The 2003 Open Championship was a
men's major golf championship and the 132nd
Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
, held from 17 to 20 July at
Royal St George's Golf Club
The Royal St George's Golf Club is a golf club located in Sandwich, Kent, England. It is one of the courses on The Open Championship rota, and the only one in South East England. It has hosted 15 Open championships, the first in 1894 when it b ...
in
Sandwich
A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...
, England.
Ben Curtis won his only major title, one stroke ahead of runners-up
Thomas Bjørn
Thomas Bjørn (born 18 February 1971) is a Danish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He is the most successful Danish golfer to have played the game having won fifteen tournaments worldwide on the European Tour. In 1997 he also b ...
and
Vijay Singh
Vijay Singh ( ; born 22 February 1963) is a Fijians, Fijian professional golfer. In 1982, Singh turned professional and played on the local Asia Golf Circuit. However, his early career met with controversy, as he was accused of numerous rules ...
. Bjørn had led in the final round by two shots with three holes to play, but needed three attempts to play out of a greenside bunker on the 16th hole.
Playing in his first major championship and number 396 in the world rankings, Curtis became the first debut winner at The Open since
Tom Watson in
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
.
Course layout
Source:
*The 4th hole was a par 4 in previous Opens
Lengths of the course for previous Opens (since 1950):
*
1993
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
: , par 70
*
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
: , par 70
*
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
: , par 70
Field
;1. Top 15 and ties from the
2002 Open Championship
The 2002 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 131st Open Championship, held from 18 to 21 July at Muirfield Golf Links in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Ernie Els won his first Claret Jug and third major title in a p ...
Stuart Appleby
Stuart Appleby (born 1 May 1971) is an Australian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He was a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour.
Early life
Appleby was born in Cohuna, Victoria, and grew up on a nearby dairy farm. He be ...
(4),
Thomas Bjørn
Thomas Bjørn (born 18 February 1971) is a Danish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He is the most successful Danish golfer to have played the game having won fifteen tournaments worldwide on the European Tour. In 1997 he also b ...
(4,5,18),
Steve Elkington
Stephen John Elkington (born 8 December 1962) is an Australian professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions. Formerly on the PGA Tour, he spent more than fifty weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking from 1995 to 1998.
Elkington ...
,
Ernie Els
Theodore Ernest Els (; born 17 October 1969) is a South African professional golfer. A former , he is nicknamed "the Big Easy" due to his physical stature along with his fluid golf swing. Among his more than 70 career victories are four major ...
(2,3,4,5,10,14),
Gary Evans,
Sergio García
Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He turned professional in 1999 and played on the European Tour and PGA Tour prior to joining LIV Golf in 2022. García has won 36 international tournaments as ...
(4,5,14,18),
Retief Goosen
Retief Goosen (born 3 February 1969) is a South African professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He has won two U.S. Opens, in 2001 and 2004, headed the European Tour Order of Merit in 2001 and 2002, and was in the top ten of t ...
(4,5,10,14),
Søren Hansen
Søren Hansen (born 21 March 1974) is a Danish professional golfer.
Hansen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He won the 1997 Danish Amateur Stroke Play Championship and turned professional later that year.
Hansen collected his first profession ...
(5),
Pádraig Harrington
Pádraig Peter Harrington (born 31 August 1971) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has won three men's major golf championships, major championships: The Open Championship in 2 ...
(4,5,18),
Justin Leonard
Justin Charles Garrett Leonard (born June 15, 1972) is an American professional golfer. He has 12 career wins on the PGA Tour, including one major, the 1997 Open Championship. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He is one of only five ...
(2,3,4,14),
Thomas Levet
Thomas Jean Roger Levet (born 5 September 1968) is a French professional golfer who is a member of the European Tour and former member of the PGA Tour.
Career
Levet was born in Paris, France. He turned professional in 1988 and won the French PGA ...
,
Peter Lonard
Peter Lawrence Lonard (born 17 July 1967) is an Australian professional golfer who has played mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour.
Early life
Lonard was born at Epping, Sydney.
Professional career
Lonard turned professional in 1989 and began ...
(4,22),
Davis Love III
Davis Milton Love III (born April 13, 1964) is an American professional golfer who has won 21 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship: the 1997 PGA Championship. He won the Players Championship in 1992 and 2003. He was in th ...
(4,13,18),
Shigeki Maruyama
Shigeki Maruyama (丸山茂樹, ''Maruyama Shigeki''; born 12 September 1969) is a Japanese professional golfer.
Early life
Maruyama was born in Ichikawa, Japan, near Tokyo. He attended Nihon University.
Professional career
In 1992, he turne ...
(4,14),
Peter O'Malley (22),
Nick Price
Nicholas Raymond Leige Price (born 28 January 1957) is a Zimbabwean former professional golfer who has won three major championships in his career: the PGA Championship twice (in 1992 and 1994) and The Open Championship in 1994. In the mid-1 ...
(2,3,4,14)
*''
Scott Hoch
Scott Mabon Hoch ( ; born November 24, 1955) is an American professional golfer, who represented his country in the Ryder Cup in 1997 and 2002.
