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Daily Mirror
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
The Open 2025: Colin Montgomerie and the 8 best players to never win the Claret Jug
The Claret Jug has eluded plenty of golf's biggest names, including UK favourite Colin Montgomerie, a pair of Masters champions and a five-time major winner with 52 PGA tour triumphs to his name Lifting the Claret Jug is one of golf's most sought-after feelings and now the sport's elite will try again at Royal Portrush in the 153rd Open Championship. But, even for the sport's biggest stars, it is a feat which remains easier said than done. Down the years, winning The Open has eluded a plethora of big names. Some have fallen just short by the skin of their teeth - others have barely had a sniff. Here are some of the best who never got their hands on the famous trophy… Colin Montgomerie A veteran of 22 Opens who carried the weight of his nation on his shoulders at each of them, Monty's best shot came in 2005 at St Andrews. A stunning six-under-par 66 on day two saw him shoot up the leaderboard and he played with Tiger Woods in his third round, a birdie on 18 sparking huge Scottish cheers as he concluded a round of 70. He began the final day in the penultimate group but though he pulled to within a shot of Woods at one stage, the American pulled clear and closed out his second Open victory at the same venue as his first five years previously. Montgomerie later reflected: "I'll never forget The Open Championship of 2005. I'll take that to my dying day. I loved the support and I thank them to this day for trying to get me over the line." Vijay Singh A player unlucky to be at his peak at the same time as the likes of Tiger Woods and Ernie Els, Singh went toe-to-toe with some of the game's greatest-ever players and won three majors. He recorded four top-10 finishes at The Open, coming closest to landing the ultimate prize at Royal St George's in 2003. The Fijian finished second on that occasion, a shot behind Ben Curtis, and went on to finish in a share of fifth at St Andrews in 2005 and tied for ninth at Royal Lytham & St Annes eight years later – aged 49. His most recent Open appearance came in 2016, when his errant tee shot at the seventh struck caddie William Ciplinski on the head and landed him with a night in hospital. Ian Woosnam A Masters champion in 1991, Woosnam already had four top-10 Open finishes to his name when he arrived at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2001. The most recent of those was nine years previously, however, and the form that had made him such a force in the early '90s appeared to be deserting him. But he rolled back the years on Merseyside and a birdie at the first in his final round left him bang in contention in a share of the lead at seven-under – only for disaster to strike. The Welshman's caddie, Miles Byrne, informed Woosnam he had 15 clubs in his bag – one more than is permitted. A two-shot penalty was the result and he ended up finishing four shots behind David Duval. Woosnam insisted he would not part ways with 'good lad' Byrne – but did just that two weeks later when the caddie failed to show up on time after a night out. Sergio Garcia Another to have won the Masters but not The Open, Garcia came close on several occasions – not least in 2007. The Spaniard had a 10-foot putt for par and the title on the 18th at Carnoustie but it lipped out and forced him into a play-off with Padraig Harrington. Garcia paid for a bogey in the first of the four play-off holes, with a birdie putt on the final hole staying just to the left of the cup and allowing Harrington to tap home his short putt and become the first Irish winner of The Open for 60 years. He also finished runner-up to a man from the Emerald Isle in 2014, pulling to within two shots of runaway leader Rory McIlroy at one stage before the recently-crowned Masters winner regained his composure to land the Claret Jug. Garcia has missed out on making it to the last two Opens, losing his cool with rules officials after receiving a slow play warning at Final Qualifying last year. Lee Westwood Among the best players to have never won a major of any description, let alone The Open, Lee Westwood came agonisingly close to glory in 2009. An eagle on the seventh in his final round at Turnberry took him into a lead, which he held or shared for the majority of what followed. That was until a disastrous run-in saw him bogey three of the final four holes, most punishingly three-putting on the 18th green, to miss out on the play-off by a shot. "It's gone from frustration to sickness," he said. "I played great all week. I was pretty calm and collected. Third place is not to be sniffed at in a major championship ... but it's disappointing, really." He was a place better off the following year, finishing second behind the dominant Louis Oosthuizen at St Andrews, while in 2013 he led after three rounds but faded on the final day as Phil Mickelson claimed the honours. Westwood's run of 27 consecutive Opens ended in 2023. Jose Maria Olazabal Olazabal's major debut came at St Andrews in 1984, when his compatriot Seve Ballesteros won in thrilling style, but the talented Basque ace never truly came close to matching his fellow countryman's exploits. A two-time Masters winner in 1994 and 1999, Olazabal finished third, two shots behind Nick Faldo, at Muirfield in 1992. Thirteen years later, back where it all began for him at St Andrews, he was part of the final group after ending day three in second, two shots behind Tiger Woods. But Woods was not a man to surrender a lead and took his record to 10-0 when doing so in the final round of majors, while Olazabal faltered with a two-over 74 to finish in a tie for third with Fred Couples. Those were his only top-10 finishes at golf 's oldest major, with his last one coming in 2006. Byron Nelson A five-time major winner with 52 titles on the PGA Tour, Byron Nelson was an Open away from a career grand slam. His chances were hampered, however, by the fact he only travelled to play in it twice. The American finished fifth in 1937 and tied for 32nd in 1955, preferring to play most of his golf in his native country. Bernhard Langer Nobody has won The Senior Open more than the German, who has lifted the trophy four times, but the Hall of Famer never got over the line at The Open. Langer, who debuted as an 18-year-old in 1976, came closest in 1981 and 1984, finishing runner-up behind Bill Rogers and Seve Ballesteros respectively. The first of those came at Royal St George's, where he later finished third in 1986 and 1993, two of four third-placed finishes he recorded. A two-time Masters winner, Langer played his final rounds at Augusta earlier this year in his 41st edition of the competition and the 67-year-old cut an emotional figure as he realised age had caught up with him. 'The course is just getting too long and I'm getting shorter and shorter and I'm hitting hybrids where the other kids are hitting 9-irons and 8-irons, maybe even wedges,' he said. 'So I knew I wasn't going to be in contention anymore."
