logo
BRITISH OPEN '25: Tiger Woods and Tom Watson part of history at golf's oldest championship

BRITISH OPEN '25: Tiger Woods and Tom Watson part of history at golf's oldest championship

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — A capsule look at key anniversary years at the British Open, including the AP story from those victories:
150 years ago (1875)
Site: Prestwick.
Winner: Willie Park Sr.
Runner-up: Bob Martin.
Score: 56-59-51--166.
Margin: 2 shots.
Winner's share: 8 pounds.
Noteworthy: Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris did not play because the wife of Young Tom Morris died six days before the championship while giving birth. Young Tom Morris also died later that year.
The Glasgow Herald: The annual competition for the golf championship of Scotland took place on Prestwick Links, and resulted in favour of Willie Park, of Musselburgh. The game consisted of 36 holes, and was completed by Park in 166 strokes. In the absence of the famous Morrises of St. Andrews, who are at present mourning a severe domestic calamity, only two representatives of the 'Kingdom' were present, but one of them, Bob Martin, won second place in the competition.
125 years ago (1900)
Site: St. Andrews.
Winner: J.H. Taylor.
Runner-up: Harry Vardon.
Score: 79-77-78-75--309.
Margin: 8 shots.
Winner's share: 50 pounds.
Noteworthy: This was a period when Taylor and Harry Vardon had won five of the previous six British Open titles.
AP story: J.H. Taylor won the open golf championship on the St. Andrews links today. Taylor's win was a popular one. His score was 309 for the four rounds, being thirteen strokes better than his victory on the same grounds in 1895. The weather was dull, but favourable for good scoring. By his victory at St. Andrews yesterday Taylor scores his third triumph in the English open championships. His first success was gained in 1894 over the same links, and it is a noteworthy fact that up to that time the title had never been won by an English professional.
100 years ago (1925)
Site: Prestwick.
Winner: Jim Barnes.
Runners-up: Archie Compston and Ted Ray.
Score: 70-77-79-74--300
Margin: 1 shot.
Winner's share: 75 pounds.
Noteworthy: This was the final British Open held at Prestwick. Troon replaced it as the links in the southwest of Scotland.
AP story: The British open golf championship will be carried back to the United States by 'Long Jim' Barnes, who won it today. His score of 300 strokes for the 72 holes over links at Prestwick led all the others of the 83 competitors. His victory marked the fourth in five summers of the Americans in the historic tournament. The Britons, Edward Ray, champions of years ago, and Archie Compston of North Manchester, failed by but one stroke of equaling Barnes' winning score. Each scored a 301. They both missed final putts on the last green and lost their chance to tie Barnes.
75 years ago (1950)
Site: Troon GC.
Winner: Bobby Locke.
Runner-up: Roberto De Vicenzo.
Score: 69-72-70-68--279
Margin: 2 shots.
Winner's share: 1,500 pounds.
Noteworthy: Locke set the 72-hole scoring record, which he matched seven years later.
AP story: Bobby Locke, walking as if the Troon fairways were carpeted with eggs, came up with a fourth round 68 today that won him the British Open Golf title for the second straight year and lowered a scoring mark that had stood since 1932. The South African finished with a 279 on rounds of 69-72-70-68 over the par 70 course. His aggregate wiped out the previous low winning total of 283 posted by Gene Sarazen 18 years ago. Behind Locke came Roberto De Vicenzo of Argentina, who carded a 281 and also broke Sarazen's record. Only because it retained the championship for Locke did his hot round overshadow a sensational 66 which Frank Stranahan of Toledo, Ohio, fired in a vain attempt to place the open trophy beside the British amateur award he won earlier this spring.
50 years ago (1975)
Site: Carnoustie.
Winner: Tom Watson.
Runner-up: Jack Newton.
Score: 71-67-69-72-279
Margin: Playoff (Watson 71, Newton 72).
Winner's share: 7,500 pounds.
Noteworthy: This was the final 18-hole playoff at the British Open. It was changed to a four-hole aggregate playoff in 1985 (first used in 1989).