Early life
Hoch was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. While attending Needham B. Broughton High Scho ...
(4,18) did not play.''
;2. Open Champions, 1993–2002
John Daly (3),
David Duval
David Robert Duval (born November 9, 1971) is an American professional golfer and former World No. 1 Golfer who competed on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Duval won 13 PGA Tour tournaments between 1997 and 2001; inc ...
(3,18),
Paul Lawrie
Paul Stewart Lawrie (born 1 January 1969) is a Scottish professional golfer who is best known for winning The Open Championship in 1999. He was a vice-captain for the European Ryder Cup team in 2016.
Early career
Lawrie was born in Aberdeen a ...
(3,4,5),
Tom Lehman
Thomas Edward Lehman (born March 7, 1959) is an American professional golfer. A former #1 ranked golfer, his tournament wins include one major title, the 1996 Open Championship; and he is the only golfer in history to have been awarded the Pla ...
(3),
Greg Norman
Gregory John Norman (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian former professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as List of World Number One male golfers, world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 88 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA ...
(3),
Mark O'Meara
Mark Francis O'Meara (born January 13, 1957) is an American retired professional golfer. He was a tournament winner on the PGA Tour and around the world from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. He spent nearly 200 weeks in the top-10 of the Offici ...
(3),
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
(3,4,10,11,12,13,14,18)
;3. Past Open Champions aged 65 or under on 20 July 2003
Mark Calcavecchia
Mark John Calcavecchia (born June 12, 1960) is an American professional golfer and a former PGA Tour member. During his professional career, he won 13 PGA Tour events, including the 1989 Open Championship. He plays on the Champions Tour as well ...
(18),
Nick Faldo
Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo (born 18 July 1957) is an English retired professional golfer and television commentator. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his dedication to the game, and was ranked No. ...
,
Sandy Lyle
Alexander Walter Barr "Sandy" Lyle (born 9 February 1958) is a Scottish professional golfer. He has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s. ...
,
Tom Watson
*''
Seve Ballesteros
Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...
withdrew.''
*''
Ian Baker-Finch
Ian Michael Baker-Finch (born 24 October 1960) is an Australian golfer and sports commentator best known for winning The Open Championship in 1991.
Early life
Baker-Finch was born in Nambour, Queensland, Australia. He grew up in the same Queens ...
,
Tony Jacklin
Anthony Jacklin CBE (born 7 July 1944) is an English golfer. He was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, the 1969 Open Championship and the 1970 U.S. Open. He was also Ryder Cup captain from ...
,
Johnny Miller
John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ran ...
,
Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...
,
Bill Rogers,
Lee Trevino
Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and ...
, and
Tom Weiskopf
Thomas Daniel Weiskopf (November 9, 1942 – August 20, 2022) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. His most successful decade was the 1970s. He won 16 PGA Tour titles between 1968 and 1982, incl ...
did not enter.''
;4. The first 50 players on the OWGR on 29 May 2003
Robert Allenby
Robert Allenby (born 12 July 1971) is an Australian professional golfer.
Early life
Allenby was born in Melbourne on 12 July 1971. He is of English descent, with his father being a native of Leeds.
Professional career
He turned professional i ...
(14),
Rich Beem
Richard Michael Beem (born August 24, 1970) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and is best known for his upset victory at the 2002 PGA Championship.
Early life and amateur career
Beem was born in Phoenix, Arizona, g ...
(12,14),
Ángel Cabrera
Ángel Leopoldo Cabrera (; born 12 September 1969) is an Argentine professional golfer who has played on both the European Tour and PGA Tour. He is known affectionately as ''"El Pato"'' in Spanish ''("The Duck")'' for his waddling gait. He is a ...
(5),
Michael Campbell
Michael Shane Campbell (born 23 February 1969) is a New Zealand professional golfer who is best known for having won the 2005 U.S. Open and, at the time, the richest prize in golf, the £1,000,000 HSBC World Match Play Championship, in the ...
(5),
Paul Casey
Paul Alexander Casey (born 21 July 1977) is an English golfer who is a member of LIV Golf. He has also played on the US-based PGA Tour and the European Tour. In 2009, he achieved his highest position, third, in the Official World Golf Rankin ...
,
K. J. Choi
Choi Kyung-Ju (; born 19 May 1970), commonly known as K. J. Choi, is a South Korean professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Since turning pro in 1994, he has won more than thirty professional golf tournamen ...
(14),
Darren Clarke
Darren Christopher Clarke (born 14 August 1968) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions and has previously played on the European Tour and PGA Tour. He has won 21 tournaments worldwide on ...
(18),
Fred Couples
Frederick Steven Couples (born October 3, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. A former World No. 1, he has won 64 professional tournaments, most notably the Masters Tournament ...
,
Chris DiMarco
Christian Dean DiMarco (born August 23, 1968) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. DiMarco has won eight tournaments as a pro, including three PGA Tour events.
