Posted on 07/18/2004 12:55:56 PM PDT by numberonepal
Playing with a putter from a used club bin Rookie American Todd Hamilton realized a dream win at the Open Championship. He started out playing with coffee cans his parents set up in his back yard as a child in the small Illinois town of Galesburg. He's been a journeyman player on the European and Japanese tours until this year. This year he finally got his tour card and promptly won the Honda Classic early in the year. British betting houses had not a single bet on this American who's best Open finish to date was 44th.
Drama
The back nine on Sunday at Royal Troon separated the men from the boys in the battle for the Claret Jug. A dramatic back nine finish left the tournament in a 4 hole playoff between American Todd Hamilton and South African Ernie Els.
WIth Mickelson on his was to a finish of -9 with pars on the last two holes, the drama of the back nine came to a head. The grouping of Hamilton and Els both holed birdies at the Par 5 16th. A remarkable birdie at the difficult Par 3 17th catapulted Els within one of Hamilton and one ahead of Mickelson.
Heading to the 18th hole Hamilton knew a par would get him into at least a playoff , Hamilton put his drive in the long rough down the right side. His lie was marginal, but did not look like it could be advanced very far. With 204 to the green he had little chance of putting for birdie. WIth an 8 iron he hacked it back to the left rough into the gallery. The gallery fence impaired his swing, and he was allowed a one club length drop into a decent lie. He landed it on the green about 20 ft past the hole. If Hamilton made this putt, Ernie Els would have been forced to make his birdie for a playoff, but he left it a bit short and made bogey. Els then missed his 10 ft birdie putt and sent the championship into a playoff.
Playoff
The 4 hole cumulative playoff was the 5th playoff for the Open Championship in the last 10 years. With no obvious advantage to either player Hamilton hit a safe drive down the right hand fairway. Els steped up to the tee with a driver and stroked a perfect drive about 40 yards short of the green and 81 yards past Hamilton.
With a light breeze from the right and 121 to the hole, Hamilton hit a full sand wedge and backed it up 20 ft short of the pin. Els bumped a skid and stop shot to 12 ft right and past the hole. Both players two putted for their pars at the 1st.
Hamilton hit a driver on the 2nd where he had bogeyed earlier in the day that ended in the wispy left-hand rough. Els hit driver just into the short rough deep down the right side. With 108 to the pin and a not so great lie Hamilton rolled a 3/4 sand wedge to within 15 ft of the back right pin position. Els lobed a sand wedge to the back of the green from a difficult look at the pin . Both players two putted again for par.
Moving over to the 228 yard Par 3 17th, Hamilton was the first to play and hit a 4 iron 16 ft short of the pin. After waiting for a jet to pass overhead, Els left his 4 iron short and was left with a difficult chip. Els' second shot is left about 10 feet short and to the left. Knowing that making this birdie could almost wrap up the championship, Hamilton ran it by about 2 ft. After a birdie about an hour earlier at the 17th Els missed his par and settled for bogey and Hamilton taped in for par. In a replay of the 18th hole an hour earlier, Hamilton took the long walk to the the tee with a one shot advantage.
Halving the hole would make Hamilton the Champion but he left his drive short and in the cross-walk. Els hit a drive about 80 yards farther down the right side of the fairway. WIth over 200 yards to the hole Hamilton hit a 5 iron that barely cleared the pot bunkers in front of the green from a tight lie. Needing a good shot Els hit a 6 iron, similar to his putt from an hour earlier. After Hamilton carefully walked off his shot, he hit a fantastic chip with a utility club 2 ft from the hole. With an aggressive stroke Els scurried it past and taped in his par. Hamilton then taped in his par to win the Open Championship.
Upon accepting the trophy for his win he promptly congratulated his opponent Ernie Els and the low Amateur while calling the Open Fans the best he had ever seen.
Shot of the day
At the 10th he had a ball on a hill at waist level in the deep rough. He was only able to advance it to more deep rough, with another stroke he advanced the ball out into the fairway. A chip and two putts later he carded a double to fall to -7.
