1995 Open Championship

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1995 Open Championship
1995 Open Championship Program.png
Front cover of the 1995 Open Program
Tournament information
Dates20–23 July 1995
Location St Andrews, Scotland
Course(s) Old Course at St Andrews
Tour(s) European Tour
PGA Tour
Statistics
Par72 [1]
Length6,933 yards (6,340 m) [1]
Field159 players, 103 after cut [1]
Cut148 (+4) [1]
Prize fund £1,250,000
1,876,980
$2,000,000
Winner's share£125,000
€175,000
$199,375
Champion
Flag of the United States.svg John Daly
282 (−6), playoff
  1994
1996  
Scotland relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
St Andrews
Location in Scotland

The 1995 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 124th Open Championship held from 20 to 23 July at the Old Course at St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland. John Daly won his first Open Championship and second major title in a four-hole playoff over Costantino Rocca. [2]

Contents

This was the final Open appearance for two-time champion Arnold Palmer and the first appearance for three-time champion Tiger Woods.

Course

The Old Course at St Andrews [3]

HoleNameYardsParHoleNameYardsPar
1Burn370410Bobby Jones3424
2Dyke411411High (In)1723
3Cartgate (Out)371412Heathery (In)3164
4Ginger Beer463413Hole O'Cross (In)4254
5Hole O'Cross (Out)564514Long5675
6Heathery (Out)416415Cartgate (In)4134
7High (Out)372416Corner of the Dyke3824
8Short178317Road4614
9End356418Tom Morris3544
Out3,50136In3,43236
Total6,93372

Previous lengths of the course for The Open Championship (since 1950): [1]

  • 6,933 yards (6,340 m)1990, 1984, 1978
  • 6,957 yards (6,361 m)1970:
  • 6,926 yards (6,333 m)1964
  • 6,936 yards (6,342 m)1960, 1955

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, 20 July 1995

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1 Flag of the United States.svg Ben Crenshaw 67−5
Flag of the United States.svg John Daly
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Mark McNulty
Flag of the United States.svg Tom Watson
T5 Ulster Banner.svg David Feherty 68−4
Flag of the United States.svg Bill Glasson
Flag of Sweden.svg Mats Hallberg
Flag of Fiji.svg Vijay Singh
T9 Ulster Banner.svg Darren Clarke 69−3
Flag of the United States.svg John Cook
Flag of the United States.svg Jim Gallagher Jr.
Flag of England.svg David Gilford
Flag of Sweden.svg Per-Ulrik Johansson
Flag of the United States.svg Steve Lowery
Flag of the United States.svg Corey Pavin
Flag of Italy.svg Costantino Rocca
Flag of the United States.svg Gene Sauers

Second round

Friday, 21 July 1995

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1 Flag of the United States.svg John Daly 67-71=138−6
Flag of the United States.svg Brad Faxon 71-67=138
Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Katsuyoshi Tomori 70-68=138
T4 Flag of the United States.svg Mark Brooks 70-69=139−5
Flag of the United States.svg John Cook 69-70=139
Flag of the United States.svg Ben Crenshaw 67-72=139
Flag of South Africa.svg Ernie Els 71-68=139
Flag of the United States.svg Corey Pavin 69-70=139
Flag of Italy.svg Costantino Rocca 69-70=139
T10 Flag of the United States.svg Justin Leonard 73-67=140−4
Flag of Fiji.svg Vijay Singh 68-72=140
Flag of the United States.svg Payne Stewart 72-68=140

Amateurs: Sherry (−3), Webster (−2), Woods (+1), Clark (+3), Gallacher (+7).

Third round

Saturday, 22 July 1995

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 Flag of New Zealand.svg Michael Campbell 71-71-65=207−9
2 Flag of Italy.svg Costantino Rocca 69-70-70=209−7
3 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Elkington 72-69-69=210−6
T4 Flag of the United States.svg John Daly 67-71-73=211−5
Flag of South Africa.svg Ernie Els 71-68-72=211
Flag of the United States.svg Corey Pavin 69-70-72=211
Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Katsuyoshi Tomori 70-68-73=211
T8 Flag of the United States.svg Mark Brooks 70-69-73=212−4
Flag of Scotland.svg Sam Torrance 71-70-71=212
T10 Flag of the United States.svg Bob Estes 72-70-71=213−3
Flag of the United States.svg Brad Faxon 71-67-75=213
Flag of England.svg Barry Lane 72-73-68=213
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brett Ogle 73-69-71=213
Flag of Fiji.svg Vijay Singh 68-72-73=213
Flag of the United States.svg Tom Watson 67-76-70=213

Final round

Sunday, 23 July 1995

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney (£)
T1 Flag of the United States.svg John Daly 67-71-73-71=282−6Playoff
Flag of Italy.svg Costantino Rocca 69-70-70-73=282
T3 Flag of England.svg Steven Bottomley 70-72-72-69=283−565,667
Flag of the United States.svg Mark Brooks 70-69-73-71=283
Flag of New Zealand.svg Michael Campbell 71-71-65-76=283
T6 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Elkington 72-69-69-74=284−440,500
Flag of Fiji.svg Vijay Singh 68-72-73-71=284
T8 Flag of the United States.svg Bob Estes 72-70-71-72=285−333,333
Flag of England.svg Mark James 72-75-68-70=285
Flag of the United States.svg Corey Pavin 69-70-72-74=285

Amateurs: Webster (+1), Sherry (+3), Woods (+7), Clark (+13).

