This week, the golf world heads to Scotland for the fourth and final major of 2024, The Open Championship. Last year, Brian Harman won his first major by six strokes at Royal Liverpool. This will be the 10th Open Championship held at Royal Troon, with the first one coming back in 1923 and the most recent one was in 2016. The No Laying Up Podcast did a deep dive on the last three Open Championships held at Royal Troon and you can watch that here. Let’s take a look at the last two Open’s held at Royal Troon.
In 2016, The Open returned to Royal Troon and it provided the golf world with one of the most historic duals in major championship history. The Championship started with Phil Mickelson firing a 63 to take a commanding three-shot lead. Henrik Stenson followed up a first-round 68 with a 65 in the second round which put him one shot behind Mickelson who was leading at 10-under. Mickelson and Stenson squared off head-to-head over the weekend in an epic 36-hole battle that was full of remarkable shots and stellar play. In the third round, Stenson shot 68 while Mickelson shot 70 and it would be Stenson who held the 54-hole lead by one shot over Mickelson. Mickelson was five shots clear of third place heading into the final round. In the final round, Stenson started with a bogey and Mickelson birdied the first to take the lead at 12-under while Stenson fell to 11-under. Stenson birdied the next three holes but was still tied for the lead as Mickelson eagled the 4th to tie things at 14-under. Both players birdied the 6th but it was Stenson, at the famous 8th hole, nicknamed The Postage Stamp, who birdied it to take a one-shot lead. Both players then birdied the 10th hole but Stenson dropped a shot at the 11th to tie it up at 16-under again. It would remain tied for two holes before Stenson’s putter caught fire, getting three straight birdies on 14, 15, and 16 while Mickelson birdied just 16 in that span. Stenson held a two-shot lead at 19-under and on the 18th hole just for good measure, poured one in to get to 20-under par and set the aggregate scoring record at The Open Championship. Stenson shot a final-round 63 while Mickelson shot 65 and lost by three strokes. Third place was 11 shots behind Mickelson and only 17 players were under par for the Championship. This was Stenson’s only major championship he’s won so far and was the first male Swede to win a major championship.
2004 saw quite possibly the biggest one-hit-wonder major champion we’ve ever seen thrillingly claim the title. After the first round, it was Paul Casey and Thomas Levet who both shot 5-under 66s to lead after 18 holes. Skip Kendell fired a 66 of his own on day two to take a one-shot lead heading into the weekend. On moving day, Todd Hamilton rocketed up a star-powered leaderboard with a 67, one shot ahead of Ernie Els, two shots clear of Levet, Retief Goosen, and Phil Mickelson. Mickelson had won The Masters that spring while Goosen was coming off of his second U.S. Open Championship in three years. Tiger Woods was lurking four shots off the lead and Collin Montgomerie, whose father was the secretary of the club, was five shots back. Hamilton, Els, and Mickelson fought among themselves as the other contenders never could put together a good final round. Els birdied the 16th and 17th holes to get to 10-under but he trailed Hamilton by one shot. Mickelson was stuck at 9-under most of the day and finished there with a final round 68. Hamilton bogeyed the 18th hole to send it to a playoff between him and Els, who had missed a birdie putt on the 72nd hole that would’ve won him the title. This was Els’ second playoff in the Open Championship in three years, as in 2002 he won in a playoff over Stuart Appleby, Steve Elkington, and Thomas Levet. Levet and Els went to sudden-death where Els won on the first sudden-death playoff hole. Hamilton recorded four straight pars while Els bogeyed the 17th, which was the third playoff hole and it would be Todd Hamilton who would hoist the Claret Jug. Hamilton had only played in seven majors coming into the 2004 Open Championship and his best finish in a major was T-29 at the PGA Championship the year prior. After his major win, his best finish would be T-15 at the 2009 Masters and only made the cut at The Open three times after his major win. Hamilton only had one other PGA Tour victory, which was earlier in 2004 at the Honda Classic. Hamilton truly is a one-hit-wonder when it comes to the majors but he will always be Champion Golfer of the Year for 2004.
Players to Watch For:
Xander Schauffele (+1100) – Schauffele outshined everyone at Valhalla this May in a fantastic performance that saw the reigning gold medalist take home the Wannamaker Trophy. Schauffele shined on the putting surface, gaining 1.26 strokes on the field putting and almost two strokes on approach shots. His putting has been fantastic this year as he hasn’t lost strokes to the field putting in a tournament since February. At the U.S. Open, his putting wasn’t his best and that ultimately hurt him but he did finish T-8. He finished solo 8th at The Masters so he’s putting together quite the major season and if he finishes with an Open Championship, it’ll be one we will remember for a very long time.
Ludvig Aberg (+1600) – Aberg has been on quite the run since bursting onto the scene a year ago. Last week at the Scottish Open, he finished T-4 and had a pretty good shot at winning the tournament but he didn’t have his best stuff in the final round and fell short. He’s struggled in the final rounds of tournaments lately and hasn’t broken 70 in a final round since his dazzling performance at The Masters this April. When Aberg is playing well, his putting carries him to the top of the leaderboard, and with putting being a must at links-style courses, he could be hoisting the Claret Jug. After all, the last time The Open was held at Royal Troon fellow Swede, Henrik Stenson won it.
Collin Morikawa (+1600) – Morikawa won two majors in two years, including the 2021 Open Championship but hasn’t been able to win another major in the last few years. His putting has been fantastic lately, and he’s gained over a stroke on the field putting in three of the last four events he’s played in. Coming off of a T-4 at the Scottish Open, Morikawa could use that momentum to capture the final major of the year, a major he knows how to win.
Tyrrell Hatton (+2800) – The mad hatter has put together back-to-back great performances at LIV, winning LIV Nashville and finishing third in Spain last week. He struggled mightily putting at Pinehurst but being back in Europe could provide the spark he needs to capture his first-ever major. His best finish in a major this year was T-9 at The Masters. If Hatton can find his putting and keep his cool for four rounds, he could have a career-defining major championship to add to his resume.
Louis Oosthuizen (+6000) – This would be a wild outcome if Oosthuizen were to win his second Open Championship, considering he hasn’t played in a major championship this year. However, when I think of great links-style golfers, Louis is one of the first players I think of. Oosthuizen won the 2010 Open Championship in dominating fashion, winning by seven strokes and it wasn’t even that close. He’s been very good at The Open, finishing T-2 in 2015, T-3 in 2021, and last year finished T-23. It’s almost expected of Oosthuizen to perform well at The Open and could find his way towards the top of the leaderboard on Sunday.
Denny McCarthy (+20000) – McCarthy is a name that golf sickos recognize but the casual fan might not know who he is. He’s a phenomenal putter, and outside of a poor performance last week at the Scottish Open, he’s been showcasing it by gaining almost a stroke on the field putting over the last six months. If Todd Hamilton can win the Open Championship, why can’t Denny McCarthy? Hamilton used his short game and great putting to win, that could be McCarthy’s pathway to stealing a major.
