1998 Senior British Open

Last updated

1998 Senior British Open
Tournament information
Dates6–9 August 1998
Location Portrush, County Antrim,
Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
55°12′00″N6°38′06″W / 55.200°N 6.635°W / 55.200; -6.635
Course(s) Royal Portrush Golf Club
Dunluce Links
Organised by The R&A
Tours
Format72 holes stroke play
Statistics
Par72
Length6,690 yd (6,120 m)
Field113 players, 61 after cut
Cut152 (+8)
Prize fund €372,903
Winner's share €84,000
Champion
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Brian Huggett
283 (−5)
Location map
Europe relief laea location map.jpg
Icona golf.svg
Royal Portrush GC
Location in Europe
United Kingdom relief location map.jpg
Icona golf.svg
Royal Portrush GC
Location in the United Kingdom
Island of Ireland relief location map.png
Icona golf.svg
Royal Portrush GC
Location in Ireland
Relief Map of Northern Ireland.png
Icona golf.svg
Royal Portrush GC
Location in Northern Ireland
←  1997
1999  →

The 1998 Senior British Open was a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and above and the 12th British Senior Open Championship, held from 6 to 9 August at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.

Contents

In 2018, the tournament was, as all Senior British Open Championships played 1987–2002, retroactively recognized as a senior major golf championship and a PGA Tour Champions (at the time named the Senior PGA Tour) event. [1]

Brian Huggett won in a playoff over Eddie Polland to win his first Senior British Open title and first senior major championship victory. [2] [3]

Venue

The event was the fourth Senior Open Championship in a row held at Royal Portrush Golf Club. [4]

Royal Portrush GC 5th hole Royal Portrush Golf Club 5th hole.png
Royal Portrush GC 5th hole

Field

113 professionals, no amateurs, entered the competition. One of them withdraw and one was disqualified. 61 players made the 36-hole cut.

Past champions in the field

Six past Senior British Open champions participated. All of them made the 36-hole cut.

PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2R3R4TotalTo parFinish
Brian Barnes Flag of England.svg  England 1995, 1996 70736873284−43
Bob Charles Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 1989, 1993 75737370291+3T9
Gary Player Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 1988, 1990, 1997 70757275292+4T12
Neil Coles Flag of England.svg  England 1987 74747373294+6T21
Bobby Verwey Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 1991 73737577298+10T32
John Fourie Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 1992 75747577301+13T47

Past winners and runners-up at The Open Championship in the field

The field included three former winners of The Open Championship, Bob Charles (tied 9th), Gary Player (tied 12th) and Tony Jacklin (missed cut).

The field also included three former runners-up at The Open Championship; Brian Huggett (won), Neil Coles (tied 21st) and Christy O'Connor Snr (tied 41st).

Final round and playoff summaries

Final round

Sunday, 9 August 1998

Brian Huggett and Eddie Polland tied the lead after the fourth round, to meet in a sudden death playoff, to decide the winner. Brian Barnes birdied the 15th and 17th holes to move within a shot of the leaders and had a 20-foot putt on the 18th green to tie, but missed and finished a shot from the playoff. Defending champion Gary Player finished tied 12th nine shots behind the leaders.

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney (€)
T1 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Brian Huggett 71-70-71-71=283−5Playoff
Ulster Banner.svg Eddie Polland 71-71-71-70=283
3 Flag of Scotland.svg Brian Barnes 70-73-68-73=284−430,800
4 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Noel Ratcliffe 74-71-71-69=285−325,202
T5 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Terry Gale 70-70-75-71=286−218,165
Flag of England.svg Malcolm Gregson 76-71-72-67=286
Flag of England.svg Tommy Horton 72-68-69-77=286
Flag of Ireland.svg Denis O'Sullivan 71-73-71-71=286
T9 Flag of New Zealand.svg Bob Charles 75-73-73-70=291+313,580
Ulster Banner.svg David Jones 69-77-71-74=291
Ulster Banner.svg Paul Leonard 72-74-70-75=291

Playoff

Sunday, 9 August 1998

The sudden-death playoff went on the par-4 18th hole, to be played until one of the players had a lower score on the hole than the other. 61-year-old Brian Huggett beat Eddie Polland with a par at the first extra hole. Polland missed the green on the right side with his second shot and, after chipping in to the green, missed his putt from nine feet.

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney (€)
1 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Brian Huggett 4E84,000
2 Ulster Banner.svg Eddie Polland 5+153,200

Sources: [2] [5] [6]

References

  1. ↑ "The Senior Open Championship". The R&A. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Brian Huggett wins". European Tour. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  3. ↑ "Senior British Open Results". European Tour. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  4. ↑ "Senior British Open – Course Card". European Tour. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  5. ↑ "Polland is pipped again by Huggett". The Irish Times. 10 August 1998. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  6. ↑ "Polland in Open play-off agony". independent.ie. 10 August 1998. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
Preceded by Senior Major Championships Succeeded by

55°12′00″N6°38′06″W / 55.200°N 6.635°W / 55.200; -6.635

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.