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.