Open Championship Notes 2015

2015 Open Championship Media Notes
Dates: July 13-19, 2015
Course: The Old Course at St. Andrews
Par/Yards: 72/7,297
Field: 156
Format: 72-hole stroke play
FedExCup: 600 points to winner
2014 Champion: Rory McIlroy (will miss the event due to recent ankle injury)

How the Open Championship was won in 2014

• Rory McIlroy won the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool to claim the third of his four major championships.
• He entered the final round six clear of his nearest challengers before a 71 led to a two-stroke victory over hardcharging Sergio Garcia (66) and Rickie Fowler (67).
• McIlroy’s win came at the age of 25 years, 2 months and 16 days in his 81st career start on TOUR.
• McIlroy joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as players to complete three legs of the grand slam at the age of 25 or younger. Nicklaus won the 193 PGA Championship at the of 23, 6 months, while Woods won the 2000 U.S. Open at the age of 24 years, 5 months, 19 days.
• McIlroy becomes the 16th player to win three of the four major championships, and 44th different player to win at least three major championships.
• McIlroy becomes the seventh-youngest player to win their first three major championship titles.
• Prior to his WD, was hoping to become just the eighth player to post consecutive Open Championship victories since 1951 (16 overall): Padraig Harrington (2007-08), Tiger Woods (2005-06), Tom Watson (1982-83), Lee Trevino (1971-72), Arnold Palmer (1961-62) and Peter Thomson (1954-56).

Masters and U.S. Open Champion, FedExCup Leader Jordan Spieth

• Jordan Spieth’s run in the major championships continues at St. Andrews as he attempts to become the second player in the history of the modern game to win the first three major championships of the season.
• Ben Hogan won the first three in 1953 but did not play the PGA Championship as it overlapped with The Open Championship.
• Spieth holds a significant lead in the FedExCup standings, 1,713 points over Jimmy Walker.
• Spieth will be making his third Open Championship start (T36-2014, T44-2013).
• Spieth became sixth player to win the Masters and U.S. Open in the same season, joining Tiger Woods (2002), Jack Nicklaus (1972), Arnold Palmer (1960), Ben Hogan (1951, 1953) and Craig Wood (1941).
• Spieth became the 16th player to win the Masters and U.S. Open during their career.
• Spieth became the first player since Rory McIlroy (2014 Open Championship, 2014 PGA Championship) to win two majors in one year. Overall, became the 19th to win two majors in a season (32 times).
• With final round 1-under 69 at the U.S. Open, has now recorded seven of eight rounds under par in majors this season. A third-round 1-over 71 at Chambers Bay marks the only exception.
• Of the eight rounds Spieth has played this season in majors, he has led or shared the lead after seven.
• Spieth became the youngest to win two career majors since Gene Sarazen in 1922.
• Spieth Became just the second player since 1940 to win four times on TOUR before the age of 22. Tiger Woods won the 1997 Masters (his fourth win) at the age of 21 years, 3 months and 14 days.
• Here’s the list:
  • With five wins and eight runner-up finishes, Spieth has the most first- and second-place finishes by a TOUR
    player before the age of 22 since 1970:
    • Spieth (13)
    • Tiger Woods (7)
    • Sergio Garcia (6)
    • Bobby Clampett (5)
    • Rickie Fowler (3).

Winning the week before a Major Championship Victory

• Since 1934, only 11 players on the PGA TOUR have won the week before winning a major, with Lee Trevino the only player performing the feat at the Open Championship:
  • 2014 Rory McIlroy won WGC-Bridgestone Invitational followed by PGA Championship
  • 2007 Tiger Woods won WGC-Bridgestone Invitational followed by PGA Championship
  • 2006 Phil Mickelson won BellSouth Classic followed by Masters
  • 1988 Sandy Lyle won Greater Greensboro Open followed by the Masters
  • 1971 Lee Trevino won the Canadian Open followed by the Open Championship
  • 1959 Art Wall won the Azalea Open followed by the Masters
  • 1949 Sam Snead* won the Greater Greensboro Open followed by the Masters
  • 1946 Ben Hogan* won the Winnipeg Open followed by the PGA
  • 1945 Byron Nelson* won the Chicago Victory Open followed by the PGA
  • 1939 Ralph Guldahl won the Greater Greensboro Open followed by the Masters
  • 1939 Henry Picard* won the Scranton Open followed by the PGA
  • * No event scheduled the week after first win. Major was the next event contested

