championship, scheduled for September of that year, was cancelled due to the events of 9-11. Major championship golf returned to Bellerive in 2004 when the club played host to the U.S. Senior Open. Peter Jacobsen won his first senior major by besting a stellar field of competition that included local favorites Hale Irwin and Jay Haas.

The golf course has just undergone a year-long renovation and reopened in October, 2006. Rees Jones, son of original architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr., was entrusted with this project.

I’ll enjoy the course, and I’ll enjoy the golf… on TiVo. Sorry Tim. Go Cowboys.

Most of the time when you look at the stats of a tournament it is easy to see how the champion won. Not so at the Barclays. Sure, Vijay rolled in a big one on the first playoff hole and Sergio turned into Sergio on the second hole, but other than that there was 20 minutes worth of excitement crammed into four hours.

According to the stats, Vijay didn’t drive the ball particularly well. Sure, he was long, in the neighborhood of 290 yards, but that was only good enough for 13th.  On the accuracy side of that coin, he was a so-so 66th hitting the fairways.

His four rounds of 70, 70, 66 and 70 consisted of 50 pars, 15 birdies, 7 bogeys and no eagles for a total of 276, which, as you know was a very popular score that day.  His putting was good but not great, he finished tied for 34th, which is not all that good when you consider that he was tied for 6th in greens in regulation.

Sergio on the other hand finished first in putts per greens and tied for second in putts per round.  And had he won, I guess we’d be talking about his putting, but alas he didn’t win, and on the second playoff hole he didn’t look close to winning.

Our boy Kevin Sutherland, who also shot 276, had the same kind of round that Vijay did except for the 73rd hole.  He was 25th in putts per round, 18th in driving distance and 21st in driving accuracy.  He had 16 birdies, 48 pars and 8 bogeys, but all that was moot when he pulled his second shot on the 73rd hole and suddenly he looked totally out of place.

Ben Curtis continued to play well, but when all was said and done that funny looking swing left him one birdie short of making the playoff.  Looking at the stats it was his putts per round that kept him close, but that wasn’t enough when he finished tied for 49th in putts per green in regulation.

Justin Leonard finished a respectable 7th, which is kind of the story of his year. He made lots of birdies (18), but made 10 bogeys to balance it out. Mike Wier’s problems were mostly with the driver finishing 68th in distance and 25th in accuracy.  In the fourth round he average only 234.5 yards and that makes it difficult to compete at that level.

The young stud of 2008, Anthony Kim, was long and wild finishing 8th in distance and 66th in accuracy. That may have had something to do with him finishing tied for 47th in greens in regulations.

The rock Jim Furyk finished out of the top ten with driver troubles, and Steve Stricker did the same. Phil Mickelson struggled to finish in the top twenty. Frankly, he’s not going to win anything if he ties for 63rd in driving accuracy and 62nd for greens in regulations.

The young guns like Trevor Immelman and Camilo Villegas were never in the hunt. Red-hot Kenny Perry finished tied for 42nd, and PGA Champion Padraig Harrington finished tied for 92nd and didn’t make the cut. And just in case you were wondering, Adam Scott finished damn near last, but don’t worry he still has enough points to bore you next week.

So, what does all this mean? Has Vijay found the fountain of youth?  Is Sergio, Justin or Ben Curtis going to win the Cup without winning a playoff tournament and is that even possible? Are Phil and Adam Scott just messing around?

I know it’s early, and I know that you can actually skip one of the events and still win the whole thing.  Someone did that last year if I recall.

Early or not, if the favorites keep messing around, somebody like David Toms might win… Sorry he finished 121st so he won’t be there for round two.

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Greatness does not necessarily require a challenger, but it helps. Magic Johnson would have been great without Larry Bird and vice-versa. However, there is one thing that we all know for sure; it was great fun to watch the two go at each other.

Golf rivals are no different. Bobby Jones had his Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen; Ben Hogan had his Byron Nelson and Sam Sneed; Arnold Palmer had his Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player; and Jack Nicklaus had his Lee Trevino and Tom Watson and a half dozen others. But exactly who has Tiger got? Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott, or is it now Padraig Harrington?

Only time will tell if Tiger really has a Bird to his Magic, a Batman to his Joker, or a Fred to his Barney?

