With The Senior Open Presented by Rolex taking place on the famed Old Course at St Andrews for the first time, here are five things to know ahead of this historic week in over-50s golf…
A field unlike any other
It comes as no surprise that the field assembled at St Andrews includes a host of golfing legends, including no fewer than ten Ryder Cup Captains, 38 Ryder Cup players, 20 Major Champions and 23 Senior Major winners.
Ten-time Senior Major Champion Bernhard Langer will defend his title against the likes of Colin Montgomerie, Sir Nick Faldo, José María Olazábal, Tom Watson and Ian Woosnam but to name a few.
Of the 117 golfers already exempt for The Senior Open, 67 of them are winners on the European Tour, with a combined 407 victories.
An historic return
Of the 20 Major Champions teeing it up this week, just two of them have had the opportunity to lift the Claret Jug after a victory at St Andrews.
Sir Nick Faldo, a six-time Major Champion and European Ryder Cup Captain in 2008, returns to the site of his 1990 Open triumph, when he finished five strokes clear of Ireland’s Mark McNulty and American Payne Stewart to win his second Open.
The next time The Open was contested on the Old Course, John Daly shocked the golfing world as he won his second Major title. Finishing ahead of Costantino Rocca, who was in the final group with Michael Campbell, Daly set the clubhouse target of six under par.
After Rocca’s heroics on the 18thgreen to force a play-off, Daly defeated Rocca by four strokes on the four extra holes to lift the Claret Jug.
American Open winners in the field
Joining Daly in the field as American winners of the Claret Jug are Marc Calcavecchia, Todd Hamilton and Tom Lehman.
Calcavecchia started the final round of The 1989 Open at Royal Troon four strokes behind 54-hole leader Wayne Grady but fired an incredible round of 64 to draw level with Grady and fellow Australian Greg Norman. The American birdied the second and fourth extra holes to finish on two under par, three strokes ahead of the two Antipodeans.
The year after Daly’s heroics, Lehman ensured that the Claret Jug would remain in American hands after his stunning victory at Royal Lytham & St Annes, the host venue of The 2019 Senior Open Presented by Rolex. He held a six-stroke lead after 54 holes and then finished three ahead of Ernie Els and Mark McCumber.
Royal Troon has a history of winners from across the Atlantic and Hamilton became the sixth consecutive American to win on the Ayrshire Coast as he defeated Ernie Els in a play-off. Hamilton was one stroke ahead of the Big Easy but Els finished with a final round of 68 to draw level with the American who carded a final round of 69.
Hamilton parred the four extra holes, with Els making bogey on the third extra hole, handing Hamilton the Claret Jug.
Record breaker bids for more success
Last year, Bernhard Langer became the most successful senior golfer of all-time after winning a record tenth Senior Major Championship at The 2017 Senior Open Presented by Rolex.
His victory earlier that year at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship saw him draw level with Gary Player on nine Senior Majors, overtaking Jack Nicklaus on eight.
Langer was runner-up to Seve Ballesteros on the Old Course in 1984, finishing two strokes behind the Spaniard.
The two-time Masters Tournament winner has shown no signs of slowing down after his incredible performance at Carnoustie last week. With his victory at Royal Porthcawl last year, Langer earned an exemption to The 147thOpen.
Not only did he make the cut at the course labelled by many as the toughest on The Open rota, he finished in a share of 24thplace, with fellow Green Jacket winners Phil Mickelson and Danny Willett, after signing for a one under par total.
Broadhurst’s fond memories
Two-time Senior Major Champion Paul Broadhurst has a long-held affinity for St Andrews. In his first competitive encounter with the Old Course, he shot a then-record 63 in the third round of The Open on his way to finishing tied for 12thplace.
However, the day before his record-breaking round, he had a memorable altercation with a phone box.
“I was in the town centre after making the cut on the Friday night, and entered a red public phone box to call The R&A for my tee time on Saturday,” he said. “The door was a heavy, spring-loaded affair and it sprung back and caught me above the left eye.
“I suffered a cut, had a huge lump on my forehead and a black eye. I was third off in the morning with David Graham of Australia and had a plaster above my eye. I didn’t start out with any great expectations.”
Broadhurst went out in just 29 and came home in 34 for a 63 – he maintains that is the best round of golf he has ever played.
