2023 Open Championship

The 2023 Open Championship, officially the 151st Open Championship, was a golf tournament played from 20–23 July 2023 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, Merseyside, England. This was the 13th time that The Open was played at Royal Liverpool.[2]

151st Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates20–23 July 2023
LocationHoylake, Merseyside, England
53°23′06″N 3°11′24″W / 53.385°N 3.190°W / 53.385; -3.190
Course(s)Royal Liverpool Golf Club
Organized byThe R&A
Tour(s)
Statistics
Par71
Length7,383 yd (6,751 m)
Field156 players, 76 after cut
Cut145 (+3)
Prize fundUS$16,500,000[1]
Winner's share$3,000,000[1]
Champion
United States Brian Harman
271 (−13)
Location map
Royal Liverpool is located in the United Kingdom
Royal Liverpool
Royal Liverpool
Location in the United Kingdom
Royal Liverpool is located in England
Royal Liverpool
Royal Liverpool
Location in England
Royal Liverpool is located in Merseyside
Royal Liverpool
Royal Liverpool
Location in Merseyside
← 2022
2024 →

Brian Harman won his first career Open Championship by six shots over Jason Day, Tom Kim, Jon Rahm, and Sepp Straka. It was Harman's first career major championship and his first PGA Tour win in six years.[3]

Organisation

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The 2023 Open Championship was organized by the R&A, and was included in the PGA Tour, European Tour, and Japan Golf Tour calendars under the major championships category. The tournament was a 72-hole (4 rounds) stroke play competition held over 4 days, with 18 holes played each day. Play was in groups of three for the first two days, and groups of two in the final two days. Groupings for the first two days were decided by the organizers, with each group having one morning and one afternoon tee time. On the final two days, players teed off in reverse order of aggregate score, with the leaders last. After 36 holes there was a cut, after which the top 70 and ties progressed through to compete in the third and fourth rounds. In the event of a tie for the lowest score after four rounds, a three-hole aggregate playoff would have been held to determine the winner; this would have been followed by sudden-death extra holes if necessary until a winner emerges.[4]

Venue

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On 7 December 2020, the R&A announced that the Royal Liverpool Golf Club would host the 2023 edition of the Open, and the Royal Troon Golf Club will host the 2024 edition.[5] The 2023 event is the 13th Open Championship played at Royal Liverpool.[6] The most recent was in 2014, when Rory McIlroy won the event by two strokes for his third major title.

The Royal Liverpool Golf Club underwent a number of changes prior to the 2023 Open, including adding the new seventeenth hole, a par 3, lowering the par of the course to 71. Despite the decrease in par, the overall yardage of the course was increased by 71 yards to a total of 7,383 yards. New bunkers were added to holes one, thirteen, fourteen, and sixteen, the green on the fourth hole was reduced in size and modified to allow for harder pin positions, and longer championship tees were added to the seventh, fifteenth, and eighteenth hole.[7]

Hole Name Yards Par Hole Name Yards Par
1 Royal 459 4 10 Far 507 4
2 Stand 453 4 11 Punch Bowl 392 4
3 Course 426 4 12 Dee 449 4
4 Road 367 4 13 Alps 194 3
5 Long 520 5 14 Hilbre 454 4
6 New 201 3 15 Field 620 5
7 Telegraph 481 4 16 Lake 461 4
8 Briars 436 4 17 Little Eye 136 3
9 Dowie 218 3 18 Dun 609 5
Out 3,561 35 In 3,822 36
Source[8][9][10] Total 7,383 71

Yardage by round

Round Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Par 4 4 4 4 5 3 4 4 3 35 4 4 4 3 4 5 4 3 5 36 71
1st Yards 444 458 424 354 510 204 478 433 200 3,505 506 387 442 195 452 602 466 126 599 3,775 7,280
2nd Yards 467 442 413 360 528 187 484 430 227 3,538 511 375 432 180 453 616 461 132 596 3,756 7,294
3rd Yards 446 458 419 370 510 196 484 424 205 3,512 484 395 446 185 443 625 462 120 615 3,775 7,287
Final Yards 465 458 428 366 527 194 469 430 223 3,560 497 402 433 203 459 607 471 132 609 3,813 7,373

