2011 Open Championship

^ Hole No. 4 was a par 5 in 2003

Lengths of the course for previous Opens (since 1950):[1]

• 2003: 7,106 yards (6,498 m), par 71
• 1993: 6,860 yards (6,270 m), par 70
• 1985: 6,857 yards (6,270 m), par 70
• 1981: 6,827 yards (6,243 m), par 70

Thursday, 14 July 2011

Returning to the course where he led by three with four holes to play in 2003, Thomas Bjørn (who gained entry into the tournament as the fifth alternate) shot 65 (−5) in the morning to set the early pace.[23] Surprisingly, 20-year-old amateur Tom Lewis, a later starter, tied Bjørn's score to share the lead. Lewis was the first amateur to hold at least a share of the lead after 18 holes since Michael Bonallack in 1968.[24] He also carded the lowest single-round score by an amateur at The Open Championship.[25] 47-year-old Miguel Ángel Jiménez, 2009 U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover, and Webb Simpson all shot 66, a stroke back. Pre-tournament favourite Rory McIlroy, the reigning U.S. Open champion, bogeyed his first hole and shot 71; world number one Luke Donald and number two Lee Westwood matched that score.[26] Defending champion Louis Oosthuizen struggled in the calmer afternoon conditions, managing only a 72. Dustin Johnson earned shot of the day honors late in the morning when he aced the par-3 16th hole, part of a five-under-par four hole stretch from 14 through 17; he finished at 70. The large group at 68, three off the leaders, included 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, and reigning PGA Championship champion Martin Kaymer.[27]

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
T1	Thomas Bjørn	Denmark	65	−5
	Tom Lewis (a)	England
T3	Lucas Glover	United States	66	−4
	Miguel Ángel Jiménez	Spain
	Webb Simpson	United States
T6	Fredrik Andersson Hed	Sweden	68	−2
	Kurt Barnes	Australia
	Ricky Barnes	United States
	Darren Clarke	Northern Ireland
	Simon Dyson	England
	Hwang Jung-gon	South Korea
	Martin Kaymer	Germany
	Pablo Larrazábal	Spain
	Graeme McDowell	Northern Ireland
	Jeff Overton	United States
	Ryan Palmer	United States
	Kyle Stanley	United States

Friday, 15 July 2011

In the morning's play, overnight co-leader Tom Lewis shot 74 to fade back into the chasing pack. The clubhouse lead was taken by Lucas Glover, who started the day one stroke back and posted a steady level-par 70 to stay at −4. He was soon matched by veteran Darren Clarke who reached the mark with a rare closing birdie. As the wind picked up in the afternoon, first round co-leader Thomas Bjørn struggled to an up-and-down 72 to finish at −3. At various times, Miguel Ángel Jiménez and Simon Dyson took the lead, but struggled on their back nines; Jiménez finished at −3 and Dyson at E. Joining Bjørn and Jiménez one shot back were Chad Campbell and Martin Kaymer.

Tom Watson, playing with Tom Lewis, earned the second ace of the tournament, by holing out on the 6th hole for a hole in one. The 61-year-old Watson finished with a 70 to comfortably make the cut; he became the oldest ever player to make an Open cut. Pre-tournament favourite Rory McIlroy played better on Friday shooting 69 for an even par 140, earning a third straight round alongside Rickie Fowler.[28] Notables who missed the cut included World No. 1 Luke Donald, World No.2 Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell, Matt Kuchar, Nick Watney, and Pádraig Harrington.[29]

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
T1	Darren Clarke	Northern Ireland	68-68=136	−4
	Lucas Glover	United States	66-70=136
T3	Thomas Bjørn	Denmark	65-72=137	−3
	Chad Campbell	United States	69-68=137
	Miguel Ángel Jiménez	Spain	66-71=137
	Martin Kaymer	Germany	68-69=137
T7	George Coetzee	South Africa	69-69=138	−2
	Anders Hansen	Denmark	69-69=138
	Dustin Johnson	United States	70-68=138
	Pablo Larrazábal	Spain	68-70=138
	Tom Lehman	United States	71-67=138
	Davis Love III	United States	70-68=138
	Charl Schwartzel	South Africa	71-67=138

Amateurs: Lewis (−1), Uihlein (+2), Macpherson (+4), Bjerregaard (+8), Hinton (+29).

