2008 Senior Open Championship
 Royal Troon Golf Club The Old Course clubhouse | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 24–27 July 2008 |
| Location | Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom 55°31′55″N 4°39′04″W / 55.532°N 4.651°W |
| Course(s) | Royal Troon Golf Club, Old Course |
| Organized by | The R&A |
| Tour(s) | |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 7,058 yards (6,454 m) |
| Field | 144 players, 71 after cut |
| Cut | 152 (+10) |
| Prize fund | US$2,000,000 Winners share US$315,600 |
| Champion | |
 Bruce Vaughan | |
| 278 (−6) | |
| Location map | |
  Royal Troon GC Location in Europe  Royal Troon GC Location in the British Isles  Royal Troon GC Location in Scotland  Royal Troon GC Location in South Ayrshire | |
The 2008 Senior Open Championship was a senior major golf championship and the 22nd Senior Open Championship, held on 24–27 July at Royal Troon Golf Club in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the first Senior Open Championship played at the course and the seventh Senior Open Championship played as a senior major championship.[1]
Bruce Vaughan won after a playoff over John Cook. It was Vaughan's first senior major championship victory.[2][3]
Venue
[edit]The event was the first Senior Open Championship played at Royal Troon Golf Club, taking place at the club's Old Course, designed by Willie Fernie and George Strath. The club was founded in 1878 and had previously hosted The Open Championship eight times.
Course layout
[edit]| Hole | Name | Yards | Par | Hole | Name | Yards | Par | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seal | 361 | 4 | 10 | Sandhills | 437 | 4 | |
| 2 | Black Rock | 390 | 4 | 11 | The Railway | 470 | 4 | |
| 3 | Gyaws | 378 | 4 | 12 | The Fox | 431 | 4 | |
| 4 | Dunure | 558 | 5 | 13 | Burmah | 470 | 4 | |
| 5 | Greenan | 210 | 3 | 14 | Alton | 178 | 3 | |
| 6 | Turnberry | 575 | 5 | 15 | Crosbie | 445 | 4 | |
| 7 | Tel-el-Kebir | 402 | 4 | 16 | Well | 541 | 5 | |
| 8 | Postage Stamp | 122 | 3 | 17 | Rabbit | 210 | 3 | |
| 9 | The Monk | 423 | 4 | 18 | Craigend | 457 | 4 | |
| Out | 3,419 | 36 | In | 3,639 | 35 | |||
| Total | 7,058 | 71 | ||||||
Source:[4]
Field
[edit]The field consisted of 144 competitors; 130 professionals and 14 amateurs.
18-hole stroke play qualifying rounds were held on Monday, 21 July, on three places in Scotland, Dundonald Links Golf Club, Western Gailes Golf Club and Glasgow Gailes Golf Club, for players who were not already exempt. The leading players from the qualifying competitions joined the exempt players for the championship.[5]
71 players made the 36-hole cut, all of them professionals and no amateurs.
Past champions in the field
[edit]Four past Senior Open champions participated. Two of them made the 36-hole cut; 2003, 2005 and 2007 champion Tom Watson (tied 5th) and 2004 champion Pete Oakley (tied 68th). 1989 and 1993 champion Bob Charles and 1988, 1990 and 1997 champion Gary Player did not make the cut.
Past winners and runners-up at The Open Championship in the field
[edit]The field included six former winners of The Open Championship. Three of them made the cut; 1986 and 1993 Open champion Greg Norman (tied 5th), 1975, 1977, 1980, 1982 and 1983 Open champion Tom Watson (tied 5th) and 1998 Open champion Mark O'Meara (tied 34th). 1985 Open champion Sandy Lyle, 1963 Open champion Bob Charles and 1959, 1968 and 1974 Open champion Gary Player did not make the cut.
The field also included ten former runners-up at The Open Championship; John Cook (2nd), Bernhard Langer (4th), Costantino Rocca (tied 8th), Andy Bean (tied 10th), Tom Kite (tied 16th), Mark McNulty (tied 16th), Wayne Grady (tied 27th), Ben Crenshaw (43rd), Gordon J. Brand (missed cut) and Simon Owen (missed cut).
Final round and playoff summaries
[edit]Final round
[edit]Sunday, 27 July 2009
John Cook and Bruce Vaughan tied the lead after the fourth round, to meet in a sudden death playoff, to decide the winner.
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | John Cook |
69-71-67-71=278 | −6 | Playoff |
| Bruce Vaughan |
68-71-69-70=278 | |||
| 3 |  Eduardo Romero |
68-73-68-70=279 | −5 | 118,500 |
| 4 |  Bernhard Langer |
70-71-71-68=280 | −4 | 94,700 |
| T5 | Gene Jones |
70-76-68-68=282 | −2 | 67,773 |
 Greg Norman |
75-72-67-68=282 | |||
| Tom Watson |
70-71-71-70=282 | |||
| T8 | Phil Blackmar |
74-72-71-68=285 | +1 | 44,870 |
 Costantino Rocca |
73-73-72-67=285 | |||
| 10 | Andy Bean |
69-75-73-69=285 | +2 | 37,820 |
Playoff
[edit]Sunday, 27 July 2009
The sudden-death playoff went on the 18th hole until one of the players had a lower score on the hole than the other. Bruce Vaughan beat John Cook with a birdie at the first extra hole. Vaughan rolled in a 15 feet putt after hitting a 5-iron into the green.[6]
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bruce Vaughan |
3 | −1 | 315,600 |
| 2 | John Cook |
4 | E | 210,500 |
References
[edit]- ^ "The Senior Open Championship". The R&A. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- ^ "The Senior Open Championship presented by MasterCard – Results". European Tour. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "Past results, The Senior Open". PGA Tour. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "Senior Open Championship presented by MadsterCard – Course Card Royal Troon GC". European Tour. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "Qualifying - Official Scores & Qualified Players". European Tour. 21 July 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ "Vaughan seals Senior Open play-off win". European Tour. Retrieved 5 March 2022.