Early life
Born in Huntington, New York, DiMarco ...
(14),
Bob Estes
Bob Alan Estes (born February 2, 1966) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He was previously a member of the PGA Tour, where he was a four-time champion.
Early life and amateur career
Estes was born in Graham, ...
,
Niclas Fasth
Niclas Krister Fasth (born 29 April 1972) is a Swedish professional golfer, who has won six times on the European Tour. He has finished second in the 2001 Open Championship and fourth in the 2007 U.S. Open and represented Europe winning the 20 ...
(5,18),
Brad Faxon
Bradford John Faxon Jr. (born August 1, 1961) is an American professional golfer. He has won eight times on the PGA Tour.
Early life and amateur career
Faxon was born in Oceanport, New Jersey and raised in Barrington, Rhode Island. He attended F ...
,
Steve Flesch
Stephen J. Flesch (born May 23, 1967) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He was a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, and worked briefly as a TV golf analyst for Fox Sports and Golf Channel before joi ...
,
Fred Funk
Frederick Funk (born June 14, 1956) is an American professional golfer. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He previously played on the PGA Tour, where he was an eight-time winner. Funk's signature win came at The Players Championship ...
(14),
Jim Furyk
James Michael Furyk (born May 12, 1970) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. In 2010, he was the FedEx Cup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year. He has won one major championship, the 2 ...
(10,14,18),
Jay Haas
Jay Dean Haas (born December 2, 1953) is an American professional golfer formerly of the PGA Tour who now plays on the PGA Tour Champions.
Early life and amateur career
Haas was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in Belleville, Illinois ...
,
Charles Howell III
Charles Gordon Howell III (born June 20, 1979) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on LIV Golf and formerly on the PGA Tour. He has been featured in the top 15 of the Official World Golf Ranking and ranked 9th on the PGA Tour m ...
(14),
Trevor Immelman
Trevor John Immelman (born 16 December 1979) is a South African retired professional golfer and television commentator who has played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and Sunshine Tour. He won his sole major championship at the 2008 Masters Tourn ...
(5,24),
Jerry Kelly
Jerome Patrick Kelly (born November 23, 1966) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions.
Early life and amateur career
Kelly was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. Kelly was an all-city ice hockey ...
(14),
Bernhard Langer
Bernhard Langer (; born 27 August 1957) is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, he became the sport's first number one ranked playe ...
(5,18),
Len Mattiace
Leonard Earl Mattiace (; born October 15, 1967) is an American professional golfer, formerly of the PGA Tour and now playing on the PGA Tour Champions.
Early life
Mattiace was born in Mineola, New York. He attended Nease High School in Ponte ...
(14),
Phil Mickelson
Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970) is an American professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf League. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six Men's major golf championships, major championships: three Masters ...
(14,18),
Colin Montgomerie
Colin Stuart Montgomerie (born 23 June 1963) is a Scottish professional golfer. He has won a record eight European Tour PGA European Tour#Order of Merit winners, Order of Merit titles, including a streak of seven consecutive ones from 1993 to 1 ...
(5,6,18),
Craig Parry
Craig David Parry (born 12 January 1966) is an Australian professional golfer. He has been one of Australia's premier golfers since turning professional in 1985, and has 23 career victories, two of those wins being events on the PGA Tour; the 2 ...
(22),
Kenny Perry
James Kenneth Perry (born August 10, 1960) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He won 14 PGA Tour events and has won nine PGA Tour Champions events including four senior major championships: the 2 ...
,
Chris Riley,
Eduardo Romero
Eduardo Alejandro Romero (17 July 1954 – 13 February 2022) was an Argentine professional golfer. Nicknamed "El Gato" ("The Cat"), he won over 80 professional tournaments around the world, including eight on the European Tour and five on the Ch ...
(5),
Justin Rose
Justin Peter Rose (born 30 July 1980) is an English professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, first reaching that position in 2018.
Rose came to prominen ...
(5),
Adam Scott (5),
Vijay Singh
Vijay Singh ( ; born 22 February 1963) is a Fijians, Fijian professional golfer. In 1982, Singh turned professional and played on the local Asia Golf Circuit. However, his early career met with controversy, as he was accused of numerous rules ...
(11,12,14),
Jeff Sluman
Jeffrey George Sluman (born September 11, 1957) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous professional golf tournaments including six PGA Tour victories.
Early life and amateur career
Sluman was born and reared in Rochester, New Yo ...
(14),
David Toms
David Wayne Toms (born January 4, 1967) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. From 1992 to 2017, Toms was a member of the PGA Tour, where he won 13 events, including one major, the 2001 PGA Champions ...
(12,14,18),
Scott Verplank
Scott Rachal Verplank (born July 9, 1964) is an American professional golfer, who has played on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions.
Early life
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Verplank was a leading member of the W.T. White High School g ...
(18),
Mike Weir
Michael Richard Weir, (born May 12, 1970) is a Canadian professional golfer. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He spent over 110 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 2001 and 2005. He plays golf left-hande ...