Field

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The Open Championship field is made up of 156 players, who gained entry through various exemption criteria and qualifying tournaments. The criteria included past Open champions, recent major winners, top ranked players in the world rankings and from the leading world tours, and winners and high finishers from various designated tournaments, including the Open Qualifying Series; the winners of designated amateur events, including The Amateur Championship and U.S. Amateur, also gained exemption provided they remain an amateur. Anyone not qualifying via exemption, and had a handicap of 0.4 or lower, can gain entry through regional and final qualifying events.[11]

Most exemption criteria remained unchanged from previous years; changes included the removal of exemptions for recent Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup players,[12] and a new exemption for amateur golfers.[13]

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, 20 July 2023

Tommy Fleetwood, who grew up just 20 miles from Royal Liverpool, made three straight birdies on the back nine and only one bogey in a five-under round of 66 to share the lead after the first round.[14]

Amateur Christo Lamprecht chipped in for birdie at the par-4 14th hole and two-putted for birdie on the par-5 18th hole to tie Fleetwood for the first-round lead. His 66 was the lowest score by an amateur in the first round of the Open Championship since Tom Lewis in 2011. They were joined atop the leaderboard by Emiliano Grillo, who birdied five of his last eight holes.[15]

Brian Harman holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th to finish at four-under 67 and part of a group tied for fourth place, along with Adrián Otaegui and Antoine Rozner. Reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark began his round with nine straight pars but made four birdies on the back nine to shoot 68 (−3) and end up in a tie for seventh place along with 2009 champion Stewart Cink and Max Homa.[16]

Defending champion Cameron Smith made five bogeys in a one-over round of 72. Rory McIlroy, who won the last time the tournament was held at this course, was two-over on his round before consecutive birdies on holes 14–15. He saved par after having to play backwards from a greenside bunker on the 18th to shoot even-par 71.[17]

Place Player Score To par
T1   Tommy Fleetwood 66 −5
  Emiliano Grillo
  Christo Lamprecht (a)
T4   Brian Harman 67 −4
  Adrián Otaegui
  Antoine Rozner
T7   Stewart Cink 68 −3
  Wyndham Clark
  Max Homa
  Alex Norén
  Shubhankar Sharma
  Michael Stewart

Second round

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Friday, 21 July 2023

Brian Harman birdied four straight holes on his front nine, then made 12 pars before holing a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th hole to shoot a bogey-free round of 65 (−6). Harman's five-shot lead tied the largest after 36 holes at the Open Championship since 1934.[18][19]

Tommy Fleetwood, who began the round in a three-way tie for the lead, was one over through nine holes before making a 58-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole. He made two more birdies on the back nine along with two bogeys to shoot an even-par 71 and finish alone in second place behind Harman. Sepp Straka finished his round with six birdies over his last seven holes and moved up to sole possession of third place with a round of 67 (−4). Amateur Christo Lamprecht, tied for the lead at the start of the round, bogeyed five of his first seven holes and did not make a birdie in an eight-over round of 79 to fall to a tie for 61st place.[20][21]

The cut came at 145 (+3). Notables to miss the cut included 2021 champion Collin Morikawa, 2019 champion Shane Lowry, 2013 champion Phil Mickelson, and two-time major champions Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas.[22]

Place Player Score To par
1   Brian Harman 67-65=132 −10
2   Tommy Fleetwood 66-71=137 −5
3   Sepp Straka 71-67=138 −4
T4   Jason Day 72-67=139 −3
  Min Woo Lee 71-68=139
  Shubhankar Sharma 68-71=139
T7   Emiliano Grillo 66-74=140 −2
  Adrián Otaegui 67-73=140
  Jordan Spieth 69-71=140
  Cameron Young 72-68=140

Third round

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Saturday, 22 July 2023

Brian Harman began the round with a five-shot lead but bogeyed two of his first four holes to cut his advantage to two shots. He then made four birdies the rest of his round, including a 20-foot putt on the 12th hole to reach 12 under for the tournament, to shoot a two-under 69 and move back in front by five shots heading to the final round.[23]

Cameron Young holed a 30-foot birdie putt to open his round and made five more birdies, including both par 5s on the back nine, shooting 66 (−5) to finish alone in second place at seven under. Jon Rahm began the round in 39th place and 12 shots off the lead but made four straight birdies making the turn, playing the back nine in six under for a round of 63 (−8) and moving up to third place, six shots behind Harman. His 63 was the lowest round in an Open Championship at Royal Liverpool by two shots.[24]

