2000 Senior British Open

2000 Senior British Open

Tournament information
Dates	27–30 July 2000
Location	Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom 54°13′05″N5°53′02″W / 54.218°N 5.884°W / 54.218; -5.884
Course(s)	Royal County Down Golf Club
Organised by	The R&A
Tour(s)	European Seniors Tour Senior PGA Tour
Format	72 holes stroke play
Statistics
Par	71
Length	6,609 yd (6,043 m)
Field	132 players, 64 after cut
Cut	150 (+8)
Prize fund	€651,612
Winner's share	€102,758
Champion
Christy O'Connor Jnr
275 (−9)
Location Map
Royal County Down GC Location in Europe Show map of Europe Royal County Down GC Location in British Isles Show map of British Isles Royal County Down GC Location in Ireland Show map of Ireland Royal County Down GC Location in Northern Ireland Show map of Northern Ireland
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The 2000 Senior British Open, for sponsor reasons named Senior British Open presented by MasterCard, was a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and above and the 14th British Senior Open Championship, held from 27 to 30 July at Royal County Down Golf Club in Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.

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]

Christy O'Connor Jnr beat John Bland by two strokes and successfully defended his Senior British Open title from 1999. Bland repeated his second place finish from the year before. ^{[2] [3]}

Venue

Main article: Royal County Down Golf Club

The hosting course, one of the oldest on the island of Ireland, originally designed by Old Tom Morris and located in naturally links settings in the Murlough Nature Reserve, stretching along the shores of Dundrum Bay, was established in 1889. ^[4]

The course had previously hosted several editions of the Irish Open, The Amateur Championship, the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship and the 1968 Curtis Cup.

The event was the first of three editions of the Senior British Open held at the Royal County Down Golf Club three years in a row. ^[5]

Course layout

Hole	Yards	Par		Hole	Yards	Par
1	502	5		10	197	3
2	371	4		11	384	4
3	454	4		12	479	5
4	194	3		13	421	4
5	416	4		14	202	3
6	369	4		15	449	4
7	144	3		16	276	4
8	424	4		17	375	4
9	424	4		18	528	5
Out	3,298	35		In	3,311	36
Source: [6]		Total			6,609	71

Field

132 players, 124 professionals and eight amateurs, entered the competition.

Two qualifying tournaments were held on Tuesday 25 July. 28 players, 25 professionals and three amateurs qualified through an 18-hole qualifying round at Kilkeel Golf Club. 28 players, 25 professionals and three amateurs qualified through an 18-hole qualifying round at Spa Golf Club on 24 July. They joined 76 players, who were exempt into the championship. ^{[7] [8]}

One player withdraw before the cut. 64 players, 60 professionals and four amateurs, made the 36-hole cut. Ken Forster finished leading amateur at tied 33rd.

Past champions in the field

Eight past Senior Open champions participated. Four of them made the 36-hole cut; 1999 champion Christy O'Connor Jnr (won), 1989 and 1993 champion Bob Charles (tied 5th). 1987 champion Neil Coles, (tied 10th) and 1991 champion Bobby Verway (tied 12th).1992 champion John Fourie, 1998 champion Brian Huggett, 1988, 1990 and 1997 champion Gary Player missed the cut. 1995 and 1996 champion Brian Barnes withdraw during the first round.

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

The field included two former winners of The Open Championship. One of them made the cut; 1963 Open champion Bob Charles (tied 5th). 1959, 1968 and 1974 Open champion Gary Player did not make the cut.

The field also included two former runners-up at The Open Championship; Neil Coles (tied 10th) and Brian Huggett (missed the cut).

Final results

Sunday, 30 July 2000

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money (€)
1	Christy O'Connor Jnr	69-68-70-68=275	−9	102,758.06
2	John Bland	68-67-71-71=277	−7	65,421.01
3	Hubert Green	68-72-68-71=279	−5	38,018.86
4	John Morgan	71-71-69-69=280	−4	30,843.65
5	Bob Charles	75-68-71-67=281	−3	25,324.26
T6	Seiji Ebihara	71-70-70-74=285	+1	20,291.88
	Tommy Horton	75-69-68-73=285
	Noel Ratcliffe	67-73-71-74=285
	Dave Stockton	73-69-73-70=285
T10	Neil Coles	72-71-71-72=286	+2	15,503.00
	Malcolm Gregson	76-68-69-73=286

Source: ^[2]

References

1. "The Senior Open Championship". The R&A. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
2. "The Senior Open Championship presented by MasterCard – Results". European Tour. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
3. "Successful defence for O'connor Jnr". European Tour. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
4. "Royal County Down Golf Course". Discover Northern Ireland. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
5. "The Royal County Down Golf Club - History - Major Events". Royal County Down Golf Club. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
6. "Senior British Open, presented by MasterCard – Venue – Course Card". European Tour. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
7. "Pre Qualifying Scores - Kilkeel GC". European Tour. July 2000. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
8. "Pre Qualifying Scores - SPA GC". European Tour. July 2000. Retrieved 1 May 2022.

External links

• Results on European Tour website

Preceded by 2000 Ford Senior Players Championship	Senior Major Championships	Succeeded by 2001 Senior PGA Championship

54°13′05″N5°53′02″W / 54.218°N 5.884°W / 54.218; -5.884