After the double at the 10th, Els left his drive at the 11th in a bush. From the tee it looked dead. He decided to play his second waist level shot in as many holes. His ball was sitting visible on the outside of the bush. In a bold play he decided to club the ball from the bush rather than taking an unplayable lie. His chop from the bush landed in thick rough, but he got the right bounce from his third shot to 15 ft. He made the putt for the par of his life that left him 2 back from the leaders.
I like the name of the trophy: "Claret Jug". It gives one a warm feeling, especially if it is awarded full.
Great tournament finale. Lefty, Ernie Els, and the unheralded Todd Hamilton dueling it out down the stretch. Hamilton stuck to his game and pulled away with the victory. Congratulations are in order for Todd Hamilton!
The power of persistence, trying to get his tour card 8 times.
| July 16, 2004 By Helen Ross PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents On Sunday at Royal Troon, the 38-year-old TOUR rookie added another country to his list -- and his triumph on the windswept Scottish seacoast was by far the biggest of his career. Hamilton outlasted Ernie Els in a four-hole playoff Sunday to earn his first major championship. He also held off charges from Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen and Tiger Woods. In Woods, Els, Mickelson and Goosen, you have the Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 6 players in the world. Heady company, to be sure, for a man ranked a distant 56th who candidly says he likes playing "ugly golf" and doesn't consider himself to be a particularly good striker of the ball.
Hamilton grew up in Oquwaka, Ill., a town of 1,500 on the Mississippi River about four-and-a-half hours southwest of Chicago. One of Oquwaka's claims to fame is the circus elephant that is buried beneath a headstone in the town square. When she wasn't performing, the 6,500-pound elephant was chained to a tree. A storm came through one night, and lightning struck the tree. The current traveled through the chain and killed the elephant, who was simply too big to be transported to any other final resting place. "Her name was Norma Jean -- swear to God," Hamilton said, laughing. Hamilton started playing golf when he was 7 on a nine-hole course in nearby Biggs, a town of just 500 people. His subsequent travels have taken him to many other places, large and small, as he plied his trade around the world. Hamilton played the Asian Tour for five years before going to Japan. He won the first of his 11 Japan Tour events as a rookie in 1992, which made life much easier, and capped his career a decade later with four victories in 2003. After eight attempts at the PGA TOUR's national qualifying tournament, Hamilton finally got his card last year as he tied for 16th. He then secured a two-year exemption earlier this year with that victory at The Honda Classic. In retrospect, Hamilton said he's glad he didn't leave Oklahoma, get his TOUR card and "think that it was all gravy." He feels the experience that he gained playing different types of courses in a variety of conditions, good, bad and indifferent, has served him well. "It might have taken me longer to get where I wanted to get to," Hamilton said. "I'm glad I went through all that patience-building, I guess you could call it. I wish it would have happened earlier, but in the long run I'm glad it happened that way." Hamilton drew on some of that resilience at The Honda Classic when he lost a five-stroke lead on Sunday but birdied his final two holes to earn his first TOUR win. He's only had one top-25 finish since that victory and came to Royal Troon with three missed cuts in his last four starts. "It was nice to finally find some form," said Hamilton, who calls himself a streaky player. "I know this is the kind of golf and golf course in general that you can hit a lot of good shots and they might end up poor. And you can hit a lot of poor shots that can end up good. "So I'm just trying to be patient with my golf right now." Hamilton plays a Pete Dye course in Texas called Dallas Stars Country Club. The course courts run-up shots, so it was good practice, and he's comfortable playing in the wind. He said he was ready for anything Royal Troon threw at him this weekend. "I've played golf all over the world -- hot conditions, cold conditions, windy, calm, almost everywhere, and I think the more you can do that the more you can be comfortable with the changing conditions," he said.
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| Once again, the Champion Golfer of the Year is an underdog. Todd Hamilton, a 38-year-old PGA TOUR rookie, defeated Ernie Els in a playoff at Royal Troon to clinch the Claret Jug. |
From pgatour.com:
TROON, Scotland -- Todd Hamilton has played golf all over the world. He's won tournaments in Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Japan and finally, earlier this year, on the PGA TOUR in the United States.