Tommy Fleetwood, playing in the final group with Harman, birdied the second hole to get within two shots of the lead but didn't make another birdie the rest of his round, shooting an even-par 71 to fall into a tie for fourth place with Jason Day, Viktor Hovland, Antoine Rozner, and Sepp Straka, seven shots back.[25]

Place Player Score To par
1   Brian Harman 67-65-69=201 −12
2   Cameron Young 72-68-66=206 −7
3   Jon Rahm 74-70-63=207 −6
T4   Jason Day 72-67-69=208 −5
  Tommy Fleetwood 66-71-71=208
  Viktor Hovland 70-72-66=208
  Antoine Rozner 67-74-67=208
  Sepp Straka 71-67-70=208
T9   Alex Fitzpatrick 74-70-65=209 −4
  Shubhankar Sharma 68-71-70=209

Final round

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Sunday, 23 July 2023

Summary

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Brian Harman shot a one-under 70 to win his first career Open Championship and major championship by six shots.[26]

Harman began the round with a five-shot lead but bogeyed the par-5 fifth hole after taking a drop from thick bushes off the tee, his second bogey of the round that cut his lead to just three shots. He rebounded with birdies on his next two holes, including from 23 feet on the seventh hole, to reopen his five-shot advantage. After another bogey at the 13th, Harman holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the 14th and got up and down for birdie on the par-5 15th to reach 13-under for the tournament.[27] He parred his last three holes, playing out of a greenside bunker to seven feet on the 18th and making the putt to clinch the title.[28]

A group of four players finished at seven under and tied for second place. Tom Kim, playing with a sprained ankle he suffered earlier in the week, eagled the fifth hole after reaching the green in two shots as part of a four-under round of 67. Sepp Straka was three under on his round and alone in second place until a closing bogey at the 18th gave him a 69 (−2). Jon Rahm made a 23-foot birdie putt on the 18th to shoot 70 (−1), while Jason Day holed out for birdie from the rough on the ninth and added another birdie at the 15th for a 69.[29]

Rory McIlroy, the 2014 Open champion at Royal Liverpool, birdied three consecutive holes on his front nine to get within four shots of Harman's lead but was even par the rest of his round, finishing at six under and tied for sixth place with Emiliano Grillo. Cameron Young, playing in the final group with Harman, was three over on his round until a birdie at the 18th gave him a 73 (+2), dropping him into a tie for eighth place. Matthew Jordan, a member at Royal Liverpool, hit his approach on the 18th to six feet and made the birdie putt to finish at four under and in a tie for 10th place.[30]

Final leaderboard

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Champion
Silver Medal winner (low amateur)
(a) = amateur
(c) = past champion
Top 10
Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Brian Harman 67-65-69-70=271 −13 3,000,000
T2   Jason Day 72-67-69-69=277 −7 1,084,625
  Tom Kim 74-68-68-67=277
  Jon Rahm 74-70-63-70=277
  Sepp Straka 71-67-70-69=277
T6   Emiliano Grillo 66-74-70-68=278 −6 551,250
  Rory McIlroy (c) 71-70-69-68=278
T8   Shubhankar Sharma 68-71-70-70=279 −5 403,350
  Cameron Young 72-68-66-73=279
T10   Tommy Fleetwood 66-71-71-72=280 −4 308,400
  Max Homa 68-73-70-69=280
  Matthew Jordan 69-72-69-70=280

Scorecard

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Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 4 4 4 5 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 4 5 4 3 5
  Harman −12 −11 −11 −11 −10 −11 −12 −12 −12 −12 −12 −12 −11 −12 −13 −13 −13 −13
  Day −5 −5 −4 −4 −5 −5 −4 −5 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −7 −7 −7 −7
  Kim −2 −1 −1 −2 −4 −4 −4 −4 −5 −5 −6 −6 −6 −6 −7 −7 −7 −7
  Rahm −6 −6 −6 −6 −7 −7 −7 −7 −6 −6 −6 −6 −7 −6 −6 −6 −6 −7
  Straka −4 −4 −5 −5 −6 −6 −6 −6 −7 −6 −7 −7 −7 −7 −7 −8 −8 −7
  McIlroy −3 −3 −4 −5 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −5 −5 −5 −5 −6 −6 −5 −6 −6
  Grillo −3 −3 −3 −3 −4 −3 −3 −3 −3 −4 −5 −5 −5 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6
  Young −6 −6 −6 −6 −5 −6 −6 −6 −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −4 −4 −5