(11)
*''
Rocco Mediate
Rocco Anthony Mediate (born December 17, 1962) is an American professional golfer who has won six times on the PGA Tour and three times on the PGA Tour Champions. In the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines South Course, he finished runner-up after ...
and
Kirk Triplett
Kirk Alan Triplett (born March 29, 1962) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, and PGA Tour Champions.
Early life and amateur career
Born in Moses Lake, Washington, Triplett grew up on the Palouse in ...
did not play.''
;5. Top 20 in the final
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
European Tour
The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...
Order of Merit
Bradley Dredge
Bradley Dredge (born 6 July 1973) is a Welsh professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He has won twice on the tour, the 2003 Madeira Island Open and the 2006 Omega European Masters, both by 8 strokes. He also won the 2005 WGC-World ...
,
Anders Hansen
Anders Rosenberg Hansen (born 16 September 1970) is a Danish former professional golfer.
Career
Hansen was born in Sønderborg, Denmark. He turned professional in 1995. It took him a few years to establish himself on the European Tour, with ...
(6),
Stephen Leaney,
José María Olazábal
José María Olazábal Manterola (, ; born 5 February 1966) is a Spanish Basques, Basque professional golfer from the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country, who has enjoyed success on both the European Tour and the PGA Tour, and has wo ...
(11)
;6. The
Volvo PGA Championship
The BMW PGA Championship is an annual men's professional golf tournament on the European Tour. It was founded in 1955 by the Professional Golfers' Association, and originally called the British PGA Championship.
History
The BMW PGA Championship ...
winners for 2000–03
Ignacio Garrido
Ignacio Garrido (born 27 March 1972) is a Spanish professional golfer who won twice on the European Tour.
Garrido was born in Madrid. He is the eldest son of Antonio Garrido who won five times on the European Tour and also played in the 1979 R ...
,
Andrew Oldcorn
Andrew Oldcorn (born 31 March 1960) is a Scottish professional golfer.
Oldcorn was born in Bolton, Lancashire, England. He was raised in Edinburgh, and represents Scotland. He represented England as an amateur and won the English Amateur in 198 ...
;7. First 5 players, not exempt, in the top 20 of the
2003 European Tour
The 2003 European Tour was the 32nd season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
Changes for 2003
There were four new tournaments to the European Tour in 2003, the Nordic Open and t ...
Order of Merit as of 29 May
Brian Davis,
Robert-Jan Derksen
Robert-Jan Derksen (born 3 January 1974) is a Dutch professional golfer.
Derksen was born in Nijmegen. He won the Dutch Amateur Championship four years in a row from 1993 to 1996 and turned professional in 1996.
Derksen began his professional c ...
,
Kenneth Ferrie
Kenneth Andrew Ferrie (born 28 September 1978) is an English professional golfer.
Early life and amateur career
Ferrie was born in Ashington, Northumberland. He won the British Boys Championship in 1996 and made his first appearance in a Europ ...
,
Mathias Grönberg
Mathias David Grönberg (born 12 March 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer who has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour, as well as both of their second-tier tours.
Amateur career
Grönberg was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He won the Swedish ...
,
Freddie Jacobson
Fredrik Ulf Yngve Jacobson (born 26 September 1974) is a Swedish professional golfer who formerly played on the PGA Tour and the European Tour.
Early life
Jacobson was born in Kungsbacka, 30 kilometers south of Gothenburg, at the west coast of ...
;8. First 7 European Tour members, not exempt, in the top 25 of a cumulative money list taken from all official European Tour events from the 2003
Volvo PGA Championship
The BMW PGA Championship is an annual men's professional golf tournament on the European Tour. It was founded in 1955 by the Professional Golfers' Association, and originally called the British PGA Championship.
History
The BMW PGA Championship ...
up to and including the 2003
Scottish Open
Alastair Forsyth
Alastair Forsyth (born 5 February 1976) is a Scottish professional golfer.
Amateur career
Forsyth was born in Glasgow, Scotland and grew up supporting Rangers. He was a member of a winning Great Britain & Ireland Jacques Léglise Trophy team in ...
,
Philip Golding
Philip Keith Golding (born 25 July 1962) is an English professional golfer.
Career
Golding was born in Luton, Bedfordshire. He was a promising cricketer who played for Middlesex Colts before he took up golf at the age of 17. He turned professio ...
,
David Howell,
Søren Kjeldsen
Søren Panum Kjeldsen (; born 17 May 1975) is a Danish golfer who currently plays on PGA Tour Champions.
Professional career
Kjeldsen turned professional in 1995. Kjeldsen's success on the second tier Challenge Tour in 1997, which included his f ...
,
Mark McNulty
Mark William McNulty (born 24 March 1953) is a Zimbabwean-Irish professional golfer. He was one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, and featured in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking f ...
,
Greg Owen,
Ian Poulter
Ian James Poulter (born 10 January 1976) is an English professional golfer who plays in the LIV Golf League. He has previously been ranked as high as number 5 in the world rankings. The highlights of Poulter's career to date have been his two ...
