The Open marks the end of golf’s Major tournaments for another year – and it’s the oldest, as well as the most prestigious, with many a golfer seeking to win the Claret Jug.
This year marks the 149th edition of the tournament, which is being held at Royal St George’s in the county of Kent. Already, The British Open Odds are at bettors’ fingertips, with Jon Rahm – winner of the recent US Open – the favourite. And with the 2020 edition postponed amidst the ongoing pandemic, anticipation and expectation will be higher than ever.
So, let’s look back through the not-so-distant archives to our most recent winners – starting with 2019.
2019: Shane Lowry (Royal Portrush)
Having missed the cut at the previous four editions of The Open, Lowry landed his maiden Major title and defied the odds at Royal Portrush. The Irishman had just four top-10 finishes to his name across the four golf Majors, and won emphatically – six shots ahead of Tommy Fleetwood.
Lowry was ranked 33rd by the PGA going in to The Open, after an early exit at The Masters, a T8 finish at the PGA Championship, and T28 placing at the US Open. However, he made a great start at Royal Portrush.
He scored 67 in the first round, to sit second in the leaderboard and a shot behind JB Holmes. Lowry matched that again in round two, to become the joint leader with a score of eight under par. Then in round three, he started to extend his lead – and landed a score of eight under par (63) to break the course record. Adverse weather conditions meant Lowry scored one over par (71) in the final round, but it was enough to secure victory.
2018: Francesco Molinari (Carnoustie)
The 2018 Open marked a first Major title for Italian Molinari, who had previously had a torrid time in all four of golf’s big tournaments. And he didn’t have the best of starts in Scotland, despite recording a score of one under par in the first round. This was followed by a score of one over, with a mountain to climb – and everything changed in the third round.
Molinari landed six birdies to shoot 65 (five-under) and was three shots off the lead. And in the final round, he shot a bogey-free round of 69, to become the first Italian to win a Major Championship – and finished two shots ahead of Kevin Kisner, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele, who were all T2.
2017: Jordan Spieth (Royal Birkdale)
In 2017, Jordan Spieth won his third Major title, but his first in the Open Championship. The American had started as he meant to go on, sharing the lead in the first round, after scoring 65 (five under par), before weather conditions affected proceedings. Only eight players scored under par in the second round – and Spieth was one of them – landing 69 to end the day two strokes ahead of Matt Kuchar.
The third round was an easier day of scoring, which saw Spieth extend his lead over Kuchar, to three shots and in the final round, it was a two-way battle between him Spieth and Kuchar – with the former coming out on top, after landing a couple of birdies.
