1998 Open Championship

The 1998 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 127th Open Championship, held from 16–19 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]

1998 Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates16–19 July 1998
LocationSouthport, England
Course(s)Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Tour(s)European Tour
PGA Tour
Japan Golf Tour
Statistics
Par70[1]
Length7,018 yards (6,417 m)[1]
Field156 players, 81 after cut[1]
Cut146 (+6)[1]
Prize fund£1,700,000
€2,483,810
$2,750,000
Winner's share£300,000
€420,000
$493,500
Champion
United States Mark O'Meara
280 (E), playoff
Southport is located in England
Southport
Southport
Location in England
Royal Birkdale Golf Club is located in Southport
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Location in Southport, Merseyside,
north of Liverpool, England

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
Main article: Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4494214072033444801774574113,3494034081834981985444165474723,6697,018
Par444344344344434354543670

Source:[7][8]
Lengths of the course for previous Opens:[1]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, 16 July 1998

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1United States John Huston65−5
United States Tiger Woods
T3United States Fred Couples66−4
Zimbabwe Nick Price
United States Loren Roberts
T6Australia Robert Allenby67−3
United States Brad Faxon
Sweden Freddie Jacobson
United States Davis Love III
Fiji Vijay Singh

Source:[9]

Second round

Friday, 17 July 1998

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1United States Brian Watts68-69=137−3
T2Zimbabwe Nick Price66-72=138−2
England Justin Rose (a)72-66=138
United States Tiger Woods65-73=138
5Denmark Thomas Bjørn68-71=139−1
T6Trinidad and Tobago Stephen Ames68-72=140E
United States Fred Couples66-74=140
United States Jim Furyk70-70=140
United States Davis Love III67-73=140
United States Mark O'Meara72-68=140
Sweden Jesper Parnevik68-72=140

Source:[10]
Amateurs: Rose (-2), García (+4), De Vooght (+6), McCarthy (+8), Kuchar (+10).

Third round

Saturday, 18 July 1998

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1United States Brian Watts68-69-73=210E
T2United States Jim Furyk70-70-72=212+2
United States Mark O'Meara72-68-72=212
Sweden Jesper Parnevik68-72-72=212
5England Justin Rose (a)72-66-75=213+3
T6Denmark Thomas Bjørn68-71-76=215+5
United States Brad Faxon67-74-74=215
United States John Huston65-77-73=215
United States Tiger Woods65-73-77=215
T10United States David Duval70-71-75=216+6
Italy Costantino Rocca72-74-70=216
Scotland Raymond Russell68-73-75=216
Japan Katsuyoshi Tomori75-71-70=216

Source:[11]

Final round

Sunday, 19 July 1998

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney (£)
T1United States Mark O'Meara72-68-72-68=280EPlayoff
United States Brian Watts68-69-73-70=280
3United States Tiger Woods65-73-77-66=281+1135,000
T4United States Jim Furyk70-70-72-70=282+276,667
Sweden Jesper Parnevik68-72-72-70=282
England Justin Rose (a)72-66-75-69=2820
Scotland Raymond Russell68-73-75-66=28276,667
8United States Davis Love III67-73-77-68=285+549,500
T9Denmark Thomas Bjørn68-71-76-71=286+640,850
Italy Costantino Rocca72-74-70-70=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.

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney (£)
1United States Mark O'Meara4-4-5-4=17−1300,000
2United States Brian Watts5-4-5-5=19+1188,000
  • Four-hole aggregate playoff on holes 15–18
Scorecard
Hole 15  16  17  18 
Par5454
United States O'Meara−1−1−1−1
United States WattsEEE+1

Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par

Eagle Birdie Bogey Double bogey

Source:[3]

References
  1. "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 32, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  2. Garrity, John (27 July 1998). "Double major". Sports Illustrated.
  3. Ferguson, Doug (20 July 1998). "O'Meara on the mark again". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1B.
  4. Parascenzo, Marino (20 July 1998). "Major Mark". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. B-1.
  5. Ferguson, Doug (20 July 1998). "British Open all American". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. p. 1C.
  6. "Baker-Finch bags Open title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Los Angeles Times). 22 July 1991. p. D1.
  7. "Royal Birkdale, hole by hole". Wilmington Star News. (North Carolina). Associated Press. 16 July 1998. p. 5C.
  8. "128th Open Championship: course". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 16 July 1998. p. 4C.
  9. Shapiro, Leonard (17 July 1998). "Tiger masters tame conditions". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Washington Post). p. 1B.
  10. Ferguson, Doug (18 July 1998). "Birkdale takes its swing". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1D.
  11. Ferguson, Doug (19 July 1998). "Watts up in wind-blown tournament". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1B.
  12. "1998 Open Championship results". databasegolf.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2012.

53.622°N 3.033°W / 53.622; -3.033

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