AP story: Tom Watson, a 25-year-old who has blown chances in three major championships, kept his cool Sunday and won the British Open golf championship on the rainswept 18th hole of a playoff when Jack Newton missed a tying par putt by inches. Watson, who finished the extra round in 1-under-par 71, holed a 30-foot chip for an eagle on the 14th to take a one-shot lead, then bogeyed the 16th, putting him and his 25-year-old Australian challenger even going to the 18th. Watson parred. Newton blasted out of a greenside bunker and needed a 12-foot putt to stay alive. He just missed, and the title and the $16,500 first prize belonged to Watson.
25 years ago (2000)
Site: St. Andrews GC.
Winner: Tiger Woods.
Runners-up: Ernie Els and Thomas Bjorn.
Score: 67-66-67-69--269.
Margin: 8 shots.
Winner's share: 500,000.
Noteworthy: Woods played the ninth hole during the practice round with a replica of a gutta percha. He hit driver and 5-iron just over the back of the green and got up-and-down for par.
AP story: Five hundred years of legend and lore hardly prepared golf's hallowed home for Tiger Woods. On the same linksland that Old Tom Morris nurtured and Jack Nicklaus conquered, along came a 24-year-old with a keen eye for history. Woods not only became the youngest player to win the career Grand Slam, he completed it faster than any of the four greats who did it before him. The final piece came Sunday, when Woods held the silver claret jug under the cool, grey skies of St. Andrews after another record-breaking performance to win the British Open. Challenged briefly by David Duval, Woods pulled away for an eight-stroke victory. It wasn't quite as overwhelming as his 15-stroke victory in the U.S. Open last month, but it was the largest in 87 years of golf's oldest championship.
20 years ago (2005)
Site: St. Andrews.
Winner: Tiger Woods.
Runner-up: Colin Montgomerie.
Score: 66-67-71-70-274
Margin: 5 shots.
Winner's share: 720,000.
Noteworthy: Jack Nicklaus missed the cut in his 164th and final major championship. Woods won each of the four majors Nicklaus played for the final time.
AP story: Sunday brought yet another grand crossing over the Swilcan Bridge: The defiant return of Tiger Woods. Two days after Jack Nicklaus bade an emotional farewell to the majors, Woods took another step toward the Golden Bear's record with another ruthless performance at St. Andrews, closing with a 2-under 70 to win the British Open for his 10th career major. He won by five shots, the largest margin in any major since Woods won by eight at St. Andrews five years ago. This one also had a sense of inevitability, with Woods taking the lead on the ninth hole of the first round. No one caught him over the final 63. He joined Nicklaus as the only players to win the career Grand Slam twice, and Woods completed his own version of the slam that shows how their careers are so indelibly linked — he now has won all four majors that Nicklaus played for the last time.
10 years ago (2015)
Site: St. Andrews.
Winner: Zach Johnson.
Runners-up: Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman.
Score: 66-71-70-66--273
Margin: Playoff (Johnson 3-3-5-4; Oosthuizen 3-4-5-4; Leishman 5-4-5-4).
Winner's share: 1,150,000 pounds
Noteworthy: Rory McIlroy was the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 who did not defend his title because of an ankle surgery from playing soccer.
AP story: Zach Johnson cradled the silver claret jug in his arms. Jordan Spieth let it slip through his fingers. Spieth was right where he wanted to be in his spirited bid for the Grand Slam — tied for the lead with two holes to go in the British Open, right after making a 50-foot birdie putt that made it feel as though he were destined to win at St. Andrews for his third straight major. And he was still there at the very end Monday, but only as a spectator. The slam gone, Spieth graciously returned to the steps of the Royal & Ancient clubhouse to watch Johnson finish off a sterling performance of his own. Johnson rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that got him into a three-man playoff, and he outlasted Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman to win the British Open.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Harrington wins Senior Open to join exclusive club
Harrington wins Senior Open to join exclusive club

