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ROUND FOUR LEADERBOARD
(1810hrs)
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| Tiger
Woods USA |
274
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Tiger Woods wins his second Open title at the Home of Golf.
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| Colin Montgomerie
Sco |
279 |
| Jose Marie Olazabal
Esp |
280
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| Fred
Couples USA |
280
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| Geoff
Ogilvy Aus |
281
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| Vijay
Singh Fj |
281
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| Sergio
Garcia Esp |
281
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| Michael
Campbell Nz |
281
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| Bernhard
Langer Ger |
281
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| Retief
Goosen RSA |
281
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Day Four - Tiger Woods won the 134th Open Championship, becoming only
the second post-war player to win two Opens at the Home of Golf, the other being
Jack Nicklaus, in 1970 and 1978. Tiger, still not 30 years old, has now amassed
a total of 10 Majors, including at least two of each of the four. Only Nicklaus
had previously achieved that. Woods looks to be back to his very best, having
finished 1st, 2nd, 1st in the three majors so far this year.
A final round 70 secured the title for Woods by 5
shots from Scotland's Colin Montgomerie. Jose Marie Olazabal and Fred Couples
shared third spot. It was Monty's best finish in a Major since his playoff loss
to Ernie Els in the US Open at Congressional in 1997.
With the pins tucked in difficult locations, no-one
really mounted a challenge to Woods, although Monty and Olazabal were within a
shot of the lead around the turn. But whilst Woods remained steady, Monty and
Olazabal both made mistakes and the gap proved too great to narrow down the stretch.
A birdie at the 18th gave Scot Lloyd Saltman the
Silver Medal as leading amateur at the Open Championship. The 19-year-old had
earlier been set a target of four under par by his fellow Scot Eric Ramsay.
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| Monty
is chasing his first Major title. |
Day Three - Tiger Woods leads by two shots having given up some ground
to the field. On a day when the course dried out and the wind picked up, the biggest
move came from Retief Goosen, who finally found some form and shot a 66 to get
to 9-under par.
Jose Marie Olazabal birdied the last to card a 68
and get to 10-under par and will partner Tiger in the final group tomorrow.
Colin Montgomerie also made progress, shooting a
70 in the company of Woods.
Monty played steady golf and holed a 25ft putt on
the 18th for birdie. Tiger struggled on the front nine, taking two penalty shots,
but regrouped over the closing stretch to shot a 71 and take a two shot cushion
going into what promises to be a fantastic final day.
Day Two- Tiger Woods finishes the day four shots clear of Colin Montgomerie.
Monty fired a six-under-par 66 in round two of the Open at St Andrews. The Scot
carded an eagle, seven birdies and three boyeys.
Trevor Immelman and Vijay Singh were joined on 6-under
by Brad Faxon, who shot a superb 66, Jose Marie Olazabal, Peter Lonard, Scott
Verplank and Robert Allenby. A group headed by Sergio Garcia, who added a 69 to
his opening 70, lie at 5-under.
It was the end of an era as Jack Nicklaus signed
off with a level par 72 and a total 145.
Two Minute Silence at Noon - Silence fell over the St Andrews links at 12
o'clock Thursday as klaxons announced the start of a nationwide two-minute silence
for the victims of the London bombings.
Woods Leads - Thursday 14th - Tiger Woods leads the 134th Open Championship.
The world number one carded eight birdies on his way to a 6-under par round of
68.
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| Tiger
Woods was at his inspired best on the opening day of the Open. |
Woods was three shots clear after birdies at 9,10
and 11, but wayward approaches at 14 and 16 found bunkers and resulted in two
bogeys. He regrouped and birdied the last to card 66.
American Chris Riley joined a group on 4-under which
includes Retief Goosen, Luke Donald, Jose Marie Olazabal, and Peter Lonard. Also
joining them late in the day was former Masters Champion Fred Couples.
Scott Verplank finished 3,3 to join the group at
4-under, alongside Scottish amateur Eric Ramsay from Carnoustie, who had the day
of his life shooting a 68.
