Tag: Senior British Open

K.J. Choi claims first senior major victory at 2024 Senior Open Championship

For Choi, it’s his second PGA Tour Champions victory and first since 2021.

It was a special Sunday for K.J. Choi in Scotland.

The 54-year-old from South Korea won his first senior major championship at Carnoustie, going low on the back nine to pull away and win the 2024 Senior Open Championship by two shots over Richard Green.

“Very historical for Korean player to win this,” he said.

Choi, who led by one entering the final round, shot 4-under 32 on the back nine to finish at 10 under for the week.

For Choi, it’s his second PGA Tour Champions victory and first since 2021. He was the only player to shoot under par all four rounds in the Senior Open Championship, and only 11 players finished under par for the week.

“I really want it, champion, because my dream come true,” he said. “For player from Korea, is always Open watch on TV.

“This event is historical in Korea, first-time champion in Senior Open. Very proud this week.”

Paul Broadhurst placed third at 6 under while Stephen Ames came in fourth at 3 under. Green birdied the final hole while Choi made bogey, but with a four-shot lead heading to the final hole, the lead was safe.

In 2007, Choi placed T-8 at the 2007 Open Championship at Carnoustie.

This real-life ‘Tin Cup’ is making his senior debut at the Senior British Open

Perry owns a synthetic turf and landscaping company and played all of one PGA Tour round before qualifying.

Meet Jason Perry, a modern-day, real-life Tin Cup story.

Perry turned 50 in February and the former mini-tour golfer from 20-plus years ago who lays synthetic turf for a living in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is competing this week in the Senior British Open at Carnoustie in Scotland.

It will be his first start on PGA Tour Champions and his first time playing in a major championship of any sort. The last time he played in a tournament at this level? That would be the 1998 Bell South Classic, a PGA Tour event played in Atlanta at the time, where he was a Monday qualifier and played one round before being disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.

Perry chased his dream for much of the 1990s, playing the Developmental Players Tour with players such as Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley, as well as the Hooters Tour and Teardrop Tour. But he said he wasted his talent.

“If after the first day I shot 66 or 67,” Perry said, “I was finding the local pub.”

But he hasn’t played a professional event since and hardly anything at this level other than making it to Final Qualifying for the U.S. Open once seven years ago. It will also be his first time playing overseas and anything close to authentic links golf. Asked what he knows about Carnoustie, he said, “I know it’s hard. Other than that, I’ve been watching YouTube videos of it.”

On July 9, Perry shot 64 at Firestone Country Club’s Fazio Course in northeast Ohio, tying for second out of a 137-man field to earn one of five spots available and qualify for Carnoustie. He joined a former middle-school math teacher from Michigan, Jay Jurecic, and a South Dakota real estate loan officer, Donald Carpenter III, among those to advance to the senior major.

Perry drove 10 hours home that night to get back to work. He’s spent the past 10 years installing artificial turfs and for the last couple has been the owner of JP’s Custom Turf & Landscaping. He was wrapping up a few final jobs installing putting greens and landscape turf so he could practice before traveling overseas.

“It’s just coming together,” he said of his game. “I was just waiting to turn 50 and give it a try.”

Colin Montgomerie carded an ugly 88 at the Senior British Open — and that wasn’t the day’s worst score

Montgomerie did not have the same warm glow as he left the golf course after his final round on Sunday.

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Prior to his appearance at the Senior British Open at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Wales, Colin Montgomerie discussed his love for the area and his eagerness to play the course.

“Every time I cross that Severn Bridge, the Prince of Wales Bridge, you come to Celtic Manor Resort on the M4, it brings back great memories of our time in Wales and the time I spent in Wales in 2009 and 2010,” he said. “So every time I come back, I relish it, and especially coming to this golf course, as well. This is a damn good golf course, this, damn good golf course. A real test of character and it has a lot of elevation to it.

“But a good test, a good overall test, and we are all looking forward to the challenge of it.”

Suffice it to say Montgomerie did not have the same warm glow as he left the golf course after his final round on Sunday.

Despite sitting at even par through the first two rounds of the tournament, Montgomerie was bludgeoned by wet, windy weather at the course on the weekend. The result was an uncomely 76 on Saturday and then a ghastly 88 on Sunday.

During his final round, the nine-time European Senior Tour winner made the turn at 46, courtesy of four bogeys, two doubles and a triple-bogey seven on the ninth hole.

He carded his lone birdie of the day on the 10th hole, but followed by going 7 over on his final six holes of the day, finishing the back at 42.

The round stirred images of the 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills when he shot 14-over 84, then snapped at a reporter who chuckled during one of his answers.

“Make that your last laugh,” the Scotsman said.

Again, this came after Montgomerie showed renewed spirit heading into the event, one in which he said he was ambitious as ever.

Of course, the conditions weren’t just difficult on the 60-year-old, who previously finished second in this event in 2014 and placed ninth last year as Darren Clarke won at Gleneagles.

In fact, Montgomerie’s 88 didn’t even qualify as the highest score of the day — that honor was reserved for Patrik Sjoland, who finished the day with an 89. All told, 26 players came in with scores of 80 or higher on Sunday. That led some who weren’t playing to enjoy the misery from afar, like Justin Thomas who posted that he couldn’t stop watching.

