2004 Open Championship: Todd Hamilton wins at Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course)
Todd Hamilton won the 2004 Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course), Scotland with 274 (−10), beating Ernie Els in a playoff.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 2004 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 15 July 2004 to 18 July 2004
- Course
- Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course), Scotland
- Edition
- 133rd Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Par
- 71
- Field
- 156
- Made the cut
- 73 (cut at 145)
- Purse
- £4,000,000 · winner's share £720,000
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Todd Hamilton · age 38 · USA · born Galesburg, USA
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- World ranking entering
- No. 56
- Winning score
- 71-67-67-69 = 274 (−10)
- Runner-up
- Ernie Els (274)
- 54-hole leader
- Todd Hamilton (205)
- Playoff
- 4-hole aggregate; beat Ernie Els; Hamilton 15; Els 16
- Deciding hole
- No. 18, round playoff, playoff hole 4
- Low amateur
- Stuart Wilson
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Todd Hamilton | 71 | 67 | 67 | 69 | 274 | −10 |
| 2 | Ernie Els | 69 | 69 | 68 | 68 | 274 | −10 |
| 3 | Phil Mickelson | 73 | 66 | 68 | 68 | 275 | −9 |
| 4 | Lee Westwood | 72 | 71 | 68 | 67 | 278 | −6 |
| T5 | Thomas Levet | 66 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 279 | −5 |
| T5 | Davis Love III | 72 | 69 | 71 | 67 | 279 | −5 |
| T7 | Retief Goosen | 69 | 70 | 68 | 73 | 280 | −4 |
| T7 | Scott Verplank | 69 | 70 | 70 | 71 | 280 | −4 |
| T9 | Tiger Woods | 70 | 71 | 68 | 72 | 281 | −3 |
| T9 | Mike Weir | 71 | 68 | 71 | 71 | 281 | −3 |
What happened at the 2004 Open Championship
At the 72nd hole Els's 10-foot birdie putt to win broke sharply left and missed, so Hamilton's bogey at the 18th still earned a playoff.
On the last playoff hole (18) Hamilton chipped and ran a hybrid to two feet from about 30 yards short and holed out after Els missed from 12 feet.
On the last playoff hole Hamilton ran a hybrid chip to about two feet and holed it, while Els "missed again", giving Hamilton a one-shot aggregate win.
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's The Open data. A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the organizer's own record is used.
Data: the-open.json (The Open room's data), with GNN's Open Championship addendum tables L (top ten by round), H (deciding hole), W (final-day weather).