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2002 / Muirfield
Ernie Els emerged triumphant from the first four-man play-off in the history of The Open to lift the Claret Jug for the first time following an extraordinary Championship.
On the Sunday before The Open got underway, Els told a friend while watching the sun set over the 18th hole at Muirfield: “If that doesn’t inspire you, nothing will.”
It certainly worked wonders for The Big Easy, who had previously won the US Open in 1994 and 1997, as he outlasted the rest of the field to be crowned Champion Golfer.
Colin Montgomerie opened with a 74, then had a 64 and then an 84 in the cold, wet and rain of a stormy Saturday afternoon. There were plenty of other victims, including Tiger Woods posting his worst ever score as a professional with an 81.
Els set out in the worst of the weather and managed a 72 to take a two-stroke lead. On Sunday conditions were ideally for scoring. Gary Evans had eight birdies in 10 holes, holing a putt of 80 feet at the 10th and taking the lead at the 11th.
He then parred to the 17th where he lost his ball in the rough to the left of the green but later holed from 40 feet for a par and a huge cheer from the gallery. He bogeyed the last to miss out on the play-off by a stroke, as did Padraig Harrington.
Stuart Appleby scored a 65 and Thomas Levet and Steve Elkington both 66s to tie on six under. Els had a stroke to spare until two poor chips at the 16th meant a double bogey and he was now one behind. He birdied the 17th and parred the last for a 70, then parred each of the play-off holes.
Levet bogeyed the last to lose his lead and the pair played the 18th again, Levet taking five once more, while Els played a delicate bunker shot and made his four.
“I pulled myself together,” said Els, who first contended in The Open at Muirfield in 1992. “I guess I’ve got a little bit of fight in me when it counts. I’ve been after this for 10 years.”
Name
Finish
R1
R2
R3
R4
Total
Par
Shigeki MARUYAMA
5
68
68
75
68
279
-
Peter O'MALLEY
8
72
68
75
65
280
-
Soren HANSEN
8
68
69
73
70
280
-
Retief GOOSEN
8
71
68
74
67
280
-
Scott HOCH
8
74
69
71
66
280
-
Peter LONARD
14
72
72
68
69
281
-
Davis LOVE III
14
71
72
71
67
281
-
Bob ESTES
18
71
70
73
68
282
-
Scott McCARRON
18
71
68
72
71
282
-
Duffy WALDORF
18
67
69
77
69
282
-
Corey PAVIN
22
69
70
75
69
283
-
Chris RILEY
22
70
71
76
66
283
-
Toshimitsu IZAWA
22
76
68
72
67
283
-
Jerry KELLY
28
73
71
70
70
284
-
Loren ROBERTS
28
74
69
70
71
284
-
Des SMYTH
28
68
69
74
73
284
-
Bradley DREDGE
28
70
72
74
68
284
-
Pierre FULKE
28
72
69
78
65
284
-
Niclas FASTH
28
70
73
71
70
284
-
Scott VERPLANK
37
72
68
74
71
285
-
Stephen LEANEY
37
71
70
75
69
285
-
Andrew COLTART
37
71
69
74
71
285
-
Neal LANCASTER
37
71
71
76
67
285
-
Ian WOOSNAM
37
72
72
73
68
285
-
Trevor IMMELMAN
43
72
72
71
71
286
-
Carl PETTERSSON
43
67
70
76
73
286
-
Steve JONES
43
68
75
73
70
286
-
Esteban TOLEDO
43
73
70
75
68
286
-
Rocco MEDIATE
47
71