;9. The leading 8 players, not exempt having applied (8) above, in the 2003
Scottish Open
Raphaël Jacquelin
Raphaël Jacquelin (born 8 May 1974) is a French professional golfer who plays on the European Tour.
Career
Jacquelin was born in Lyon. He turned professional in 1995, after winning the French Amateur Championship.
Jacquelin began his profession ...
,
David Lynn,
Rolf Muntz
Rolf Frederick Cornelis Muntz (born 26 March 1969) is a Dutch professional golfer.
Muntz was born in Voorschoten. As an amateur, he won three Dutch Amateur Championships and two Dutch Stroke Play Championships and became the first Dutchman to w ...
,
Gary Murphy,
Nick O'Hern
Nicholas Simon O'Hern (born 18 October 1971) is an Australian professional golfer.
O'Hern has played on both of the world's premier professional golf tours, the European Tour, and the United States–based PGA Tour. His biggest successes thoug ...
,
Iain Pyman,
Mark Roe
Mark Adrian Roe (born 20 February 1963) is an English professional golfer, short game coach and golfing analyst for Sky Sports. Roe won worldwide respect for the way he handled being disqualified from the 2003 Open Championship for a scorecard ...
,
Charl Schwartzel
Charl Adriaan Schwartzel ( ; born 31 August 1984) is a South African professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf Invitational Series and has previously played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and the Sunshine Tour. He has won one ma ...
;10. The
U.S. Open Champions for 1994–2003
Lee Janzen
Lee McLeod Janzen (born August 28, 1964) is an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the U.S. Open twice in 1993 and 1998. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions, and was an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour.
Earl ...
,
Corey Pavin
Corey Allen Pavin (born November 16, 1959) is an American professional golfer. In 1982, Pavin turned professional but failed at PGA Tour Qualifying School. The following year, he turned to overseas where he had much success, winning South Africa' ...
*''
Steve Jones Steve or Steven Jones may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Steve Jones (English presenter) (born 1945), English musician, disk jockey, television presenter, and voice-over artist
*Steve Jones (musician) (born 1955), English rock and roll guitar ...
did not play.''
;11. The
Masters Champions for 1999–2003
;12. The
PGA Champions for 1998–2002
;13. The
Players Champions for 2000–03
Craig Perks,
Hal Sutton
Hal Evan Sutton (born April 28, 1958) is an American professional golfer, currently playing on the PGA Tour Champions, who achieved 14 victories on the PGA Tour, including the 1983 PGA Championship (a major championship) and the 1983 and 2000 ...
(18)
;14. Top 20 in the final
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
Official Money List
;15. First 5 players, not exempt, in the top 20 of the
2003 PGA Tour
The 2003 PGA Tour was the 88th season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was also the 35th season since separating from the PGA of America.
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 200 ...
Official Money List as of 29 May
Chad Campbell
David Chad Campbell (born May 31, 1974) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour, where he has won four times. He also notably finished as a runner-up at the 2009 Masters, after losing in a sudden-death playoff.
Early life ...
;16. First 7 PGA Tour members, not exempt, in the top 25 of a cumulative money list taken from the
2003 Players Championship
The 2003 Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the 30th Players Championship.
Davis Love III shot a final round 64 in cool and bluste ...
and the five PGA Tour events leading up to and including the 2003
Western Open
The Western Open was a professional golf tournament in the United States, for most of its history an event on the PGA Tour.
The tournament's founding in 1899 actually pre-dated the start of the Tour, which is generally dated from 1916, the ye ...
Joe Durant
Joseph Scott Durant (born April 7, 1964) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He was previously a member of the PGA Tour, where he was a four-time winner.
Early life
Durant was born in Pensacola, Florida. He at ...
,
Jonathan Kaye
Jonathan Andrew Kaye (born August 2, 1970) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour.
Early life
Kaye was born in Denver, Colorado, and is Jewish. He attended Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was a star ...
,
Cliff Kresge,
J. L. Lewis
John Lee Lewis (July 18, 1960 – December 31, 2019) was an American professional golfer. He won twice on the PGA Tour: the John Deere Classic in 1999, and the 84 Lumber Classic in 2003. In 1999 he won the Honda Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexi ...
,
Rory Sabbatini
Rory Mario Trevor Sabbatini (born 2 April 1976) is a South African-Slovak professional golfer. Sabbatini won six times on the PGA Tour between 2000 and 2011 and was runner-up in the 2007 Masters. He spent 21 weeks in the world top-10 in late-2 ...
,
Duffy Waldorf
James Joseph "Duffy" Waldorf Jr. (born August 20, 1962) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He was previously a member of the PGA Tour, where he won four times.
Early life and amateur career
Waldorf was born ...
*''
Joey Sindelar
Joseph Paul Sindelar (born March 30, 1958) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He previously played on the PGA Tour, winning seven tournaments between 1985 and 2004.
Early life
Sindelar was born in F ...
did not play.''
;17. The leading 8 players, not exempt having applied (16) above, in the 2003
Western Open
The Western Open was a professional golf tournament in the United States, for most of its history an event on the PGA Tour.
