1998 Open Championship
The 1998 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 127th Open Championship, held from 16 to 19 July at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. In weekend wind and rain, Mark O'Meara won his second major championship of the year and first Open Championship in a playoff over Brian Watts, the 54-hole leader.[2][3][4][5]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 16–19 July 1998 |
| Location | Southport, England |
| Course(s) | Royal Birkdale Golf Club |
| Tour(s) | European Tour PGA Tour Japan Golf Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 70[1] |
| Length | 7,018 yards (6,417 m)[1] |
| Field | 156 players, 81 after cut[1] |
| Cut | 146 (+6)[1] |
| Prize fund | £1,700,000 €2,483,810 $2,750,000 |
| Winner's share | £300,000 €420,000 $493,500 |
| Champion | |
| Mark O'Meara | |
| 280 (E), playoff | |
Three months earlier, O'Meara won the Masters on the final green by sinking a 20-foot (6 m) birdie putt. At age 41, he became the oldest player to win two majors in a year: Jack Nicklaus (1980), Ben Hogan (1953), and Craig Wood (1941) were all age forty. (Hogan won three majors and turned 41 two weeks after the third.)
At the previous Open at Royal Birkdale seven years earlier in 1991, O'Meara was a co-leader after 54 holes, shot 69, and tied for third.[6]
Course
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards | 449 | 421 | 407 | 203 | 344 | 480 | 177 | 457 | 411 | 3,349 | 403 | 408 | 183 | 498 | 198 | 544 | 416 | 547 | 472 | 3,669 | 7,018 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 70 |
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, 16 July 1998
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | John Huston | 65 | −5 |
| Tiger Woods | |||
| T3 | Fred Couples | 66 | −4 |
| Nick Price | |||
| Loren Roberts | |||
| T6 | Robert Allenby | 67 | −3 |
| Brad Faxon | |||
| Freddie Jacobson | |||
| Davis Love III | |||
| Vijay Singh |
Source:[9]
Second round
Friday, 17 July 1998
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Watts | 68-69=137 | −3 |
| T2 | Nick Price | 66-72=138 | −2 |
| Justin Rose (a) | 72-66=138 | ||
| Tiger Woods | 65-73=138 | ||
| 5 | Thomas Bjørn | 68-71=139 | −1 |
| T6 | Stephen Ames | 68-72=140 | E |
| Fred Couples | 66-74=140 | ||
| Jim Furyk | 70-70=140 | ||
| Davis Love III | 67-73=140 | ||
| Mark O'Meara | 72-68=140 | ||
| Jesper Parnevik | 68-72=140 |
Source:[10]
Amateurs: Rose (-2), García (+4), De Vooght (+6), McCarthy (+8), Kuchar (+10).
Third round
Saturday, 18 July 1998
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Watts | 68-69-73=210 | E |
| T2 | Jim Furyk | 70-70-72=212 | +2 |
| Mark O'Meara | 72-68-72=212 | ||
| Jesper Parnevik | 68-72-72=212 | ||
| 5 | Justin Rose (a) | 72-66-75=213 | +3 |
| T6 | Thomas Bjørn | 68-71-76=215 | +5 |
| Brad Faxon | 67-74-74=215 | ||
| John Huston | 65-77-73=215 | ||
| Tiger Woods | 65-73-77=215 | ||
| T10 | David Duval | 70-71-75=216 | +6 |
| Costantino Rocca | 72-74-70=216 | ||
| Raymond Russell | 68-73-75=216 | ||
| Katsuyoshi Tomori | 75-71-70=216 |
Source:[11]
Final round
Sunday, 19 July 1998
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Mark O'Meara | 72-68-72-68=280 | E | Playoff |
| Brian Watts | 68-69-73-70=280 | |||
| 3 | Tiger Woods | 65-73-77-66=281 | +1 | 135,000 |
| T4 | Jim Furyk | 70-70-72-70=282 | +2 | 76,667 |
| Jesper Parnevik | 68-72-72-70=282 | |||
| Justin Rose (a) | 72-66-75-69=282 | 0 | ||
| Raymond Russell | 68-73-75-66=282 | 76,667 | ||
| 8 | Davis Love III | 67-73-77-68=285 | +5 | 49,500 |
| T9 | Thomas Bjørn | 68-71-76-71=286 | +6 | 40,850 |
| Costantino Rocca | 72-74-70-70=286 |
Sources:[3][12]
Amateurs: Rose (+2), García (+12), De Vooght (+19).
Playoff
The four-hole aggregate playoff was played on the concluding holes (15–18).
O'Meara birdied the first, while Watts parred, and they halved the next two holes with pars.
Watts bogeyed the final hole, while O'Meara parred to win the playoff by two strokes and the Claret Jug.
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark O'Meara | 4-4-5-4=17 | −1 | 300,000 |
| 2 | Brian Watts | 5-4-5-5=19 | +1 | 188,000 |
- Four-hole aggregate playoff on holes 15–18
Scorecard
| Hole | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| O'Meara | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 |
| Watts | E | E | E | +1 |
Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par
| Eagle | Birdie | Bogey | Double bogey |
Source:[3]
References
- "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 32, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- Garrity, John (27 July 1998). "Double major". Sports Illustrated.
- Ferguson, Doug (20 July 1998). "O'Meara on the mark again". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1B.
- Parascenzo, Marino (20 July 1998). "Major Mark". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. B-1.
- Ferguson, Doug (20 July 1998). "British Open all American". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. p. 1C.
- "Baker-Finch bags Open title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Los Angeles Times). 22 July 1991. p. D1.
- "Royal Birkdale, hole by hole". Wilmington Star News. (North Carolina). Associated Press. 16 July 1998. p. 5C.
- "128th Open Championship: course". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 16 July 1998. p. 4C.
- Shapiro, Leonard (17 July 1998). "Tiger masters tame conditions". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Washington Post). p. 1B.
- Ferguson, Doug (18 July 1998). "Birkdale takes its swing". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1D.
- Ferguson, Doug (19 July 1998). "Watts up in wind-blown tournament". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1B.
- "1998 Open Championship results". databasegolf.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2012.