Perhaps I’m not giving Phil, Adam or Padraig enough credit, or maybe I’m giving them too much. There’s a better than even chance that the next great challenger, the Tiger killer, the next coming, the foil, the measuring stick is still to come? The question is, will he toss a rubber snake at Tiger like Trevino did Jack, or chip in on seventeen like Tom Watson did? I ask these questions for the good of golf, or at least for my own viewing pleasure.

Right now it’s Anthony Kim’s turn to be the next challenger, but only time and Tiger will tell if he can measure up. We had the same expectations for Sergio Garcia a few years ago. He was going to challenge Tiger every week, and he was going to do it all while still learning to speak English. Granted, he has had a nice run, but in the four previous times that he has had the opportunity to be the man at a major, he didn’t get the job done.

I think of Adam Scott in the same way. He’s a great player, but he seems unable to grab the game or Tiger by the throat when the opportunity presents itself.

Padraig Harrington is an enigma. He’s not some twenty-something kid trying to make his move. He’s 37 years old and one of only six people in the world still playing Wilson Staff. I wish he was the kid coming from out of nowhere to capture the title, but he’s not. Certainly he’s got that steely-eyed look and a fearless charm about him. Still, with a two shot lead, he did bounce the ball off the bridge at the ’07 British Open, and didn’t he hit his drive into the rough on 18 at this year’s Open giving Sergio one more chance to choke? Tiger killers don’t do that, or they will become one more notch on Tiger’s belt.

I don’t know if Tiger takes measure of every new challenger; somehow I doubt it, after all there’s a new one every week. However, if there ever was an opportunity to set the stage to challenge Tiger in 2009 this is it, the 2008 FedEx Cup.

There are 35 players under the age of 30 playing this week. On the other hand there are also 35 players 40 and over. There are 28 tournament winners playing, four of them multiple winners. There are also 22 major winners with 32 titles including the guy that has won three out of the last six. All in all, there are 136 players from 15 countries (eight players are absent), seven of which have actually won the Barclays in the past.

Is there a Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Sam Sneed, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, or Tom Watson among them? Is Phil, Adam, Padraig, Serigo, Camilo, Luke, or Anthony ready to become Tiger’s Joker?

Wouldn’t it be really cool to have a both Butch and Sundance playing every week?

Between the remarkable PGA Championship just completed, and the always-exciting Ryder Cup set for the middle of September, is the FedEx Cup, the PGA’s attempt to manufacture a playoff system that I expect, when all is said and done, will be neither remarkable nor exciting.

Perhaps my great grandfather, “Old Bogey” Johnson, felt the same way when the PGA Championship was established way back when, and all that is missing is the years required to make it a tradition… Perhaps.

On the other hand, what if anyone of the 5,000 non-golfing Saudi Princes decides to buy FedEx and dumps the Tournament? Do we need another Nike, Hooters, Nationwide, what’s the name of that Tour fiasco? But wait, the FedEx Cup is actually sponsored by The Barclays, Deutsche, BMW and Coca-Cola isn’t it? The point is, the U.S. Open, the Masters, British Open and the PGA Championship remain steadfast regardless of who the sponsor happens to be in 1908 or 2008 and that’s the way it ought to be.

I don’t care if NASCAR has the Winston Cup, or is that the NEXTEL Cup, or whatever it is this year. They also have Mullets haircuts and sleeveless tee shirts and I don’t want either one of those.

But the real problem is that the FedEx Cup is an answer to a question that nobody is asking. Tell the truth, do you care that Kenny Perry is the only guy with two good legs that has more than 20,000 points, and did you know or care that Jim Gallagher, Jr. has only 24 points? Does it make any difference to you that vacationing Tiger Woods already banked 22,695 points in only six events and it’s taken Phil Mickelson seventeen events to rack up 18,241?

And, have you considered that PGA Champion Padraig Harrington, who is arguably playing the best golf in the world right now, only has 15,555 lousy points?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if the question is “Who is the Player of the Year” then we already know the answer to that question regardless of how many FedEx points they have. If the question is who has the most wins, or has made the most money, or has the lowest scoring average, then we already know the answer to those questions as well.