Daily Mirror
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
The Open's 8 greatest moments including Tiger Woods' flawless weekend
The stories of some Championships just demand to be told again and again as we look back on eight memorable moments They're etched into the annals of Open history, but the stories of some Championships just demand to be told again, and again. So here's our pick of eight iconic post-war-year tournaments... The Duel in the Sun You know the story by now. Two all-time greats produced an unforgettable ding-dong at a baking-hot Turnberry in what remains The Open's most iconic day. Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus exchanged blows by sinking birdie after birdie in 1977, with the pendulum swinging one way and then the other. Watson's near 60-foot putt from off the green to go level at 15 struck disbelief into every spectator, and he then birdied 17 to take the lead. When Nicklaus hit his tee shot into a bush on 18, it appeared over but the Golden Bear chopped his ball out of the rough and onto the green – then proceeded to hole the 35-yard putt for birdie to send the crowd into euphoria. The cheers were paused just long enough for Watson to sink his short putt to also birdie, giving him a finish of 65, a single shot better than his great opponent, and once more the supporters erupted. As Watson remarked: 'This is what it's all about, isn't it?' Indeed it is. Between them, they won eight Open titles. Darren's dream comes true Darren Clarke admits he was that kid who used to stand on the green and pretend he had a putt to win The Open. At 43, and the 20th attempt, he finally got to do it for real. Clarke arrived at Royal St George's with his best days seemingly behind him, an overweight, 125-1 outsider. But amid a burst of Northern Irish success, with Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy having also recently won majors, he delivered the week of his life in 2011. Clarke held off Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson on a dramatic Sunday to finally get his hands on the Claret Jug. When he paused during his acceptance to remember first wife Heather, who died in 2006, there was not a dry eye in the house. Rocca and the Valley of Sin Costantino Rocca walked so that Francesco Molinari could run. Prior to Molinari's success at The Open in 2018, Rocca stood out as Italy's greatest-ever golfer and his finest moment came in pursuit of the Claret Jug. In fact, in 1995, Rocca produced a shot that ranks alongside any other in the history of The Open. Having duffed a pitch into St Andrews' famous Valley of Sin when going for an eagle to win the tournament, Rocca found himself facing a 65-foot putt to force a play-off. From the worst shot of his four rounds, Rocca then produced the best, under the greatest pressure of all. His reaction, falling to his knees and thumping the ground in front of him, remains indelibly marked in the memories of anyone watching that day. That John Daly, who he caught with that stunning shot, went onto win the four-hole play-off is perhaps the only reason Rocca's effort is not a unanimous answer when counting down the greatest shots in Open history. The likable Italian never did win a major, but as he said in the aftermath of his loss: 'I'm the most famous runner-up in the world.' Three decades on, that might still be true. Flawless Woods puts on a show The Open returned to St Andrews for the Millennium year and the Old Course was treated to perhaps the most complete performance its ever seen. Having already won the US Open at Pebble Beach by 15 strokes earlier in the year, Tiger Woods produced an equally dominant display to clinch the first of his three Claret Jugs. Woods was in complete control from start to finish, never finding a bunker across the four rounds, while he only made three bogeys - and they all came at the weekend when he was out of sight. His 19-under-par tally was a record for any major at the time and his total of 269 was a record for The Open at St Andrews as he completed the career Grand Slam in style. Woods was victorious again at St Andrews five years later, winning by five shots from Colin Montgomerie, and has repeatedly called the venue his 'favourite course in the world'. Nicklaus bids farewell Woods may have lifted the Claret Jug again in 2005 but even his brilliance could not upstage the legendary Jack Nicklaus. The three-time Champion Golfer called time on his storied relationship with The Open at the age of 65 in a farewell that could not have been more fitting. Rapturous applause and cheers echoed around the famous venue as spectators showed their love for the Golden Bear, greeting every shot with increasingly louder roars of approval. After nailing his drive down the final fairway, Nicklaus waved goodbye one final time as he stepped on the Swilcan Bridge - joined by playing partner and fellow Open legend Tom Watson. And although he missed the cut, Nicklaus finished with a memorable 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to shoot a magnificent even-par 72 in his final competitive round. Van de Velde gets his feet wet From the iconic image of a bare-footed Jean Van de Velde clambering into the Barry Burn to try and play his ball, to local hero Paul Lawrie's play-off triumph – The 1999 Open had it all. Knowing a double bogey on the par-four 18th would hand him the title, Van de Velde pushed his