Hot Toddy the toast of Troon as Els falls short in play-off

FIRST, it was Ben Curtis in the 2003 Open Championship at Royal St Georges. Then came Shaun Micheel a few months later in the US PGA Championship at Oak Hill.

Now it's Todd Hamilton in this year's Open at Royal Troon. It's the age of the underdog in major golf and make no mistake about it.

However, one salient point must be made at the outset. Yesterday's amazing victory for the unheralded 38-year-old from Illinois and resident of McKinney, Texas, was no fluke. It could be argued that Curtis backed into the title last year. Not so Todd Hamilton. He led going into the final round by a single shot pursued by some of the finest exponents the game has ever seen ... Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen and Tiger Woods, all major championship winners in the last 24 months.

In comparison with each of this illustrious quartet, Hamilton was a comparative unknown, millions short of them where prize money was concerned and light years behind in the area of achievement. However, unlike Curtis, who was ranked 396th in the world at the time of his triumph, this man had a far more impressive pedigree.

He arrived with a solid game plan, quite simply to be sure either to fly the bunkers or come up short of them. He reckoned he was in sand only two or three times over the four days and reckoned that was the key to his win.

Furthermore, he had a world ranking of 56 coming to Troon having captured this year's Honda Classic on the US Tour in his rookie season. Prior to that he was an insignificant figure in his native land as he plied his trade between 1992 and 2003 on the Japanese Tour where he won eleven times.

"The trials and tribulations of that time hardened me," he maintained with every good reason. Under the fiercest pressure imaginable, he added a 69 to his previous rounds of 71, 67 and 67 for a ten under par aggregate of 274 that tied Els at the end of the regulation 72 holes.

Having allowed the South African to bring the contest into extra time by taking bogey at the 18th, the consensus was that the American would crumble in the four hole play-off. Far from it. The first two were shared in shaky enough par fours before the issue was decided at the 222 yards 17th. Hamilton drilled a beautiful iron to the heart of the green. Els hooked his tee shot, chipped to eight feet and missed.

So they went up the 18th with the American again leading by one. This time he made no mistake.

Although short in two, he used "a hybrid club which is basically a one iron with a 14 degree loft which is great for pitch and run shots". He left the ball less than two feet from the cup. True to form, Els had struck two immaculate irons to 15 feet but he didn't allow enough on the right to left break and the ball slid by. Hamilton tapped in and we had the unlikeliest of outcomes.

"This is truly a great experience," said the articulate and remarkably composed champion. "I can truly state that I was very calm throughout the whole day. There have been times when I would be eating my finger nails on the golf course and been very nervous. It wasn't like that today. I was playing well and it was fun. I was never in that position before and to be so calm was something of an oddity."

A professional since 1987, he has known more bad times than good and admitted there was a spell in late 1991 and early '92 when he nearly gave it all up.

"I didn't know at the time that a couple of financial backers had decided to give me only one more year on the Asian Tour," he related. "I don't know why this happened. I didn't know how to do much other than play golf and that's probably the reason I stuck at it. So it seems like a fairy tale and to me it really is." The final day of the 133rd championship dawned fine and bright with the wind from the Irish Sea relenting just a little as the leaders went into battle.

Hamilton, Els, Phil Mickelson and Thomas Levet were the frontrunners and, as they turned for home it was the Masters champion at nine under followed by Hamilton, eight under, and Els, seven under. It swung one way, then the other, Els taking six at the 10th and then salvaging a remarkable par at the 11th. Not to be outdone, Hamilton rolled in a 12-footer for birdie on one of the most treacherous par fours in Open Championship golf.

Mickelson had his first bogey in 49 holes at the 13th as it gradually dawned that Hamilton wasn't going to wilt. He holed a chip shot at the 14th and having laid up at the long 16th, rattled in a 12-footer with a big left to right borrow for a four that effectively put him one ahead of Els and Mickelson going down the last.

He pushed his tee shot into thick rough on the right, dragged his second into the metal barrier in front of the grandstand and did well to make bogey. Meanwhile, Els had hit a glorious seven iron from 175 yards to within to about eight feet. In truth, his putt for a second Open in three years was a timid effort, missing on the low side, a miss he acknowledged he would regret for a very long time.

"I had such a good second shot," groaned the disconsolate South African. "It was a weird pin placement because, if you were short of the hole, you had such a difficult putt. I made the hell of an effort to get back into the race and then I had the chance on 18 but I just couldn't get it high enough. All of my losses in the majors this year are hard. I was in a similar position at the Masters and I played well that time. And I felt I played well this time except I didn't play the play-off well enough. I just couldn't get the right read on the putts. I had my chances and I've got to give a lot of credit to Todd."

The European challenge came up short once again although Lee Westwood has good reason to be happy with fourth place on six under after finishing with an equal best of the day 67. Next best was Levet who tied with Davis Love 111 for 5th, the American jumping several places thanks to an eagle two at the 18th. Darren Clarke also finished strongly with a 68 to tie for 11th worth €104,285.