I don’t know what I am hoping the FedEx Cup will render, but I would just as soon skip rounds one through three and get it over with, and I’m pretty sure Paul Azinger feels the same way.

In the sport of kings the athletes are horses, and trainers track every race and every workout; track and field coaches chart their athletes in the same way. The objective of this process is to help the athlete peak at exactly the right time. Too much work and you peak too soon, too little and you don’t peak soon enough. From this information it is clear that it is impossible to stay in peak form all of the time. Performance levels rise and fall at predictable intervals throughout the year. The better the athlete the longer they can stay in shape, but make no mistake about it, everybody’s performance level eventually falls off… everybody.

Paul Azinger’s team of athletes are being asked to play in the PGA Championship, then four weeks of FedEx Cup before arriving for the Ryder Cup. It is a grueling task to be sure. Who will arrive at the top of their game? Probably no one, and that’s a rotten shame for the players and you and I who were hoping to see their “A” game.

About the Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is one of the most spirited, exciting and compelling events in sport, covering nearly 80 years, involving the greatest players in the world and producing some of the greatest moments in the game. In 2008, the U.S. will face Europe, which scored a stunning 18 to 9 victory over the United States in 2006 at The K Club in Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland. Captain Nick Faldo will lead the 2008 European Ryder Cup Team.

Paul Azinger will captain the 2008 United States Ryder Cup team when the biennial matches against Europe are held at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky, Sept. 16-21, 2008.

Ninety years ago, a Princeton man by the name of Rodman Wanamaker invited a group of golfers to lunch at the Taplow Club in New York. Although it wasn’t on the menu, by the end of the meal they had cooked up the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA), and the rest is history.

As the richest guy at lunch, Rodman Wanamaker did more than pick up the check that day, he forked over 2,500 bucks and a slick looking trophy. Then, as if to prove that golfers are smarter than your average jock, some guy in the back of the room shouted, “Let’s call it the Wanamaker Trophy.” Seven months later an Englishman by the name of Jim Barnes grabbed the prize money and Wanamaker Trophy at Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, New York, then promptly asked his caddie to hold his 5-iron while he went off to fight the First World War.

I don’t know why this department store tycoon was interested enough in golf to lay out 2,500 bucks; perhaps he was a groupie, but he did the same thing for track and field when he started up the Millrose Games. He also inaugurated the Wanamaker Mile and reportedly began the tradition of playing The Star Spangled Banner at sporting events.

Golf’s first Sugar Daddy was also a pioneer in sponsoring record-breaking aviation projects and an early backer of transatlantic flight. Commander Richard Byrd grabbed a few of Wanamaker’s bucks and piloted Wanamaker's airship America across the Atlantic just days after Lindbergh’s historic solo crossing proving once again that second place is just the first loser.

Rodman Wanamaker checked out for good in 1928 leaving among other things the world’s largest pipe organ, a Landaulette Rolls-Royce used by General Pershing in the ticker-tape parade celebrating the end of World War One, and his Palm Beach, Florida winter home, La Guerida, that he had built in 1923. The home was later purchased by Joe Kennedy for a $120,000 and would later become President John Kennedy’s “Winter White House.” But you may remember the house from the William Kennedy Smith rape trial. Is that six degrees of Rodman Wanamaker, or what?

So, as you stroll down the fairways of Oakland Hills this week, the site of 16 national and major championships: 6 U.S. Opens, two U.S. Senior Opens, U.S. Women's Amateur, U.S. Men's Amateur, Western Open, and Carling World Open; the 35th Ryder Cup in 2004; and three PGA Championships, including the 90th PGA Championship in 2008, you can turn to your buddy and say, “That Rodman Wanamaker was a hell of a guy, wasn’t he?”

The same year that Rodman Wanamaker said, “Let’s do lunch to the PGA” the South Course at Oakland Hills was opened. The course was designed by the foremost golf course architect of his day, Donald Ross. That same year, the Club also engaged its first golf professional, Walter Hagen, who had attended lunch that day with Rodman Wanamaker, and more importantly had already won the U. S. Open.

Thirty some odd years later, in preparation for the 1951 U.S. Open, the club directors once again gave foremost golf course architect of his day, Robert Trent Jones, a mandate: create the toughest course the players had ever encountered. That year, no player broke par the first round and the scoring average was 78.4. However, on Sunday Ben Hogan’s incredible 67 stole the show and started another legend.