On Sunday at Royal Troon, the 38-year-old TOUR rookie added another country to his list -- and his triumph on the windswept Scottish seacoast was by far the biggest of his career. Hamilton outlasted Ernie Els in a four-hole playoff Sunday to earn his first major championship. He also held off charges from Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen and Tiger Woods.
In Woods, Els, Mickelson and Goosen, you have the Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 6 players in the world. Heady company, to be sure, for a man ranked a distant 56th who candidly says he likes playing "ugly golf" and doesn't consider himself to be a particularly good striker of the ball.
"I do think that when I play golf I play smart, and that's the kind of style you need to show over here," Hamilton said. "You need to really think your way around, be patient and if you hit a bad shot you have to take your medicine and just try to make bogey at the worst."
Hamilton grew up in Oquwaka, Ill., a town of 1,500 on the Mississippi River about four-and-a-half hours southwest of Chicago. One of Oquwaka's claims to fame is the circus elephant that is buried beneath a headstone in the town square.
When she wasn't performing, the 6,500-pound elephant was chained to a tree. A storm came through one night, and lightning struck the tree. The current traveled through the chain and killed the elephant, who was simply too big to be transported to any other final resting place. "Her name was Norma Jean -- swear to God," Hamilton said, laughing.
Hamilton started playing golf when he was 7 on a nine-hole course in nearby Biggs, a town of just 500 people. His subsequent travels have taken him to many other places, large and small, as he plied his trade around the world. After eight attempts at the PGA TOUR's national qualifying tournament, Hamilton finally got his card last year as he tied for 16th. He then secured a two-year exemption earlier this year with that victory at The Honda Classic.
In retrospect, Hamilton said he's glad he didn't leave Oklahoma, get his TOUR card and "think that it was all gravy." He feels the experience that he gained playing different types of courses in a variety of conditions, good, bad and indifferent, has served him well.
"It might have taken me longer to get where I wanted to get to," Hamilton said. "I'm glad I went through all that patience-building, I guess you could call it. I wish it would have happened earlier, but in the long run I'm glad it happened that way."
Hamilton drew on some of that resilience at The Honda Classic when he lost a five-stroke lead on Sunday but birdied his final two holes to earn his first TOUR win. He's only had one top-25 finish since that victory and came to Royal Troon with three missed cuts in his last four starts. "So I'm just trying to be patient with my golf right now."
Hamilton plays a Pete Dye course in Texas called Dallas Stars Country Club. The course courts run-up shots, so it was good practice, and he's comfortable playing in the wind. He said he was ready for anything Royal Troon threw at him this weekend.
"I've played golf all over the world -- hot conditions, cold conditions, windy, calm, almost everywhere, and I think the more you can do that the more you can be comfortable with the changing conditions," he said.
Hamiltons little girl with her mommy was priceless! 'I hate the last hole!' (after Els forced the playoff)
sorry..... I posted this after you. Oh well, I had to tell others about this great guy and great day for golf and persistence of a good man! ;-)
A great day for golf, as was Wimbledon when Maria Sharapova won.
Yeh, I think she called the last hole "stupid"..... twice. I wonder if she got that term from someone else a little older. ;-)
Poooor Tigey Wigey. His girlfriend is going to ditch him once he loses that #1 ranking and fades into obscurity.
Why didn't he pull out a wood and hit that one?
lol, That was it..the kid reached for her mom's mic and proclaimed to a worldwide audience 'The last hole is stupid.'
I was wondering why Hamilton didn't hit an iron the first time on 18. We probably didn't even a playoff..
I betcha can't find another article that doesn't mention Tiger Woods.
Tiger still holds the No. 1 rank, 6 straight years. He certainly isnt poor. I am happy for Hamilton. Golf is a great game where each person is a team of one.
From the very start of his career, he was overrated. Everyone bought into the shakedown of the PGA with the "black golfer" out there. Makes for good ratings and all that. They only keep him in the news now to make themselves not look like - idiots! Now, we know no media news source have ever looked like an idiot before, don't we?! I can't wait for the day when someone comes forward on the PGA and says what they really think of him.
The only thing he is #1 in right now is birdie conversion percentage and consecutive cuts. Other than that they can take their bogus computer generated standing and stick it.
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