A look inside the field

• Nine of the top 10 in the current FedExCup rankings, led by Jordan Spieth (1), Jimmy Walker (2), Bubba Watson (3), Dustin Johnson (4), Robert Streb (6), Patrick Reed (7), Brandt Snedeker (8), J.B. Holmes (9), Charley Hoffman (10).
• Nine of the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking, led by Jordan Spieth (2), Bubba Watson (3), Dustin Johnson (4), Jim Furyk (5), Henrik Stenson (6), Justin Rose (7), Jason Day (8), Rickie Fowler (9), Sergio Garcia (10).
• Past Open Championship winners: Tom Watson, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Darren Clarke, Louis Oosthuizen, Stewart Cink, Padraig Harrington, Tiger Woods, Todd Hamilton, Ben Curtis, David Duval, Paul Lawrie, Mark O’Meara, Justin Leonard, Tom Lehman, John Daly, Nick Faldo, Mark Calcavecchia, Sandy Lyle.
• 34 Major Championship winners, led by Tiger Woods (14), Tom Watson (8), Nick Faldo (6), Phil Mickelson (5), Ernie Els (4), Padraig Harrington 93).
• Amateurs: Ashley Chesters, Paul Kinnear, Romain Langasque, Oliver Schniederjans, Gunn Yang, Paul Dunne, Jordan Niebrugge, Alister Balcombe, Ben Taylor.
• Players with 10 or more PGA TOUR victories: Tiger Woods (79), Phil Mickelson (42), Tom Watson (39), Ernie Els (19), Jim Furyk (17), Mark O’Meara (16), Mark Calcavecchia (13), David Duval (13), Justin Leonard (12), Zach Johnson (11), Adam Scott (11).

Tiger Woods

• Tiger Woods enters the Open Championship seven years since his last major title at the 2008 U.S. Open.
• With 14 major titles, he trails all-time leader Jack Nicklaus’ 18 by four.
• Woods owns three wins at the Open Championship (2000, 2005, 2006).
• Woods owns 79 TOUR wins, second only to Sam Snead’s 82.
• Since turning professional, the 2014 Open Championship marked Woods’ first time to finish an Open Championship outside the top 30 among his 15 made cuts (he missed the cut in 2009).
• Woods’ Open Championship record at St. Andrews (T68-1995/amateur; Won-2010, Won-2005, T23-2010).

Rickie Fowler

• Rickie Fowler is coming off his second victory of the season, following a victory earlier this season at THE PLAYERS Championship with a win last week at the Scottish Open.
• Fowler is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Phil Mickelson, the last player to win the Scottish Open and Open Championship back-to-back in the same season.
• Fowler will be making his sixth start at the Open Championship, led by top-5 finishes in 2014 (T2) and 2011 (T5). He debuted at the Open Championship at St. Andrews in 2010, finishing T14.

History of the Open Championship

• This is the 144th Open Championship, with the first being played in 1860.
• The youngest Open Championship winner is Tommy Morris Jr. (1868; 17 years, 5 months, 3 days)
• The oldest Open winner is Tom Morris Sr., winning in 1867 at the age of 46 years and 99 days.
• Harry Vardon owns the most victories at the Open Championship, with six (1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914). The list of five-time winners includes James Braid, J.H. Taylor, Peter Thomson and Tom Watson.
• Amateur winners: Bobby Jones (1926, 1927, 1930), Harold Hilton (1892, 1897), John Ball (1890).

Countries Represented – Winners of the Open Championship:

• United States (28 winners, 43 wins)
• Scotland (22 winners, 41 wins)
• England (14 winners, 28 wins)
• South Africa (4 winners, 10 wins)
• Australia (4 winners, 9 wins)
• Northern Ireland (3 winners, 3 wins)
• Spain (1 winner, 3 wins)
• Republic of Ireland (1 winner, 2 wins)
• Argentina (1 winner, 1 win)
• France (1 winner, 1 win)
• New Zealand (1 winner, 1 win)
• Zimbabwe (1 winner, 1 win)