Almost sixty years later, Rees Jones, the son of Robert Trent Jones, has taken on a different challenge. Due to improvements in players' skills and the changes in both the golf ball and golf equipment, Jones decided to add almost 400 yards to the Oakland Hills layout, but he didn’t stop there. And, although he may not have been given the same specific mandate as his father, the changes that were made were designed specifically to challenge today's greatest players. That would be six of one and a half a dozen of the other, as they say.

Obviously, there was a certain “Return to Mayberry” aspect about the whole thing. Here was Rees Jones renovating the course that helped make his father, Robert Trent Jones, famous. All the while the membership at Oakland Hills anxiously waited to see if Rees had sharpened the teeth of the Donald Ross classic and once again made Oakland Hills the supreme test for the strongest field in golf.

Enjoy the 90th PGA Championship; it should be special.

By now you already know what Michelle Wie shot in the first round of the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, or perhaps you don’t care, and I’m not sure I blame you.

In a story that has gone from a feel good teenage phenomenon, to a Shakespearean tragedy, to down right Jerry Springer, Michelle Wie, or whoever is pulling the strings, continues to make one poor decision after another.

That Michelle needs to keep her mouth shut and wear beige until she wins something is obvious to everyone except Michelle and her handlers. However, what is becoming more and more obvious is that playing on the PGA Tour is all about money for Michelle… not the money she hopes to win, cause that’s not about to happen, but the money she has already collected and the money she hopes to collect as a dancing bear.

The ten or twelve million bucks that Nike and others gladly handed the teenager a couple of years ago, now looks like a mistake, and if there is going to be a second and third check Michelle needs to stay in the spotlight. But when the dancing bear ceases to be cute and can’t learn any new dance steps, people stop buying tickets and writing checks.

At sixteen Michelle was a teenage phenomenon with a long fluid swing that reminded everyone of Tiger Woods. At 18 she is just another young lady trying to make it. You will notice that I didn’t say trying to play golf for a living, because I don’t think that’s what she is doing. Whether it’s greed, or stupidity, this terrific young athlete has gone from cute to pathetic, and is looking a lot more like Paris Hilton than Lorena Ochoa.

David Duval, a guy who knows a bit about the ups and downs of a career, said Michelle needs to focus on the Futures Tour, not the LPGA or the PGA. Jay Williamson called it a joke when he heard Wie would play in the Reno tournament.

But, Michelle doesn't care that some people think it's a bad idea, especially if the somebody is Jay Williams, about whom she said, "I don't know who he is.”

That’s cold.

In an odd mixture of innocence and logic, Michelle also said "I wish I had no critics, but I'm realistic. People will write negative things about me. The only thing I can control is myself. A good score will resolve everything."

Tiger, now that you have a lot of time on your hands, perhaps you could give Michelle and her handlers a call. Talk about the fact that even you didn’t go pro at sixteen. Remind them that you also went to Stanford, however you played for the Cardinal. You could spend a little time talking about your U.S. Amateur Championships and how playing in PGA Tour events as an amateur gave you the experience without the pressure to win. Remind them how Phil Michelson won a PGA Tour event as an amateur and still didn’t turn pro until he finished school, and how when you turned pro you won a tournament before the ink was dry…

Wait a minute. Here’s something hot off the press from Forbes.com.

“Wednesday, July 23, 2008. Hawaii's golf superstar Michelle Wie has been named one of the highest-paid female athletes by Forbes Magazine. Wie, 18, took the fifth spot on the list with her $12 million in earnings from endorsements, according to the magazine. She has endorsement deals with Nike and Sony, among others. Wie was previously named to the magazine's 20 Under 25 list of Top-Earning Young Superstars.”

On second thought, what the hell do I know? Michelle, you look kind of cute as a dancing bear.

As you and I try to adjust to golf without Tiger Woods, I wonder if PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem is doing the same.  In all likelihood he’s staying up nights trying to figure out how to hold on to his Tigerless TV audience.  One idea would be to have Jack Nicklaus pull a Greg Norman at the FedEx Cup, but that would require some sort of preemptive sponsor exemption, not to mention another hip replacement for old Jack. Imagine how humble old Jack would be if he were leading the FedEx Cup on the final Saturday.

