Padraig Harrington wins 2007 British Open Championship

Carnoustie, Scotland (Sports Network) - Padraig Harrington defeated Sergio Garcia in a playoff on Sunday to earn his first major at the British Open Championship at Carnoustie.
Harrington took the aggregate, four-hole playoff 15-16.
This was the first major championship for Harrington, who became the first European to win a major since Paul Lawrie titled here in 1999.
Harrington took a commanding lead right away in the playoff. At the first, he hit his approach to eight feet, while Garcia drove into the right rough, then found the front bunker.
Garcia blasted out to 12 feet and missed the putt. Harrington sank his birdie try to lead, 3-5. Both parred the par-three 16th to allow Harrington to maintain his two-shot lead...Full Story

Garcia and Harrington headed to British Open playoff

Carnoustie, Scotland (Sports Network) - Sergio Garcia and Padraig Harrington are headed to a four-hole playoff to decide the British Open Championship at Carnoustie.
The duo, who finished regulation at seven-under-par 277, will play the first, 16th, 17th and 18th holes.
The conclusion conjured up the ghost of Jean van de Velde from 1999.
The last time Carnoustie hosted the Open Championship, Van de Velde squandered a three-shot lead on the 18th hole. He lost to Paul Lawrie in a playoff and both competitors in this year's extra session made a mess of 18 as well...Full Story

British Open Third Round News & Notes

Carnoustie, Scotland (Sports Network) - Any golf fan who went to Carnoustie would dream of an opportunity to meet the two-time defending champion and world No. 1, Tiger Woods.
A 60-year-old woman had that chance on Saturday at the sixth hole.
It could have gone better.
Woods missed his second shot well right at the par-five hole. His ball struck the woman in the head and Woods went over to check on her before hitting his third.
"I went over there and the lady was bleeding all over the place," said Woods. "I felt really bad. I've done that before. You don't ever feel good about it. You have kind of a pit in your stomach...Full Story

Woods' sliced shot results in spectator needing 2 stitches to head

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (AP) -- A woman was hit in the head by Tiger Woods' ball when he sliced an approach at the British Open on Saturday. She needed two stitches to close the wound.
Jennifer Wilson, from Antrim, Northern Ireland, was treated by medical staff after being driven away in a golf cart. Woods had earlier apologized and given the 63-year-old an autographed glove.
Wilson was struck just short of the green at the par 5 sixth hole at Carnoustie, where she was standing with her husband... Full Story

Swedish golfer fined $1,028 for whacking tee marker

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (AP) -- Sweden's Henrik Stenson was fined more than $1,000 for whacking a tee marker on the eighth hole at the British Open.
Stenson swung at the marker in disgust after a poor shot Friday, taking out half of it. He was fined 500 pounds -- the equivalent of $1,028 -- under the European Tour's disciplinary procedure.
Stenson made triple bogey on the par-3 hole and wound up shooting a 5-over 76. He missed the cut by one stroke.

2007 British Open Second Round News & Notes

Carnoustie, Scotland (Sports Network) - It has been quite a golfing week for Spain.
On Monday, Seve Ballesteros, a three-time champion, and Spain's greatest golfer in history, announced his retirement from competitive golf. He had been hampered for years by a bad back, but his statement at Carnoustie brought an end to an era in Spanish golf.
Then, one day later, Jose Maria Olazabal, a two-time Masters winner and Ballesteros' long-time Ryder Cup partner, withdrew from the British Open Championship with a knee injury
Things did not look good for Spanish golf.
By Friday afternoon, that country became the toast of Scotland...Full Story

2007 British Open First Round News & Notes

Carnoustie, Scotland (Sports Network) - Who was the only player in the field to go through Carnoustie on Thursday without a bogey?

Would you believe an 18-year-old Northern Ireland amateur named Rory McIlroy?

He shot a three-under 68 to put himself in a tie for third with two of the last three U.S. Open champions. That 68 could have easily been a 66 and a share of the lead with Sergio Garcia."This is just awesome," said McIlroy. "I really enjoyed myself out there today. To play Carnoustie with no bogeys on your card, probably the toughest Open course, that's pretty good."McIlroy birdied the par-four fifth hole, then added another at 10. At the par- three 13th, McIlroy hit a seven-iron inside three feet and holed the birdie putt to reach three-under par for the championship...Full Story

McGinley in front early at Carnoustie

Carnoustie, Scotland (Sports Network) - Ireland's Paul McGinley shot a four- under-par 67 on Thursday to grab the clubhouse lead during the first round of the British Open Championship at Carnoustie.Former U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell birdied the 17th hole to post a three-under 68. Markus Brier, Lucas Glover, an alternate who got in when Shingo Katayama withdrew earlier in the week, and 1995 champion John Daly are three-under par on the course.Tiger Woods, the two-time defending champion, managed a two-under-par 69 and is two behind McGinley in his quest to become the first player to win three consecutive claret jugs since Peter Thomson did it from 1954-56....Full Story

Rose trying to end British Open slump

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (AP) -- Justin Rose failed to qualify for the past three British Opens. Now he's back and hoping to end an eight-year shutout in majors for British golfers.
Paul Lawrie's victory at Carnoustie in 1999 was the last time any British -- or European -- golfer won a major, and that has become almost as embarrassing to the locals as Colin Montgomerie's failure to win even one.
The return to Carnoustie has fueled hopes of a British repeat here, and Rose appears to be the leading candidate. He tied for fifth at the Masters and 10th at the U.S. Open after being close to the lead early in both.
"Having played well in the last two majors, beginning to believe that's where I belong and just that alone makes it much easier to go out there and let it happen," Rose said Wednesday...Full Story

Olazabal pulls out of British Open

Carnoustie, Scotland (Sports Network) - Jose Maria Olazabal has withdrawn from the British Open Championship.
Olazabal, a two-time Masters champion, has not played since last month's U.S. Open at Oakmont. He has battled a knee injury that forced him to withdraw from events in France and Scotland the last two weeks.
His best finish at the British Open was a third in 1992 and a tie for third two years ago at St. Andrews. In 1999 when the British Open was last played at Carnoustie, Olazabal missed the cut...Full Story

2007 British Open Championship Preview

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Needless to say, the last time Carnoustie hosted the British Open Championship, it was quite a memorable tournament.
The year was 1999 and you might remember a certain obscure Frenchman named Jean van de Velde coming to the 72nd hole of the tournament three shots ahead of the equally unknown Paul Lawrie and Justin Leonard, the Open Champion two years prior.
From there, most Americans remember the sound of ABC's Curtis Strange calmly losing his mind as Van de Velde made a complete mess of the 18th at Carnoustie.
Not just any mess, but one marred by horrible shot-making and even worse decisions. Who could forget Van de Velde, pants rolled up his leg, trying to pull off a miracle shot from the burn? What most don't recall is that Van de Velde ended up holing a seven-footer for triple-bogey just to get into the playoff...Full Story

Twenty-eight players qualify for British Open

Bloomfield Hills, MI (Sports Network) - Michael Putnam won a British Open qualifier at Oakland Hills on Monday, shooting rounds of 69 and 67 to lead a group of 12 players who earned exemptions to Carnoustie in two weeks.
Putnam won the qualifier with a four-under 136 total, beating John Senden and Ryan Moore by two shots.
In England, Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell posted rounds of 67 and 64 to lead a qualifier at Sunningdale, where 16 players earned berths in the Open.