The tournament's founding in 1899 actually pre-dated the start of the Tour, which is generally dated from 1916, the ye ...
Tom Byrum
}
Thomas Elliott Byrum (born September 28, 1960) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions.
Early life and amateur career
Byrum was born in Onida, South Dakota. His brother was Curt, a future PGA Tour pro ...
,
José Cóceres,
Ben Curtis,
Luke Donald
Luke Campbell Donald Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 7 December 1977) is an English professional golfer and former List of World Number One male golfers, world number one. He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of ...
,
Dudley Hart
Howard Dudley Hart (born August 4, 1968) is an American professional golfer with two PGA Tour wins in an injury-riddled career.
Early life
Hart was born in Rochester, New York. He attended Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School in Miami, Flor ...
,
Skip Kendall
Jules Ira "Skip" Kendall (born September 9, 1964) is an American professional golfer. He plays on the PGA Tour Champions and formerly played on the Web.com Tour and the PGA Tour.
Early and personal life
Kendall was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ...
,
Scott McCarron
Scott Michael McCarron (born July 10, 1965) is an American professional golfer who was formerly a member of the PGA Tour but now plays on the PGA Tour Champions.
McCarron was born in Sacramento, California and graduated from Vintage High Scho ...
,
Chris Smith
;18. Playing members of the
2002 Ryder Cup
The 34th Ryder Cup was held 27–29 September 2002 in England, on the Brabazon Course at The Belfry in Wishaw, Warwickshire (near Sutton Coldfield).
The European team won the competition by a margin of 15 to 12, the largest margin of victory in ...
teams
Paul Azinger
Paul William Azinger (born January 6, 1960) is an American professional golfer and TV golf He won 12 times on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the 1993 PGA Championship. He spent almost 300 weeks in the top-10 of the Official Wo ...
,
Stewart Cink
Stewart Ernest Cink (born May 21, 1973) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He won the 2009 Open Championship, defeating Tom Watson in a four-hole aggregate playoff. He spent over 40 weeks in the top 10 of the Official ...
,
Pierre Fulke
Pierre Olof Fulke (born 21 February 1971) is a Swedish professional golfer who played on the European Tour.
Early life and amateur career
Fulke was born in Nyköping. He came to represent Eksjö Golf Club, situated in the province of Småland i ...
,
Paul McGinley
Paul Noel McGinley (born 16 December 1966) is an Irish professional golfer who has won four events on the European Tour. At the 2002 Ryder Cup, he famously holed a ten-foot putt on the 18th hole in his match against Jim Furyk at The Belfry which ...
,
Jesper Parnevik
Jesper Bo Parnevik (; born 7 March 1965) is a Swedish professional golfer. He spent 38 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking in 2000 and 2001.
Early years and amateur career
Parnevik was born in Botkyrka, Stockholm County, a ...
,
Phillip Price
John Phillip Price (born 21 October 1966) is a Welsh professional golfer who plays on the European Senior Tour. He won three European Tour events between 1994 and 2003 and played in the 2002 Ryder Cup.
Early life
Price was born in 1966 in Po ...
,
Lee Westwood
Lee John Westwood (born 24 April 1973) is an English professional golfer. He is one of the few golfers who has won tournaments on five continents – Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Oceania – including victories on the European Tour an ...
;19. The 2002
Canadian Open Champion
John Rollins
;20. The 2002
Japan Open Champion
David Smail
;21. Winner of the 2002
Asian PGA Tour Order of Merit
Jyoti Randhawa
Jyotinder Singh Randhawa (born 4 May 1972) is an Indian professional golfer. He plays on the Asian Tour where he won eight times between 1998 and 2009. He was ranked in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking several times between 2004 an ...
;22. Top 3 from the 2002–03
PGA Tour of Australasia
The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently titled as the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for World Golf ...
Order of Merit
;23. Top 3 from the 2002
Japan Golf Tour
The Japan Golf Tour () is a prominent professional golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006, it offered the third-highest annual prize fund out of the regular (that is not for seniors) men's professional tours after the PGA Tour and the ...
Order of Merit
Shingo Katayama
Shingo Katayama (, born 31 January 1973) is a Japanese golfer.
Early life and professional career
Katayama was born in Chikusei, Ibaraki Prefecture. He turned professional in 1995 and has played full-time on the Japan Golf Tour since 1997. He ...
,
Nobuhito Sato
is a Japanese professional golfer.
Golf career
Sato was born in Chiba Prefecture. He turned professional in 1993.
Sato has won nine tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour and featured in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings. His most ...
,
Toru Taniguchi
is a Japanese professional golfer born in Nara.
Career
Taniguchi has won 20 tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour, ranking 10th on the most career victories list; topped the annual earnings list in 2002 and 2007; and is fourth on the career earn ...
;24. Top 2 from the
2002–03 Sunshine Tour
The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the Southern Africa Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the F ...