72
74
70
287
-
Jeff MAGGERT
47
71
68
80
68
287
-
Paul EALES
47
73
71
76
67
287
-
Craig PERKS
50
72
70
71
75
288
-
Bob TWAY
50
70
66
78
74
288
-
Mikko ILONEN
50
71
70
77
70
288
-
Barry LANE
50
74
68
72
74
288
-
Warren BENNETT
50
71
68
82
67
288
-
Ian GARBUTT
50
69
70
74
75
288
-
Shingo KATAYAMA
50
72
68
74
74
288
-
Fredrik ANDERSSON HED
50
74
70
74
70
288
-
Richard GREEN
59
72
72
75
70
289
-
Steve STRICKER
59
69
70
81
69
289
-
Kenichi KUBOYA
59
70
73
73
73
289
-
Joe DURANT
59
72
71
73
73
289
-
Jarrod MOSELEY
66
70
73
75
72
290
-
Stephen AMES
69
68
70
81
72
291
-
Matthew CORT
69
73
71
78
69
291
-
Mike WEIR
69
73
69
74
75
291
-
Toru TANIGUCHI
69
71
73
76
71
291
-
Jim CARTER
69
74
70
73
74
291
-
Len MATTIACE
69
68
73
77
73
291
-
Chris SMITH
75
74
69
71
78
292
-
Roger WESSELS
77
72
71
73
77
293
-
Anders HANSEN
77
71
72
79
71
293
-
David PARK
79
73
67
74
80
294
-
Lee JANZEN
80
70
69
84
72
295
-
David TOMS
83
67
75
81
75
298
-
Brad FAXON
M/C
70
75
-
-
-
M/C
Michael CAMPBELL
M/C
74
71
-
-
-
M/C
John BICKERTON
M/C
73
72
-
-
-
M/C
Marc FARRY
M/C
70
75
-
-
-
M/C
Eduardo ROMERO
M/C
72
73
-
-
-
M/C
Magnus PERSSON
M/C
72
73
-
-
-
M/C
Jean-Francois REMESY
M/C
68
77
-
-
-
M/C
KJ CHOI
M/C
73
73
-
-
-
M/C
Tom WHITEHOUSE
M/C
75
71
-
-
-
M/C
Taichi TESHIMA
M/C
69
77
-
-
-
M/C
Tim Clark
M/C
70
76
-
-
-
M/C
Tim PETROVIC
M/C
73
73
-
-
-
M/C
John SENDEN
M/C
76
70
-
-
-
M/C
Craig PARRY
M/C
72
74
-
-
-
M/C
Robert KARLSSON
M/C
72
74
-
-
-
M/C
Billy MAYFAIR
M/C
71
75
-
-
-
M/C
Paul McGINLEY
M/C
72
74
-
-
-
M/C
Scott HENDERSON
M/C
78
68
-
-
-
M/C
David HOWELL
M/C
73
74
-
-
-
M/C
Raphael JACQUELIN
M/C
74
73
-
-
-
M/C
Tsuneyuki NAKAJIMA
M/C
75
72
-
-
-
M/C
Mathias GRONBERG
M/C
75
72
-
-
-
M/C
Robert ALLENBY
M/C
73
74
-
-
-
M/C
Simon YOUNG
M/C
76
71
-
-
-
M/C
Scott LAYCOCK
M/C
73
74
-
-
-
M/C
Luke DONALD
M/C
73
74
-
-
-
M/C
Greg OWEN
M/C
76
72
-
-
-
M/C
John KEMP
M/C
74
74
-
-
-
M/C
Ian STANLEY
M/C
76
72
-
-
-
M/C
Jose COCERES
M/C
70
78
-
-
-
M/C
Ricardo GONZALEZ
M/C
76
72
-
-
-
M/C
Andrew OLDCORN
M/C
79
69
-
-
-
M/C
Adam MEDNICK
M/C
75
74
-
-
-
M/C
Benn BARHAM
M/C
76
73
-
-
-
M/C
Phillip PRICE
M/C
75
74
-
-
-
M/C
Hal SUTTON
M/C
74
75
-
-
-
M/C
Raymond RUSSELL
M/C
71
79
-
-
-
M/C
Mattias ELIASSON
M/C
78
72
-
-
-
M/C
Dean WILSON
M/C
71
79
-
-
-
M/C
John COOK
M/C
74
76
-
-
-
M/C
Frank LICKLITER II
M/C
74
76
-
-
-
M/C
Dudley HART
M/C
74
77
-
-
-
M/C
Patrik SJOLAND
M/C
75
76
-
-
-
M/C
Freddie JACOBSON
M/C
78
73
-
-
-
M/C
Toru SUZUKI
M/C
79
72
-
-
-
M/C
Gary EMERSON
M/C
75
76
-
-
-
M/C
Peter BAKER
M/C
75
76
-
-
-
M/C
Kevin SUTHERLAND
M/C
73
78
-
-
-
M/C
Alejandro LARRAZABAL
M/C
77
75
-
-
-
M/C
John RIEGGER
M/C
78
74
-
-
-
M/C
Malcolm MACKENZIE
M/C
76
76
-
-
-
M/C
Billy ANDRADE
M/C
77
75
-
-
-
M/C
Angel CABRERA
M/C
73
79
-
-
-
M/C
Jamie SPENCE
M/C
77
78
-
-
-
M/C
James KINGSTON
M/C
76
81
-
-
-
M/C
Paul MAYO
M/C
84
73
-
-
-
M/C
Kiyoshi MIYAZATO
M/C
77
82
-
-
-
M/C
Roger CHAPMAN
DQ
74
-
-
-
-
M/C
Jonathan KAYE
DQ
74
-
-
-
-
M/C
Thongchai JAIDEE
Wd
80
-
-
-
-
M/C