Saturday, 16 July 2011

In wet and windy difficult morning conditions, some of the best play came from Tom Watson, using his 35 years of Open experience to survive the worst of the weather and move up the field with a +2 (72). Rickie Fowler shot a two-under 68, still battling much of the worst of the weather, to move into contention at −2. Co-leader Darren Clarke, in the final pairing, shot 69 to take the 54-hole lead at 205 (−5), a stroke behind was Dustin Johnson. Johnson was in the final Sunday pairing for the third time in six majors, after the U.S. Open and PGA Championship the previous year. Second round co-leader Lucas Glover shot 73 to fall back to 209 (−1). Four-time major winner Phil Mickelson had 71 for even par 210,[30] while Thomas Bjørn, repeating his strong showing at the 2003 Open on this course, shot 71 for 208 (−2).[31]

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Darren Clarke	Northern Ireland	68-68-69=205	−5
2	Dustin Johnson	United States	70-68-68=206	−4
T3	Rickie Fowler	United States	70-70-68=208	−2
	Thomas Bjørn	Denmark	65-72-71=208
T5	Miguel Ángel Jiménez	Spain	66-71-72=209	−1
	Lucas Glover	United States	66-70-73=209
T7	Anthony Kim	United States	72-68-70=210	E
	Phil Mickelson	United States	70-69-71=210
	Anders Hansen	Denmark	69-69-72=210
	George Coetzee	South Africa	69-69-72=210
	Davis Love III	United States	70-68-72=210
	Martin Kaymer	Germany	68-69-73=210

Sunday, 17 July 2011

Playing in his twentieth Open, 42-year-old Darren Clarke shot an even-par 70 in the final round to win his first major championship by three shots.[32][33] Phil Mickelson, 41, began the day tied for seventh and five shots out of the lead. He charged to a 30 (−5) on the front nine, equalling his lowest nine-hole stretch in a major. Mickelson made eagle on the 7th hole to tie for the lead and added a birdie on the 10th to move to 6-under for the day. Clarke, the 54-hole leader in the final pairing a half-hour back, countered with his own eagle on the 7th to open up a two shot lead.[34] A short missed par putt stalled Mickelson's momentum, and he faded on the back nine with three further bogeys to finish with a 68 (−2), tied for second with Dustin Johnson.[35] Johnson, playing with Clarke, also made a strong challenge, and was two shots out of the lead on the tee of the par-5 14th hole. Johnson tried to reach the green with a 2 iron from the fairway, but pushed it right and out of bounds to end his chances with a double-bogey seven to fall four back. This gave Clarke a four-stroke cushion over his nearest rivals with four holes to play, and he cruised to victory even despite bogeys on his final two holes.[36]

Clarke became the third Northern Irish champion in the past six majors, as well as the oldest debut major-winner, and oldest Open Champion, since Roberto De Vicenzo in 1967. Earlier in the day, Sergio García, playing his 49th consecutive major, had threatened to go low after being −4 for his round late on his front nine, but faded to a 68 (−2), and tied for ninth place. His 68 matched the low round of the day with Mickelson. Thomas Bjørn, eight years from his Open drama, produced another steady round to finish alone in fourth. Tom Watson, at 61 the oldest player to complete all four days at an Open, fired his third 72 of the week and finished in a tie for 22nd. Simon Dyson tied for 9th to take honours as the low Englishman.[37][38][39]

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money (£)
1	Darren Clarke	Northern Ireland	68-68-69-70=275	−5	900,000
T2	Phil Mickelson	United States	70-69-71-68=278	−2	427,447
	Dustin Johnson	United States	70-68-68-72=278
4	Thomas Bjørn	Denmark	65-72-71-71=279	−1	260,000
T5	Chad Campbell	United States	69-68-74-69=280	E	181,666
	Anthony Kim	United States	72-68-70-70=280
	Rickie Fowler	United States	70-70-68-72=280
8	Raphaël Jacquelin	France	74-67-71-69=281	+1	134,502
T9	Sergio García	Spain	70-70-74-68=282	+2	104,333
	Simon Dyson	England	68-72-72-70=282
	Davis Love III	United States	70-68-72-72=282

Amateurs: Lewis (+9), Uihlein (+12).

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	4	3	4	4	3	5	4	4	4	3	4	4	5	4	3	4	4
Clarke	−5	−6	−6	−5	−5	−5	−7	−7	−7	−7	−7	−7	−7	−7	−7	−7	−6	−5
Johnson	−4	−4	−3	−3	−3	−2	−3	−3	−3	−4	−4	−5	−5	−3	−3	−3	−3	−2
Mickelson	E	−1	−1	−2	−2	−3	−5	−5	−5	−6	−5	−5	−4	−4	−3	−2	−2	−2
Bjørn	−2	−2	−2	−1	−1	−2	−2	−3	−3	−3	−3	−3	−3	−3	−2	−2	−1	−1
Campbell	+2	+1	E	E	E	E	−1	E	+1	+1	+1	E	E	E	E	+1	+1	E
Fowler	−2	−2	−2	−2	−2	−2	−2	−2	−2	−2	−2	−2	−2	−1	−1	E	E	E
Kim	E	−1	−1	E	E	E	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−2	−2	−2	−1	−1	−1	E

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Source:[40]