Peter Oosterhuis and future
champion Nick Price. Watson
was serenaded by applause
and cheers from the Scottish
galleries, who respected his
talent and fortitude to reign
supreme on their courses.
Mark Calcavecchia overcame
two
Australian
major
champions, GregNorman and
Wayne Grady, in a playoff to
conclude a memorable 1989
Open. The Shark, who won
at nearby Turnberry in 1986,
had shot a course-record 64
to secure his participation
in extra holes, but the burly
American
bested
both
Norman and Grady that day
to earn the Claret Jug.
Texan Justin Leonard holed
putts from all directions with
a scintillating final round
of 65, in the 1997 Open
Championship. He took
advantage of the struggles
of Darren Clarke and Jesper
Parnevik. For the 25-year-old
from Dallas, it would be the
only major in a career that
has brought 12 victories on
the PGA Tour, with the finest
being that day at Troon.
The aforementioned Hamilton,
a 38-year-old who had played
for much of his career in Japan,
had claimed his maiden title
on the main tour in the States
earlier in 2004 at the Honda,
but few could have seen him
as a potential winner of the
Open.
Hamilton made three birdies
on the back-nine to take
control, before a bogey on
the 18
th
saw him fall into a
playoff with Ernie Els, who
had made gains on the 16
th
and 17
th
to boost his chances
of a second Open win.
Onto the extra holes the 11-
time Japan Tour champion
NWO Golf Links