US Open Champion Michael Campbell finished with a
3-under par 69, alongside France's Thomas Levet and the former USPGA Champion,
Bob Tway.
One of the favourites, the US player David Toms,
shot a 74 but disqualified himself having struck a moving ball on the 17th.
*****

A fiver on Jack - Monday 11th - The Royal Bank of Scotland will be introducing
into circulation two million 5-pound sterling notes in Scotland during the Open
at St. Andrews - with Jack's picture on them!
Nicklaus will be the only living person to appear on a Scottish note besides
Her Majesty the Queen and the late Queen Mother.
The special note will be unveiled July 12 at the Royal & Ancient Golf Club
and is available from the Royal Bank of Scotland - full details at the Official
RBS press release on how to obtain the notes.
*****
Scottish weather
- Scottish Winner? - Wednesday 13th - Spectators and competitors have been
enjoying superb sunny skies for the practice days. The Old Course is playing like
a fast traditional links course. With the firm conditions, low scoring is going
to favour players who can conjure up pitch and run shots, but many are worried
that the dry ground will play into the hands of the big hitters.
Purists will be hoping for a good Scottish breeze to get up by the weekend
to provide testing conditions. With no less than 11 Scots in the field, the chances
of a homegrown winner are about as good as they have ever been. Colin Montgomerie,
Paul Lawrie, Alistair Forsyth and Stephen Gallacher will be leading the way for
Scotland.
*****

St Andrews.com@Open 2005!!! If you are at the Open 2005, pop into the Fife
Council Exhibition Tent at the Village.
As well as a host of interactive stands and demonstrations showcasing the
Kingdom of Fife, the Exhibition will display the St Andrews.com website.
We'll be delivering a special ecard page which only visitors IN PERSON can
access. Send friends and relatives a greeting live from the Open 2005!!!
*****
Harrington withdraws
after death of his Father - Tuesday 12th - World Number 9 Padraig Harrington
has pulled out of the Open following the death of his father, Patrick. Harrington's
father had been diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in March. A spokeswoman
for Harrington's management company said the Dubliner was "devastated".
*****
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| Nicklaus
won two Open titles at St Andrews - 1970 and 1978. |
Golden Bear
retires - Jack Nicklaus has formally announced that the Open Championship
at St Andrews in July is likely to be his last competitive tournament. It will
bring to a dignified end the career of the greatest golfer in history.
Nicklaus last appeared in the Open back in 2000 at St Andrews.
"I enjoy being part of history but I don't consider myself competitive
any more and the Open will probably end my competitive career," he said.
Full story here.
*****
Seve
misses out - another former St Andrews Champion, Severiano Ballesteros, winner
of The Open over the Old Course at St Andrews in 1984, has withdrawn from this
year's Championship. Seve's continuing back problems mean he has not played competitive
golf for more than a year. Under the conditions governing entry to the Championship
his place will be taken by Jose Maria Olazabal, the highest ranked player in the
Official World Golf Rankings not to have qualified.
*****
The last time the
Open was at St Andrews was in 2000, when Tiger
Woods won the Millennium Open. Woods was never in any of the Old Course's
bunkers, and sealed his third Major win in a row in style with a record 19-under-par
score of 269.
As in 2000, the course has again been slightly lengthened, with the creation
of five new championship tees. (Find out
more about the original 2000 changes.)
The latest alterations for 2005 have been partially to defend the course against
new technology (in particular the golf ball), but also to make sure that the Open
is played over a course that reflects both the modern game and keeps intact the
traditional aspects of links golf. The Old Course will now measure 7,279 yards
for this year's Open Championship, 164 more than when Tiger Woods won the title
in 2000.
"We are restoring rather than changing the course," said Royal &
Ancient Golf Club chief executive Peter Dawson. "Modern equipment and the
greater athleticism of golf's leading players have led to many of the Old Course
hazards being taken out of play, but because of the history of the Old Course,
moving hazards is not the option it would be at many other places. We just want
to re-instate the old decisions players had to make."
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