Since the Commissioner fancies himself as a bit of a promotional gunslinger he might be thinking about Dancing with the Pros to snag a few more television viewers.  I may not know much about dancing, but I’m thinking Ian Poulter has to be better than Jerry Springer.  So what if all the girls are taller than Mike Weir, I’d pay money to see Woody Austin dancing with Edyta… actually I’d pay money to see Edyta without Woody, but that’s a different story.

Maybe a reality show would work better, something like, The PGA Bachelor.  The idea is that a gaggle of groupies try to get Adam Scott to marry one of them.  Each week’s winner gets to caddie and is judged on having the correct yardage and reading greens. In the last episode Adam pulls off his mask to reveal that he is actually Rocco Mediate… what a surprise ending. The ratings will go crazy.

I also like the idea of full contact golf.  I can see it now; each green is inside the cage guarded by an Extreme Fighter.  It’s a no holds barred, putt to the finish.  Sure the fighters may be big and mean, but they have never gone up against Vijay Singh’s long putter, or Trevor Immelman’s Nike spikes. So much for your rear naked choke, give Davis Love III a swing with a sand wedge and look out. Forget Kimbo Slice we got Bubba Watson and Shigeki Maruyama.

Too violent? Then how about Project Fairway where each golfer is forced to wear an haute couture ensemble designed especially for him by a spiked hair, body pierced, chartreuse wearing partner (and I don’t mean Ian Poulter). Granted, there are a few guys like Ian Poulter that will be the odds on favorite every week, so we’ll need to determine some sort of handicap system, but this is all out war. Never mind that those taffeta pants make a funny noise when they swing, bring on your plaids and argyles. Mix those animal prints with Spandex; let’s face it, there is nothing a golfer won’t wear… well, maybe not those thin shirts that show your boobs, but everything else.

How about turning the entire PGA Tour into Big Break 2008. Quick, somebody call the Golf Channel. I’ve heard it, and so have you; people saying that the Tour was more exciting without Tiger.  Bite your tongue. We’re getting to see a lot of new faces and all that crap. Let me repeat what I have said in the past about the Big Break… Guys who can play don’t need a Big Break and guys who need a Big Break can’t play.

Okay, I’m bored without Tiger.

Perhaps it is sound of Peter Thomson’s voice, or the crazy weather, or the course conditions, or links golf, or the snooty traditions, or as I suspect, all of the aforementioned combined that makes the Open (in China they call it food, and in Britain it’s the Open) so special. In any case it is a pleasant change to watch some of the world’s most pampered athletes trek through the pastures of Scotland with the wind rolling their socks down at every turn.

There is also a Wimbledon vs. Forest Hills aspect to it; the clean fast track versus torn up grass. Imagine a U.S. Open venue looking like St. Andrews? It’s enough to give Tim Fenchem a heart attack and leave Johnny Miller at a loss for words. Golf is a gentle sport in the U.S. A., and a gentleman’s sport in Scotland… and there is a difference.

I love the open, and if we can hold it together a couple more years, maybe the folks at Tees2Greens will put together an outing. It would be a hell of a lot of fun.

They say that there are 18 holes because that’s how many shots are in a bottle of Scotch Whisky, but there is nothing in golf history to confirm that lovely story. However, golf history does testify that more than 400 years after golf first appeared on Scotland's Tayside coast, Royal Birkdale will host the 2009 Open, which is nothing new since it also hosted the Open in 1954, 1961, 1965, 1971, 1976, 1983, 1991, 1998, 2008.

Located in Southport, Merseyside, England, Royal Birkdale is the golfing jewel of a stretch of beautiful links-land which runs almost uninterrupted for 20 miles north of Liverpool. The course was first established in 1889, but was extensively redesigned in 1922 by Fred Hawtree and J. H. Taylor to create the current layout, which is characterized by its picturesque, snaking course through the sand dunes, which tower over each of the fairways.

The Open was originally due to visit Royal Birkdale in 1940, but the advent of war delayed this until 1954; since then, however, the course has been (alongside Royal Lytham) the most regular venue for the Championship other than Saint Andrews. The 2008 Open marks the ninth visit of the event to the Merseyside links.