drive far to the right but opted to try and reach the green with a two iron, rather than laying up. He caught his second shot cleanly but it bounced 50 yards backwards off the grandstand next to the 18th green, careered off a rock in the Barry Burn and landed in the deep rough. He duly duffed his third into the burn and entered Open folklore by removing his shoes and socks, rolling up his trousers and wading in after the ball – before ultimately opting to take a drop. From there he pitched his fifth shot into a deep greenside bunker, chipped to eight feet with his sixth and, incredibly, produced a nerveless putt to at least card a 77 and force his way into the four-hole aggregate play-off with Lawrie and Justin Leonard – which Lawrie won. Hugh Campbell, chairman of The R&A Championship Committee, summed it up: 'There was triumph, tragedy, romance, farce, pathos and controversy.' LOWRY THE PIED PIPER It may have taken 68 years for The Open to return to Northern Ireland but it was more than worth the wait. Shane Lowry provided a fitting conclusion to an historic week on the County Antrim coast, as a man from the island of Ireland walked away with the Claret Jug. Moving Day is one that those there will never forget, with a party atmosphere that more resembled Glastonbury than golf. Football chants and pop songs reverberated around the Dunluce Links following a 63 that separated Lowry from the pack, before celebrations ratcheted up a notch after he sealed victory on Sunday. Lowry says he partied for days afterwards – and so did his fellow countrymen. SEVE SHINES No player is more inextricably intertwined with the history of The Open than the late, great Seve Ballesteros. The image of the Spaniard's beaming smile and famous fist pump after sinking the final putt to win at St Andrews in 1984 is one of the most iconic in golf. Ballesteros, a three-time winner, went into Sunday trailing Ian Baker-Finch and Tom Watson by two shots but successfully put pressure on the final group by posting a three-under-par round of 69. He then sealed the title with a birdie on the last, taking him to -12 for the week. The man himself later described the winning putt as 'the happiest moment of my whole sporting life' and the picture of him gesturing wildly afterwards has lived on ever since.
Daily Record
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Lee Westwood on target for Open as Ryder Cup heroes battle for Portrush spot
English star and pals Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell scrap to make the big one Lee Westwood has made a strong start to his bid to book a ticket to The Open. Ryder Cup mate Graeme McDowell has also put himself in line for a dream date back on home soil at Royal Portrush. But, although LIV Golf colleague Ian Poulter staged a fightback burst to keep alive his hopes of making it to the 153rd Championship, his son Luke is in even better shape at the halfway mark as the scrap across the UK reaches fever pitch. Westwood is in contention at his qualifying run at Dundonald with an eagle at the third of his first round kickstarting the bid to return to the Championship for the first time in three years. The 52-year-old, who came agonisingly close to winning just down the Ayrshire coastline at Turnberry in 2009 and also came second the following year at St Andrews, is the headline act on the Ayrshire track and was joint-leader at one stage of the morning. A seven at the par-five 14th set him back, but Westwood finished with a two-under par round of 70, three behind leader Jordan Sunborg and firmly in the mix to make it. McDowell and Poulter headed to Kent and the Royal Cinque Ports qualifier with the Ryder Cup hero's boy also trying to make it through at the venue next door to Royal St George's. The Northern Irish star joined Westwood in making a smart start, but stuttered on a back nine of 38 to finish at two-under par and inside the Top with 18 holes to go. Poulter Snr, worked the opposite way having looked in big trouble in the morning with a slow start before reeling-off a strong back nine to finish at level and battle into the shake-up. Son Luke finished five shots better than his dad as the starters near Royal St George's chase down leader David Puig, with the Spanish LIV Golf star beginning powerfully in the battle to join countryman such as Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia at Portrush. In total, 20 places at The 153rd Championship are available with five each coming from Burnham & Berrow, Dundonald, Royal Cinque Ports and West Lancashire. At Burnham and Berrow, Scotsman Craig Sutherland burst to the top of the halfway standings having carded back-to-back birdies to close with an opening six-under par effort of 65. Finland's Oliver Lindell headed the way at West Lancashire with a 67 putting him into the right spot to make it to Northern Ireland. Players will return in the afternoon at all four venues looking to make the final push for Portrush and seal thie places at The Open. McDowell, of course, is desperate to be amongst those who secure places as he looks to join his countrymen 2019 Portrush winner Shane Lowry and Grand Slam king Rory McIlroy in the field. He said: 'It would be amazing. With everything that Rory's done this year, with Shane being the defending champion, to go back to Portrush, it's going to be a special week. It goes without saying that I'd love to be a part of it.'