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Eagle Birdie Bogey

References

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  1. ^ a b "Open Championship to pay winner record $3 million". ESPN. 12 July 2023.
  2. ^ Hirsh, Jack (14 July 2023). "The Open 2023: History of Royal Liverpool's champions". Golf Magazine. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  3. ^ Schlabach, Mark (23 July 2023). "American Brian Harman wins first major at The Open". ESPN. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  4. ^ Herrington, Ryan (23 July 2023). "British Open playoff 2023: The format, rules and holes played at Royal Liverpool". Golf Digest. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Open venues agree to delay in hosting". BBC Sport. 7 December 2020.
  6. ^ McLauchlin, Brian; O'Neill, George (12 July 2022). "The Open: Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Jon Rahm on St Andrews Old Course". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  7. ^ Rimine, Brentley (16 July 2023). "The Open 2023: New par-3 17th, decrease in par highlight Royal Liverpool changes". Golf Channel.
  8. ^ "Course Guide". The Open. 2014. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  9. ^ "143rd Open Championship: Venue". European Tour. 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  10. ^ "The Links". Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  11. ^ "Qualification for The 151st Open". The Open Championship. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  12. ^ McDonald, Patrick (21 February 2023). "R&A removes Open Championship exemptions for Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, will still allow LIV golfers". CBS Sports. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  13. ^ Beall, Joel (21 February 2023). "R&A announces Open Championship exemptions; LIV Golf players remain in field". Golf Digest. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  14. ^ Zak, Sean (20 July 2023). "Tommy Fleetwood is leading his home Open. Now comes the hard part". Golf Magazine. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  15. ^ Romine, Brentley (20 July 2023). "Christo Lamprecht stands tall – literally – at Open Championship". Golf Channel. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  16. ^ McDonald, Patrick (20 July 2023). "2023 British Open leaderboard breakdown: Tommy Fleetwood goes low, amateur Christo Lamprecht shocks in Round 1". CBS Sports. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  17. ^ Lavner, Ryan (20 July 2023). "Rory McIlroy's gutsy up-and-down on final hole may have saved his Open chances". Golf Channel. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  18. ^ Casey, Phil (21 July 2023). "Brian Harman hunting major breakthrough after surging clear at Open Championship". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  19. ^ Zak, Sean (21 July 2023). "Brian Harman's lead at the Open Championship? It's sizable, but not safe". Golf Magazine. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  20. ^ Stafford, Ali (21 July 2023). "The Open: Brian Harman five clear of Tommy Fleetwood as Scottie Scheffler narrowly makes the cut". Sky Sports. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  21. ^ McDonald, Patrick (21 July 2023). "2023 British Open leaderboard breakdown: Brian Harman up big with Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth in pursuit". CBS Sports. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  22. ^ Herzig, Gabrielle (21 July 2023). "The Biggest Names to Miss the Cut at the British Open". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  23. ^ Young, Ryan (22 July 2023). "British Open: Brian Harman holds 5-shot lead as Jon Rahm sets Royal Liverpool course record". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  24. ^ Colgan, James (22 July 2023). "One moment from Jon Rahm proved he isn't like the rest of us". Golf Magazine. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  25. ^ Beall, Joel (22 July 2023). "British Open 2023: Brian Harman is trying to win in front of a crowd that doesn't want to see him do it". Golf Digest. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  26. ^ Melton, Zephyr (23 July 2023). "Brian Harman dominates Open Championship, wins at Hoylake by 6". Golf Magazine. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  27. ^ Murray, Ewan (23 July 2023). "Brian Harman sparkles in the gloom to win the Open and secure first major". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  28. ^ Romine, Brentley (23 July 2023). "Big-game hunter: Brian Harman dominates 151st Open with 6-shot win". Golf Channel. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  29. ^ Leonard, Tod (23 July 2023). "British Open 2023: Dealing with crutches and a cast, Tom Kim notches his best-ever finish in a major". Golf Digest. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  30. ^ Vick, Audrey (23 July 2023). "'Incredible' week for hometown favorite Matthew Jordan results in spot at Royal Troon". Golf Channel. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
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