Source: [4]

Early in the final round, John Daly moved clear with birdies at the 4th, 7th, and 8th holes, while Michael Campbell bogeyed the 5th and 6th. Mark Brooks was Daly's closest challenger for much of the day, but a double bogey on the 16th hole saw him fall back; a closing birdie on the 18th hole meant he tied Steven Bottomley's clubhouse score at 5 under par (283). Daly's lead had grown to three strokes on the 16th tee, but he made bogeys on both the 16th and 17th holes, where he hit his approach against the face of the Road Hole bunker. He finished his round at 6 under par (282). When Steve Elkington failed to birdie the 16th and bogeyed the 17th, Michael Campbell and Costantino Rocca with the only players remaining with a chance to match Daly's score. Rocca was one behind Daly playing the 17th hole; he hit his approach onto the road behind the green, but hit his recovery shot to 4 feet and made the putt for par to remain one stroke behind going to the final hole. Campbell made par on the 17th to leave him 2 behind.

The 72nd hole

As the final group, consisting of Rocca and 54-hole leader Michael Campbell, approached the last hole, Daly had completed his round and was in at 6 under par, a stroke clear of Rocca and two ahead of Campbell. Both golfers had a chance to tie Daly and force a playoff, with Rocca needing birdie and Campbell eagle to do so.

Rocca hit a shorter shot than Campbell, who nearly reached the green on his first shot, and played his second first. However, he misplayed the chip shot and only hit the ball a few yards, leaving him with an extremely long putt from an area of the hole referred to as the "Valley of Sin". Campbell failed to hole out on his second shot, thus leaving Rocca as the only one who could prevent the outright win for Daly. [5]

As Daly and his wife Paulette watched on a monitor, believing that Rocca's mistake clinched the victory for him, Rocca lined up to attempt his putt for a tournament-tying birdie. Needing to make a sixty-five foot uphill putt with a sharp break to stay alive, Rocca managed to redeem himself for his error on the second shot as the putt rolled in to tie Daly at −6.

Playoff

For this 1995 edition, the four holes pre-selected for the aggregate score playoff were 1, 2, 17 (St. Andrew's infamous "Road Hole"), and 18. [5] All were par four holes.

Daly emerged with the early lead after parring the first playoff hole while Rocca carded a bogey. He added a shot to his lead with a birdie on 2, leaving him at −1 to Rocca's +1 as the two men headed to the Road Hole for the third playoff hole. [5]

Rocca hit his first shot onto the fairway while Daly ended up in the left-side rough. On the next shot, Rocca hit his ball into the Road Bunker, one of the deepest such hazards on the course. To further complicate matters, Rocca's shot was nestled deep in the sand near the front of the bunker and it took him three tries to finally extricate himself from the trap. Rocca two-putted from there to a triple-bogey 7, which all but ensured Daly would win the championship as he headed to the last hole with a five-shot lead after parring the Road Hole. Daly finished with another par at 18, giving him a four-hole total of 15, one-under-par. Rocca salvaged some pride with a birdie three for 19, three-over-par and four back. [5]

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney (£)
1 Flag of the United States.svg John Daly 4-3-4-4=15−1125,000
2 Flag of Italy.svg Costantino Rocca 5-4-7-3=19+3100,000

Scorecard

Hole  1    2   17  18 
Par4444
Flag of the United States.svg DalyE−1−1−1
Flag of Italy.svg Rocca+1+1+4+3

Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par

EagleBirdieBogeyDouble bogeyTriple bogey +

Source [6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 35, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  2. Reilly, Rick (31 July 1995). "An epic finish". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010.
  3. "124th Open Championship: course". Southeast Missourian. 20 July 1995. p. B1.
  4. "1995 Open Championship Leaderboard". R&A. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Parascenzo, Marino (24 July 1995). "Daly takes crown". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. C1.
  6. Bonk, Thomas (24 July 1995). "Big bad John rules St. Andrews". Eugene Register-Guard. (Los Angeles Times). p. 1B.

56°20′35″N2°48′11″W / 56.343°N 2.803°W / 56.343; -2.803