Course length for the Open is 7,173 yards, par 71. And, if you’re looking for that memorable moment it would be when the 19-year-old Severiano Ballesteros stunned the golfing world with his dazzling debut in 1976. He led by two going into the final round, but fell away and finished second. Three years later he would finally cash in at 1979 Royal Lytham.

Royal Birkdale was also the first Open championships for Peter Thomson. He returned to the same course in 1965 to add his fifth and final title. Arnold Palmer's victory in 1961 is recognised as the turning point in the fortunes of The Open, giving new life and international impact to the championship. Since 1971, American players have dominated Birkdale’s Opens, with only Australian Ian Baker-Finch in 1991 breaking the run of successes achieved by Lee Trevino (1971), Johnny Miller (1976), Tom Watson (1983) and Mark O'Meara (1998).

A Few Open Championship Records

Oldest Winner	Old Tom Morris, 1867, 46 years 99 days
Youngest Winner	Young Tom Morris, 1868, 17 years 5 months 8 days
Champions in Three Decades	Harry Vardon, 1896, 1903, 1911
Victories by Amateurs	3, Bobby Jones 1926-27-30
Most Victories	6, Harry Vardon, 1896, 98, 99, 1903, 11, 14
Most Times Runner-Up	7, Jack Nicklaus, 1964, 67, 68, 72, 76, 77, 79
Lowest Winning Aggregates	267 (66, 68, 69, 64) Greg Norman
Lowest Individual Round	63 - Mark Hayes, 2nd round Turnberry
Most of Rounds Under 70	33, Jack Nicklaus
Most Appearances	46, Gary Player
Most Appearances Before Win	16, Nick Price

And here is a list of every winner all the way back too 1860. You’ll notice that World War One and Two interrupted the Open back in the teens and forties, then everyone seemed to over sleep in 1871 creating a hole in the record books, but otherwise they have been teeing it up for 148 years. Is that cool, or what?