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Harrington wins Senior Open to join exclusive club

Ireland's Padraig Harrington has become only the fifth player to win the Open and Senior Open after a three-stroke victory at Sunningdale. The 53-year-old beat Justin Leonard and Thomas Bjorn as his final round of 67 took him to 16 under for the tournament. Harrington joins Darren Clarke, Tom Watson, Gary Player and Bob Charles as the only men to win both editions of the Open. He won the Open in back-to-back years in 2007 and 2008. It is a third Senior major for Harrington, who also won the US Open in 2022 and in June this year. He also finished tied for second at the Senior PGA Championship after missing out to Angel Cabrera by one stroke. Northern Ireland's Clarke finished tied for 51st after he finished two over for the tournament.

2025 Tour de France: Tadej Pogačar wins race for 2nd consecutive year as Wout van Aert wins Stage 21
2025 Tour de France: Tadej Pogačar wins race for 2nd consecutive year as Wout van Aert wins Stage 21

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

2025 Tour de France: Tadej Pogačar wins race for 2nd consecutive year as Wout van Aert wins Stage 21

Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogačar has won the 2025 Tour de France, earning the championship for the second consecutive year and fourth time in his career. Wout van Aert won the final day of the race, finishing first through a difficult Stage 21 that was paused with 50 kilometers to go and the times frozen due to dangerously slippery road conditions as the cyclists navigated the Butte Montmartre. That took any suspense or competitive element out of the final stage's last stretch, but provided another demonstration at what a difficult ordeal completing this race is. "Great from the organisers to neutralise the GC times so nobody had to risk anything," Pogačar said from the winner's podium, via The Guardian. "But I gave it a go. Wout was incredibly strong at the top of the climb and he deserves this big, big win." Pogačar had a comfortable lead of 4 minutes, 24 seconds over Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, who won the 2022 and 2023 races. He had to cross the finish line to officially be declared the winner of the 112th Tour de France, but still raced as if he could lose the race toward the end, finishing among the last six. With four Tour de France championships, Pogačar ties British cyclist Chris Froome for second among all-time wins. Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain have each won the race five times. Here are the final standings with the top 10 finishers for the 112th racing of the Tour de France: Tadej Pogačar, Slovenia: 76 hours, 0 minutes, 32 seconds Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark: 76:04.56 (4 minutes, 24 seconds behind) Florian Lipowitz, Germany: 76:11.32 (11 minutes behind) Oscar Onley, Great Britain: 76:12.44 (12 minutes, 12 seconds behind) Felix Gall, Austria: 76:17.44 (17 minutes, 12 seconds behind) Tobias Johannessen, Norway: 76:20.46 (20 minutes, 14 seconds behind) Kevin Vauquelin, France: 76:23.07 (22 minutes, 35 seconds behind) Primoz Roglic, Slovenia: 76:26.02 (25 minutes, 30 seconds behind) Ben Healy, Ireland: 76:28.34 (28 minutes, 2 seconds behind) Jordan Jégat, France: 76:33.14 (32 minutes, 32 seconds behind) The victory for Pogačar, 26, was his fourth Tour de France championship. He also earned consecutive Coupe Omnisports trophies in 2020 and 2021, prior to Vingegaard's two straight wins. Last year's Tour de France victory made him only the third male cyclist in history to win the Triple Crown of Cycling, also finishing first in the Giro and the World Championships during the same year.

Pro sinks long eagle putt to card 59, the second sub-60 round on PGA Tour Americas this week
Pro sinks long eagle putt to card 59, the second sub-60 round on PGA Tour Americas this week

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Pro sinks long eagle putt to card 59, the second sub-60 round on PGA Tour Americas this week

Prior to Saturday, there had only ever been one 59 carded on the PGA Tour Americas. Now, on Sunday afternoon, there have been three. Brett White rolled in a 63-foot bomb for eagle on the par-5 18th at the aptly named Eagle Creek Golf Club in Ottawa, Ontario, during the final round of the Commissionaires Ottawa Open. The putt capped off a 8-under 28 on the back nine, culminating in the third 59 ever posted on the PGA Tour Americas. It might have been the third ever, but it was the second of the week. On Saturday, Philip Barbaree — who made headlines when he made the cut at the U.S. Open in an emotional moment with his wife, Chloe, on the bag — also fired a 59 at Eagle Creek. He did it in strikingly similar fashion to White, making eagle on the last to finish with a 28 on the inward nine. This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Pro sinks long eagle putt for second 59 on PGA Tour Americas this week

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store