Order of Merit
Mark Foster
;25. The leading player, not exempt, in the 2003
Mizuno Open
Todd Hamilton
William Todd Hamilton (born October 18, 1965) is an American professional golfer. He is best known for his victory at the 2004 Open Championship.
Early life
Hamilton was born in the small west-central Illinois city of Galesburg. He grew up in ...
;26. First 4, not exempt having applied (25) above, in the top 20 of a cumulative money list taken from all official Japan Golf Tour events from the 2003
Japan PGA Championship
The is a professional golf tournament on the Japan Golf Tour, and is one of the tour's four major championships. It was founded in 1926, making it one of the oldest professional tournaments in Japan, and is played at a variety of courses througho ...
up to and including the 2003
Mizuno Open
Hur Suk-ho
Hur Suk-ho (; born 20 August 1973), commonly known as S. K. Ho in English, is a South Korean professional golfer who plays mainly on the Japan Golf Tour.
Career
Hur was born in Seoul, South Korea. He attended Chae Yoog University and turned pro ...
,
Hirofumi Miyase
Hirofumi Miyase (, born 11 April 1971) is a Japanese professional golfer.
Miyase was born in Chiba Prefecture and would join the Japan Golf Tour after turning professional. He won his first title on the Japan Golf Tour in 1997 and would add six ...
,
Hideto Tanihara
is a Japanese professional golfer. He has won 18 tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour.
Professional career
Tanihara has won 14 tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour and featured in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking. His highest ranking ...
,
Katsuyoshi Tomori
is a Japanese professional golfer.
Career
Tomori was born in Okinawa Prefecture. He turned professional golfer, professional in 1982. His seven tournament wins on the Japan Golf Tour include the 1994 Mitsubishi Galant Tournament and the 1995 Ja ...
;27. The 2002
Senior British Open
The Senior Open Championship, or simply The Senior Open (and originally known as the Senior British Open), is a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and over. It is jointly owned and run by The R&A, the same body that organises The O ...
Champion
Noboru Sugai
;28. The 2003
Amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
Champion
Gary Wolstenholme
Gary P. Wolstenholme MBE (born 21 August 1960) is an English professional golfer. Wolstenholme is known for his long amateur career and now plays on the European Senior Tour.
Early life and amateur career
Wolstenholme was born in Egham, Sur ...
(a)
;29. The 2002
U.S. Amateur
The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...
Champion
Ricky Barnes
Richard Kyle Barnes (born February 6, 1981) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour.
Early life and amateur career
Barnes was born in Stockton, California. His father, Bruce Barnes, was a punter who played with ...
(a)
;30. The 2002
European Amateur
The European Amateur Championship is an annual amateur golf tournament played at various locations throughout Europe. It is organized by the European Golf Association and was one of the "Elite" tournaments recognized by the World Amateur Golf Rank ...
Champion
*''
Raphaël Pellicioli
Raphael was an Italian Renaissance painter.
Raphael or Raphaël may also refer to:
Music
* Raphael (band), a Japanese rock band active 1997–2001
* ''Raphael'' (opera), an 1894 opera by Anton Arensky
*Raphael (musician), American musician and c ...
forfeited his exemption by turning pro.''
;Final Qualifying (Sunday 13 July and Monday 14 July)
:Littlestone –
Steven Bowditch
Steven David Bowditch (born 8 June 1983) is an Australian professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour of Australasia.
Early life and amateur career
Bowditch was born in Newcastle, New South Wales. He had a distin ...
,
Robert Coles,
Scott Godfrey (a),
Adam Le Vesconte,
Christopher Smith,
Anthony Wall
Anthony David Wall (born 29 May 1975) is an English professional golfer.
Career
Wall was born in London. He turned professional in 1995 and has played on the European Tour since 1998. He has made the top 100 on the Order of Merit every season ...
,
Paul Wesselingh
Paul Wesselingh (born 11 October 1961) is an English professional golfer who plays on the European Senior Tour.
Career
Wesselingh was born in Liverpool. He turned professional in 1985 but opted for a career as a club professional rather than att ...
:North Foreland –
Gary Emerson,
Andrew George,
Adam Mednick
Adam Mednick (born 9 September 1966) is a Swedish professional golfer.
Early life
Mednick was born in Bethesda, Maryland in the United States to an American father and a Swedish mother, and moved to Sweden when he was eight years old. His great-g ...
,
Mårten Olander
Mårten Olander (born 5 November 1971) is a Swedish professional golfer.
Olander attended the University of Alabama for four years, and was awarded the Ben Hogan Award for the best college golfer in the United States in 1993.
He turned profess ...
,
Hennie Otto
Hendrik Johannes "Hennie" Otto (born 25 June 1976) is a South African professional golfer.
Early life
Otto was born in Boksburg.
Professional career
Otto earned a place on the European Tour for 2000 by graduating from the Challenge Tour, ...
,
Anthony Sproston,
Simon Wakefield
Simon Wakefield (born 14 April 1974) is an English professional golfer.
Early life and amateur career
Wakefield was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire and is the nephew of former England cricketer Bob Taylor. He won the 1996 Tillman ...
