2017 Open Championship
The 2017 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 146th Open Championship, held from 20–23 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. It was the tenth Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, which held its first in 1954.
Jordan Spieth shot four rounds under 70 for a score of 268, three strokes ahead of runner-up Matt Kuchar. It was Spieth's second wire-to-wire win at a major, following his 2015 Masters win. In the third round, Branden Grace scored 62, which set a new major championship record.
This was the first year that the prize money was paid in U.S. dollars rather than British pounds.
Media
This was the second Open Championship televised domestically by Sky Sports. In the United States, it is the second Open Championship to be televised by NBC.Venue
The 2017 event was the tenth Open Championship played at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club. Before 2017 the most recent was in 2008, where Pádraig Harrington successfully defended his 2007 title from Carnoustie.Tee | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
Yardage | 448 | 422 | 451 | 199 | 346 | 499 | 177 | 458 | 416 | 3416 | 402 | 436 | 183 | 499 | 200 | 542 | 438 | 567 | 473 | 3740 | 7,156 |
Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 70 |
Lengths of the course for previous Opens:
- 2008:, par 70
- 1998:, par 70
- 1991:, par 70
- 1983:, par 71
- 1976:, par 72
- 1971:, par 73
- 1965:, par 73
- 1961:, par 72
- 1954:, par 73
Field
;1. The Open Champions aged 60 or under on 23 July 2017
Stewart Cink, Darren Clarke, John Daly, David Duval, Ernie Els, Todd Hamilton, Pádraig Harrington, Zach Johnson, Paul Lawrie, Tom Lehman, Sandy Lyle, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Mark O'Meara, Louis Oosthuizen, Henrik Stenson
- Eligible but did not enter: Ian Baker-Finch, Mark Calcavecchia, Nick Faldo, Justin Leonard, Nick Price, Tiger Woods: Faldo and Price were in their final year of eligibility.
- Ben Curtis withdrew before the tournament.
;3. Top 10 finishers and ties in the 2016 Open Championship
Sergio García, Bill Haas, Tyrrell Hatton, J. B. Holmes, Dustin Johnson, Andrew Johnston, Søren Kjeldsen, Steve Stricker
;4. Top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking for Week 21, 2017
Daniel Berger, Wesley Bryan, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Paul Casey, Kevin Chappell, Jason Day, Ross Fisher, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Branden Grace, Emiliano Grillo, Adam Hadwin, Billy Horschel, Kim Si-woo, Kevin Kisner, Russell Knox, Brooks Koepka, Matt Kuchar, Marc Leishman, Hideki Matsuyama, William McGirt, Francesco Molinari, Ryan Moore, Alex Norén, Pat Perez, Thomas Pieters, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Justin Rose, Charl Schwartzel, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth, Hideto Tanihara, Justin Thomas, Jimmy Walker, Bubba Watson, Bernd Wiesberger, Danny Willett, Gary Woodland
- Brandt Snedeker did not play.
Richard Bland, Scott Hend, David Horsey, Thongchai Jaidee, Martin Kaymer, Li Haotong, Shane Lowry, Joost Luiten, Thorbjørn Olesen, Andy Sullivan, Wang Jeung-hun, Lee Westwood, Chris Wood
;6. Last three BMW PGA Championship winners
An Byeong-hun
;7. Top 5 players, not already exempt, within the top 20 of the 2017 Race to Dubai through the BMW International Open
Dylan Frittelli, Pablo Larrazábal, Alexander Lévy, David Lipsky, Fabrizio Zanotti
;8. Last five U.S. Open winners
;9. Last five Masters Tournament winners
;10. Last five PGA Championship winners
Jason Dufner
;11. Last three Players Championship winners
;12. The 30 qualifiers for the 2016 Tour Championship
Roberto Castro, Kevin Na, Sean O'Hair, Jhonattan Vegas
;13. Top 5 players, not already exempt, within the top 20 of the 2017 FedEx Cup points list through the Travelers Championship
Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Charley Hoffman, Brendan Steele
;14. Winner of the 2016 Olympic Golf Tournament
;15. Winner of the 2016 Open de Argentina
Kent Bulle
;16. Winner and runner-up from the 2017 Korea Open
Chang Yi-keun, Kim Gi-whan
;17. Playing members of the 2016 Ryder Cup teams
;18. Winner of the 2016 Asian Tour Order of Merit
;19. Winner of the 2016 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit
Matthew Griffin
;20. Winner of the 2016–17 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit
Brandon Stone
;21. Winner of the 2016 Japan Open
;22. Top 2 on the 2016 Japan Golf Tour Official Money List
Yuta Ikeda
;23. Top 2, not already exempt, on the 2017 Japan Golf Tour Official Money List through the Japan Golf Tour Championship
Yūsaku Miyazato, Shaun Norris
;24. Winner of the 2016 Senior Open Championship
Paul Broadhurst
;25. Winner of the 2017 Amateur Championship
Harry Ellis
;26. Winner of the 2016 U.S. Amateur
Curtis Luck forfeited his exemption after turning professional in April 2017.