The Open Champions 1860 -2007

2007 - Padraig Harrington, Carnoustie
2006 - Tiger Woods Royal Liverpool
2005 - Tiger Woods St. Andrews
2004 - Todd Hamilton Royal Troon
2003 - Ben Curtis Royal St. George's
2002 - Ernie Els Muirfield
2001 - David Duval Royal Lytham
2000 - Tiger Woods St. Andrews
1999 - Paul Lawrie Carnoustie
1998 - Mark O'Meara Royal Birkdale
1997 - Justin Leonard Royal Troon
1996 - Tom Lehman Royal Lytham
1995 - John Daly St. Andrews
1994 - Nick Price Turnberry
1993 - Greg Norman Royal St. George's
1992 - Nick Faldo Muirfield, Scotland
1991 - Ian Baker-Finch Royal Birkdale
1990 - Nick Faldo St. Andrews, Scotland
1989 - Mark Calcavecchia Royal Troon
1988 - Seve Ballesteros Royal Lytham
1987 - Nick Faldo Muirfield, Scotland
1986 - Greg Norman Turnberry, Scotland
1985 - Sandy Lyle Royal St. George's
1984 - Seve Ballesteros St. Andrews
1983 - Tom Watson Royal Birkdale
1982 - Tom Watson Royal Troon
1981 - Bill Rogers Royal St. George's
1980 - Tom Watson Muirfield
1979 - Seve Ballesteros Royal Lytham
1978 - Jack Nicklaus St. Andrews
1977 - Tom Watson Turnberry
1976 - Johnny Miller Royal Birkdale
1975 - Tom Watson Carnoustie
1974 - Gary Player Royal Lytham
1973 - Tom Weiskopf Troon
1972 - Lee Trevino Muirfield
1971 - Lee Trevino Royal Birkdale
1970 - Jack Nicklaus St. Andrews
1969 - Tony Jacklin Royal Lytham
1968 - Gary Player Carnoustie
1967 - Roberto de Vicenzo Hoylake
1966 - Jack Nicklaus Muirfield
1965 - Peter Thomson Southport
1964 - Tony Lema St. Andrews
1963 - Bob Charles Royal Lytham
1962 - Arnold Palmer Troon
1961 - Arnold Palmer Royal Birkdale
1960 - Kel Nagle St. Andrews
1959 - Gary Player Muirfield
1958 - Peter Thomson Royal Lytham
1957 - Bobby Locke St. Andrews
1956 - Peter Thomson Hoylake
1955 - Peter Thomson St. Andrews
1954 - Peter Thomson Royal Birkdale
1953 - Ben Hogan Carnoustie
1952 - Bobby Locke Royal Lytham
1951 - Max Faulkner Portrush
1950 - Bobby Locke Troon
1949 - Bobby Locke Royal St. George's
1948 - Henry Cotton Muirfield
1947 - Fred Daly Hoylake
1946 - Sam Snead St. Andrews
1945 - Not played
1944 - Not played
1943 - Not played
1942 - Not played
1941 - Not played
1940 - Not played
1939 - Richard Burton St. Andrews
1938 - R.A. Whitcombe Royal St. George's
1937 - Henry Cotton Carnoustie
1936 - Alfred Padgham Hoylake
1935 - Alfred Perry Muirfield
1934 - Henry Cotton Royal St. George's
1933 - Denny Shute St. Andrews
1932 - Gene Sarazen Prince's
1931 - Tommy Armour Carnoustie
1930 - Robert Jones Jr. Hoylake
1929 - Walter Hagen Muirfield
1928 - Walter Hagen Royal St. George's
1927 - Robert Jones Jr. St. Andrews
1926 - Robert Jones Jr. Royal Lytham
1925 - James Barnes Prestwick
1924 - Walter Hagen Hoylake
1923 - Arthur Havers Troon
1922 - Walter Hagen Royal St. George's
1921 - Jock Hutchison St. Andrews
1920 - George Duncan Deal
1919 - Not played
1918 - Not played
1917 - Not played
1916 - Not played
1915 - Not played
1914 - Harry Vardon Prestwick
1913 - J.H. Taylor Hoylake
1912 - Edward Ray Muirfield
1911 - Harry Vardon Royal St. George's
1910 - James Braid St. Andrews
1909 - J.H. Taylor Deal
1908 - James Braid Prestwick
1907 - Arnaud Massy Hoylake
1906 - James Braid Muirfield
1905 - James Braid St. Andrews
1904 - Jack White Royal St. George's
1903 - Harry Vardon Prestwick
1902 - Alexander Herd Hoylake
1901 - James Braid Muirfield
1900 - J.H. Taylor St. Andrews
1899 - Harry Vardon Royal St. George's
1898 - Harry Vardon Prestwick
1897 - Harold Hilton Hoylake
1896 - Harry Vardon Muirfield
1895 - J.H. Taylor St. Andrews
1894 - J.H. Taylor Royal St. George's
1893 - William Auchterlonie Prestwick
1892 - Harold Hilton Muirfield
1891 - Hugh Kirkaldy St. Andrews
1890 - John Ball Prestwick
1889 - Willie Park Jr. Musselburgh
1888 - Jack Burns St. Andrews
1887 - Willie Park Jr. Prestwick
1886 - David Brown Musselburgh
1885 - Bob Martin St. Andrews
1884 - Jack Simpson Prestwick
1883 - Willie Fernie Musselburgh
1882 - Robert Ferguson St. Andrews
1881 - Robert Ferguson Prestwick
1880 - Robert Ferguson Musselburgh
1879 - Jamie Anderson St. Andrews
1878 - Jamie Anderson Prestwick
1877 - Jamie Anderson Musselburgh
1876 - Robert Martin St. Andrews
1875 - Willie Park Prestwick
1874 - Mungo Park Musselburgh
1873 - Tom Kidd St. Andrews
1872 - Tom Morris Jr. Prestwick
1871 - Not played
1870 - Tom Morris Jr. Prestwick
1869 - Tom Morris Jr. Prestwick
1868 - Tom Morris Jr. Prestwick
1867 - Tom Morris Sr. Prestwick
1866 - Willie Park Prestwick
1865 - Andrew Strath Prestwick
1864 - Tom Morris Sr. Prestwick
1863 - Willie Park Prestwick
1862 - Tom Morris Sr. Prestwick
1861 - Tom Morris Sr. Prestwick
1860 - Willie Park Prestwick