:Prince's –
Mathew Goggin
Mathew Charles Goggin (born 13 June 1974) is an Australian professional golfer.
Amateur career
As an amateur, he won the 1995 Australian Amateur, played at Huntingdale Golf Club in Melbourne, Victoria, 2 & 1 over American Jamie Crow. He also ...
,
Jarrod Moseley
Jarrod James Moseley (born 6 October 1972) is an Australian professional golfer.
Career
Moseley was born in Mandurah, Western Australia. He turned professional in 1997. He won the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit in 1998/99, having won t ...
,
Cameron Percy
Cameron Blair Percy (born 5 May 1974) is an Australian professional golfer.
Percy was born in Chelsea, Victoria and turned professional in 1998. He joined the second-tier Nationwide Tour (now known as the Korn Ferry Tour) in 2005, but enjoyed l ...
,
Andrew Raitt,
Marco Ruiz,
Steen Tinning
Steen Tinning (born 7 October 1962) is a Danish professional golfer who formerly played on the European Tour and plays on the European Senior Tour.
Career
Tinning was born in Copenhagen. After a successful amateur career he turned professional i ...
,
Ian Woosnam
Ian Harold Woosnam (born 2 March 1958) is a Welsh professional golfer. Nicknamed "Woosie", Woosnam was one of the "Big Five" generation of European golfers, all born within 12 months of one another, all of whom have won majors, and made Europe ...
:Royal Cinque Ports –
Markus Brier
Markus Brier (born 5 July 1968) is an Austrian professional golfer. He won twice on the European Tour and in 2008 was his country's second highest ranked player, behind Bernd Wiesberger.
Career
Brier won the Swiss and German Amateur Opens in the ...
,
Charles Challen
Charles Challen (15 February 1894 – 20 June 1960) was a British barrister and politician.
Biography
Challen received a Bachelor of Laws and Master's degree from Jesus College, Cambridge (later becoming a member of the Oxford and Cambridg ...
,
Ben Crane
Benjamin McCully Crane (born March 6, 1976) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
Early years and amateur career
Crane was born in Portland, Oregon. He was introduced to golf at age five by his grandfather. He grew up pla ...
,
Peter Fowler,
Euan Little
Euan Little (born 28 April 1976) is a Scottish professional golfer.
Career
Little turned professional in 1996 having represented Scotland as an amateur. Having reached the final stage of qualifying school that year, he played qualified for the C ...
,
Malcolm MacKenzie
Malcolm John Mackenzie (born 30 September 1961) is an English professional golfer.
Mackenzie was born in Sheffield. He turned professional in 1980 and has spent most of his career playing on the European Tour. His best Order of Merit ranking wa ...
,
Mark Smith
Round summaries
First round
''Thursday, 17 July 2003''
Second round
''Friday, 18 July 2003''
Amateurs:
Barnes
Barnes may refer to:
People
*Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name)
Places
United Kingdom
* Barnes, London, England
** Barnes railway station
**Barnes Bridge railway station
** Barnes High Stree ...
(+11),
Wolstenholme (+14), Godfrey (+18).
Third round
''Saturday, 19 July 2003''
Mark Roe
Mark Adrian Roe (born 20 February 1963) is an English professional golfer, short game coach and golfing analyst for Sky Sports. Roe won worldwide respect for the way he handled being disqualified from the 2003 Open Championship for a scorecard ...
shot a 67 to finish at one over par, but he and playing partner
Jesper Parnevik
Jesper Bo Parnevik (; born 7 March 1965) is a Swedish professional golfer. He spent 38 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking in 2000 and 2001.
Early years and amateur career
Parnevik was born in Botkyrka, Stockholm County, a ...
were disqualified, having failed to exchange scorecards and therefore having signed incorrect scorecards. The rule that resulted in the disqualifications was changed two years later; Roe never played in another major.
Final round
''Sunday, 20 July 2003''
Ben Curtis shot six-under in the first 11 holes to grab a 2 stroke lead, but dropped four strokes in the next six holes to fall behind, and sank a par putt on the final hole to post the clubhouse lead.
Vijay Singh
Vijay Singh ( ; born 22 February 1963) is a Fijians, Fijian professional golfer. In 1982, Singh turned professional and played on the local Asia Golf Circuit. However, his early career met with controversy, as he was accused of numerous rules ...
and
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
also moved into early contention, but fell behind Curtis with late bogeys, leaving
Thomas Bjørn
Thomas Bjørn (born 18 February 1971) is a Danish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He is the most successful Danish golfer to have played the game having won fifteen tournaments worldwide on the European Tour. In 1997 he also b ...
with a three stroke lead with four holes to play. He finished bogey-double bogey-bogey-par and tied for second, one stroke back.
It was not only Curtis' first win, but his first top-10 finish in a
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
event.
Source:
Scorecard
''Final round''
''Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par''
Source:
References
External links
Royal St George's 2003 (Official site)
{{coord, 51.274, 1.367, type:event, display=title
The Open Championship
Golf tournaments in England
Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...