;27. Winners of the 2016 and 2017 editions of the European Amateur
Luca Cianchetti, Alfie Plant
;28. Recipient of the 2016 Mark H. McCormack Medal
Maverick McNealy
;Open Qualifying Series
The Open Qualifying Series consists of 10 events from the six major tours. Places are available to the leading players who finish in the top n and ties. In the event of ties, positions go to players ranked highest according to that week's OWGR.
Location | Tournament | Date | Spots | Top | Qualifiers |
Australia | Emirates Australian Open | 20 Nov | 3 | 10 | Aaron Baddeley, Ashley Hall, Cameron Smith |
Singapore | SMBC Singapore Open | 22 Jan | 4 | 12 | Phachara Khongwatmai, Jbe' Kruger, Prayad Marksaeng, Song Young-han |
South Africa | Joburg Open | 26 Feb | 3 | 10 | Darren Fichardt, Stuart Manley, Paul Waring |
Japan | Mizuno Open | 28 May | 4 | 12 | Adam Bland, Michael Hendry, Chan Kim, Kim Kyung-tae |
France | HNA Open de France | 2 Jul | 3 | 10 | Alexander Björk, Michael Lorenzo-Vera, Peter Uihlein |
United States | Quicken Loans National | 2 Jul | 4 | 12 | Charles Howell III, Kang Sung-hoon, Martin Laird, Kyle Stanley |
Ireland | Dubai Duty Free Irish Open | 9 Jul | 3 | 10 | David Drysdale, Ryan Fox, Richie Ramsay |
United States | Greenbrier Classic | 9 Jul | 4 | 12 | Jamie Lovemark, Sebastián Muñoz, Xander Schauffele, Robert Streb |
Scotland | Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open | 16 Jul | 3 | 10 | Andrew Dodt, Matthieu Pavon, Callum Shinkwin |
United States | John Deere Classic | 16 Jul | 1 | 5 | Bryson DeChambeau |
;Final Qualifying
The Final Qualifying events were played on 4 July at five courses covering Scotland and the North-West, Central and South-coast regions of England. Three qualifying places were available at each location.
;Alternates
To make up the full field of 156, additional places are allocated in ranking order from the Official World Golf Ranking at the time that these places are made available by the Championship Committee.
- Webb Simpson
Scott Piercy- Anirban Lahiri
- Tony Finau
- James Hahn
Nationalities in the field
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, 20 July 2017Three Americans – Brooks Koepka, Matt Kuchar, and Jordan Spieth – shared the lead after the first round on five under par, a shot clear of England's Paul Casey and Charl Schwartzel, with Ian Poulter a further shot back. Reigning champion Henrik Stenson was one under after a 69. Rory McIlroy was five over par after six holes but recovered to finish with a one-over-par 71.
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
T1 | Brooks Koepka | 65 | −5 | |
T1 | Matt Kuchar | 65 | −5 | |
T1 | Jordan Spieth | 65 | −5 | |
T4 | Paul Casey | 66 | −4 | |
T4 | Charl Schwartzel | 66 | −4 | |
T6 | Richard Bland | 67 | −3 | |
T6 | Rafa Cabrera-Bello | 67 | −3 | |
T6 | Austin Connelly | 67 | −3 | |
T6 | Charley Hoffman | 67 | −3 | |
T6 | Ian Poulter | 67 | −3 | |
T6 | Justin Thomas | 67 | −3 |
Second round
Friday, 21 July 2017In difficult conditions, Jordan Spieth followed his first round 65 with a 69 to lead by two strokes from Matt Kuchar. Only eight players scored under par for their second rounds, Zach Johnson's 66 being the best round of the day. Alfie Plant was the only amateur to make the cut. He eagled the par-five 15th on his way to a 73 and a 36-hole total of 144.
