First round Thursday, 19 July 2007 Sergio García led the field with a six-under 65; eight years earlier in
1999, he shot 89 in the opening round at Carnoustie and missed the cut by eighteen strokes. Amateur
Rory McIlroy had the only bogey-free round on the day at 68 (−3); he qualified for the Open by winning the European Amateur Championship in 2006.
Tiger Woods began his campaign for a
third straight Open Championship with a 69 (−2), including an eagle at
Hogan's Alley, the famous 6th hole at Carnoustie.
Paul McGinley was bogey-free until the 15th and 16th holes and carded a 67.
John Daly suffered an incredible swoon, scoring −5 after three birdies and an eagle on 11, then had a double bogey at 12, triple bogey at 14, and three more bogeys on the way to a 74 (+3) for the round and went on to miss the cut. The scoring average on the day was 73.72 (+2.72). Source: Paul McGinley rebounded with 68 (−3), three-under for the championship and tied for third place with six others. Tiger Woods shot a 69 (−2) which put him at −1 going into the weekend. At eight strokes behind the leader, his quest for a third straight Open Championship was improbable; he had never won a major when trailing after 54 holes. The best round on Saturday was an amazing 64 (−7) by
Steve Stricker, which was the lowest ever for an Open Championship round at Carnoustie. It also tied the course record (Alan Tait scored 64 during a pro-am in 1994, and
Colin Montgomerie scored the same during the
Scottish Open in
1995). Stricker birdied five of the first seven holes en route to a bogey-free round with seven birdies and climbed the leaderboard into solo second place, three strokes behind García.
Chris DiMarco's 66 (−5) moved him into a tie for third at −3, six shots back. García had yet to win a major championship, and for the first time in his career, led a major after 54 holes. The only Spaniard to win the Open is
hall of famer Seve Ballesteros, with three titles. The scoring average on Saturday was 71.61 (+0.61). Source: The scoring average on the day was 72.79 (+1.79). Source: Top amateur:
Rory McIlroy (+5) • The first ten players, plus ties, are invited to the
2008 Open Championship Full Leaderboard Scorecard Final round Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par Playoff at the 2007 Open Championship Harrington became the first
Irishman to win the Open Championship since
Fred Daly at Royal Liverpool in 1947 and also the first Open Championship winner from the Republic of Ireland after defeating García in a playoff by one shot. The four-hole aggregate playoff included holes 1, 16, 17, and 18. Harrington birdied the par-4 first hole while García bogeyed, a two-stroke edge. Both players parred the next two holes (García hit the pin on the par-3 16th but his ball rolled a distance away), so Harrington still led by two strokes heading into the dangerous 18th. Harrington played the hole more cautiously this time, and reached the green in three shots. García gave himself a chance by reaching the green in two, but his birdie putt burned the left edge. Harrington made his short bogey putt to become the first European winner of a major since
Paul Lawrie of Scotland triumphed in a three-way playoff at Carnoustie in
1999; the win moved Harrington's
world ranking up to sixth.
Scorecard Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par == References ==