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Watch: This pair of pros missing short putts will give you nightmares

Remember, next time you’re playing golf with your buddies, there are no gimmies. 

Close your eyes, hide the kids, run away.

Professionals can miss gimme putts, too.

Look no further than this week’s Korn Ferry Tour event in Illinois, the NV5 Invitational. Tom Whitney had mere inches to clean up a putt. So he did what any pro does, he walked over, turned around and dropped his putter. He took a swipe at the ball from what could only be described as a couple of inches from the cup.

It lipped out. The ball never had a chance to go in. It missed and then went about three feet away. Whitney stood there stunned, and the Barstool Sports TV broadcast was in disbelief.

Whitney isn’t the only one who missed a short putt. Enter Padraig Harrington, a major winner playing in the Senior British Open. He missed a short putt that touched every inch of the cup’s edge but didn’t somehow fall.

Remember, next time you’re playing golf with your buddies, there are no gimmies.

Colin Montgomerie’s secret to Saturday success at the Senior British Open? Jelly babies

The only problem the Saturday magic created was a need for more candy.

Colin Montgomerie knows a thing or two about winning golf tournaments in inclement Scottish weather.

He also knows when it’s time to take advice from others who also know plenty about winning big golf tournaments.

On Saturday, as wet weather made for a miserable day at the Gleneagles Hotel’s Kings Course in Auchterader, Montgomerie and his caddie tried to lighten the mood by chatting with Padraig Harrington about, of all things, candy.

“We were talking to Pádraig Harrington about jelly babies, actually, and we decided to eat jelly babies on the back nine, the best food for everything, apparently,” Montgomerie said. “I thought, oh, he’s won a few majors so we thought we would do the jelly baby trick today.”

The move paid dividends. Montgomerie finished with birdies on his final three holes of the day and while others struggled to deal with the wet conditions, his 68 pulled him within striking distance of the leaders heading into the final day. He’s at 6 under for the tournament, three shots behind leader Paul Broadhurst and two behind Jerry Kelly, Steven Alker and Darren Clarke.

The only problem the Saturday magic created was a need for more candy.

“Wow, the jelly babies worked. So we’re into Auchterarder and come into Auchterarder to buy a load of jelly babies to keep us going for tomorrow because the weather is going to be iffy tomorrow. So we’ll see how we go,” he said. “I said at the start of the week, I wanted to contend and not just compete. And now, we’re beginning to think we’re contending, you know. So we’ll see how we go.”

Montgomerie —who confirmed to reporters that he had a brief stay in a local hospital on Thursday, but didn’t elaborate on the reason — insisted he didn’t do much differently on the final few holes, aside from getting his putter rolling. And he said last week’s championship performance by Cameron Smith on the greens at St. Andrews should shed light on the strategy for success this week.

“The putter … that’s all it is, isn’t it? Hit it to 20-foot at 16th and holed it, 15-foot at 17th and holed it, and a good putt there at the last. It broke a mile. It broke a good 8-footer at the last,” he said. “But you know, you miss these, you shoot 71. You hole them, and you shoot 68. How often do we say this? How often do we say we’re going to hit the ball — everyone out here can hit the ball. Everyone can stand on the range and hit the ball. But it’s all about what happens on the greens.

“And look who won last week, the best putter in the world probably right now, Cam Smith. And who won The Open? THE best putter. That’s what it’s about. If I can hole putts tomorrow, if I can get the damn thing in the hole tomorrow, there’s a chance. You never know.”

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Photos: 2022 Senior Open Championship at Gleneagles Hotel Kings Course

Nothing like a little links golf in the rain.

During Saturday’s third round of the 2022 Senior Open Championship at Gleneagles Hotel Kings Course in Auchterarder, Scotland, the rain got heavier as the day went on.

The sound of rain thumping off umbrellas and sight of it dripping off caps were common, as the world’s top senior golfers meandered their way through the wet, cool conditions in the final senior men’s major championship of the year.

Playing golf in the rain may seem like fun on a Saturday afternoon with your friends, but it’s a lot different when there’s a major championship on the line.

Plenty of players are in contention as Sunday’s final round is right around the corner.

Here’s a look at some of the best photos from the 2022 Senior Open Championship.

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Watch: Bernhard Langer double-hits chip shot during Senior British Open

Even Hall of Famers double-hit the golf ball on occasion.

Bernhard Langer has hit his fair share of incredible shots during his Hall of Fame career. Yet during the second round of Friday’s Senior British Open, his chip shot near the ninth green is one he or the golf world won’t soon forget.

The 64-year-old was just off the green when he attempted to pitch a shot over a ridge and settle next to the hole. Shortly after he hit his shot, the ball ricocheted left after it struck his club a second time.

There is no penalty for Langer double hitting his golf ball, though it left him with a long par putt. He settled for bogey on the hole.

Langer sits tied for third at 5 under after two rounds at Gleneagles in Scotland, trailing leader Darren Clarke by three strokes.

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