2008 Open Championship: Pádraig Harrington wins at Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Pádraig Harrington won the 2008 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, England with 283, by 4 strokes over Ian Poulter.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 2008 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 17 July 2008 to 20 July 2008
- Course
- Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, England
- Edition
- 137th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Par
- 70
- Field
- 156
- Made the cut
- 83 (cut at 149)
- Purse
- £4,200,000 · winner's share £750,000
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Pádraig Harrington · age 36 · Ireland · born Dublin, Ireland
- Champion's title
- 2nd Open title
- World ranking entering
- No. 14
- Winning score
- 74-68-72-69 = 283 · won by 4 strokes
- Runner-up
- Ian Poulter (287)
- 54-hole leader
- Greg Norman (212) · Pádraig Harrington was 2 strokes back
- Deciding hole
- No. 17, round 4
- Caddie
- Ronan Flood
- Low amateur
- Chris Wood (290)
Top 15 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pádraig Harrington | 74 | 68 | 72 | 69 | 283 | +3 |
| 2 | Ian Poulter | 72 | 71 | 75 | 69 | 287 | +7 |
| T3 | Greg Norman | 70 | 70 | 72 | 77 | 289 | +9 |
| T3 | Henrik Stenson | 76 | 72 | 70 | 71 | 289 | +9 |
| T5 | Chris Wood (a) | 75 | 70 | 73 | 72 | 290 | +10 |
| T5 | Jim Furyk | 71 | 71 | 77 | 71 | 290 | +10 |
| T7 | Robert Karlsson | 75 | 73 | 75 | 69 | 292 | +12 |
| T7 | Stephen Ames | 73 | 70 | 78 | 71 | 292 | +12 |
| T7 | David Howell | 76 | 71 | 78 | 67 | 292 | +12 |
| T7 | Paul Casey | 78 | 71 | 73 | 70 | 292 | +12 |
| T7 | Ben Curtis | 78 | 69 | 70 | 75 | 292 | +12 |
| T7 | Ernie Els | 80 | 69 | 74 | 69 | 292 | +12 |
| T7 | Robert Allenby | 69 | 73 | 76 | 74 | 292 | +12 |
| T7 | Steve Stricker | 77 | 71 | 71 | 73 | 292 | +12 |
| T7 | Anthony Kim | 72 | 74 | 71 | 75 | 292 | +12 |
What happened at the 2008 Open Championship
Greg Norman, the 54-hole leader at 53, shot a final-round 77 and tied for third.
Harrington, nursing a wrist injury, pulled clear down the stretch to become the first European to defend the Open since James Braid (1905-06).
Harrington hit a 5-wood from 249 yards to three feet at the par-5 17th and holed for eagle to pull clear of Ian Poulter.
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).