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
1 | Jordan Spieth | 65-69=134 | −6 | |
2 | Matt Kuchar | 65-71=136 | −4 | |
T3 | Brooks Koepka | 65-72=137 | −3 | |
T3 | Ian Poulter | 67-70=137 | −3 | |
5 | Richie Ramsay | 68-70=138 | −2 | |
T6 | Richard Bland | 67-72=139 | −1 | |
T6 | Austin Connelly | 67-72=139 | −1 | |
T6 | Rory McIlroy | 71-68=139 | −1 | |
T6 | Gary Woodland | 70-69=139 | −1 | |
T10 | Kent Bulle | 68-72=140 | E | |
T10 | Rafa Cabrera-Bello | 67-73=140 | E | |
T10 | Charley Hoffman | 67-73=140 | E | |
T10 | Russell Henley | 70-70=140 | E | |
T10 | Chan Kim | 72-68=140 | E | |
T10 | Jamie Lovemark | 71-69=140 | E | |
T10 | Joost Luiten | 68-72=140 | E | |
T10 | Hideki Matsuyama | 68-72=140 | E | |
T10 | Alex Norén | 68-72=140 | E | |
T10 | Bubba Watson | 68-72=140 | E |
Amateurs: Plant , Syme, Cianchetti, Ellis, McNealy
Third round
Saturday, 22 July 2017Jordan Spieth shot a 65 to take a three-stroke lead over Matt Kuchar, who shot a 66. On an easier day of scoring, Branden Grace scored 62, breaking the long-standing men's major championship record of 63. There were also low rounds from Dustin Johnson, with a 64, and Henrik Stenson, with a 65, both getting into a tie for 7th place.
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
1 | Jordan Spieth | 65-69-65=199 | −11 | |
2 | Matt Kuchar | 65-71-66=202 | −8 | |
T3 | Austin Connelly | 67-72-66=205 | −5 | |
T3 | Brooks Koepka | 65-72-68=205 | −5 | |
T5 | Branden Grace | 70-74-62=206 | −4 | |
T5 | Hideki Matsuyama | 68-72-66=206 | −4 | |
T7 | Rafa Cabrera-Bello | 67-73-67=207 | −3 | |
T7 | Dustin Johnson | 71-72-64=207 | −3 | |
T7 | Chan Kim | 72-68-67=207 | −3 | |
T7 | Henrik Stenson | 69-73-65=207 | −3 |
Branden Grace scorecard
Birdie |
Final round
Sunday, 23 July 2017Summary
Beginning the round with a three-shot lead, Jordan Spieth bogeyed three of his first four holes to fall into a tie with Matt Kuchar. A birdie at the 5th combined with a bogey by Kuchar at the 6th allowed Spieth to re-open a two-stroke advantage, but a bogey-birdie swing at the 9th evened the score heading to the back-nine. The score remained level until the 13th, when Spieth hit his tee shot well to the right of the fairway. Forced to take an unplayable lie and drop from the practice area, he managed to get up-and-down to save bogey while Kuchar took the lead by making par. At the par-3 14th, however, Spieth nearly holed his tee shot and converted the birdie attempt to tie Kuchar. Then at the par-5 15th, Spieth made a eagle putt to take the lead once again. With birdies on the next two holes Spieth played 14–17 in five-under to take a two-stroke lead heading to the last. When Kuchar found a greenside bunker and made bogey, Spieth was able to tap in for par and win the championship by three strokes. Li Haotong birdied his last four holes for 63 and jump into third place at 274, the best finish for an Asian player at the Open Championship since Lu Liang-Huan in 1971, also at Royal Birkdale. With the victory, Spieth joined Jack Nicklaus as the only golfers to win three legs of the career Grand Slam before the age of 24.Final leaderboard
Note: Top 10 and ties qualify for the 2018 Open Championship; top 4 and ties qualify for the 2018 Masters TournamentPlace | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money |
1 | Jordan Spieth | 65-69-65-69=268 | −12 | 1,845,000 | |
2 | Matt Kuchar | 65-71-66-69=271 | −9 | 1,067,000 | |
3 | Li Haotong | 69-73-69-63=274 | −6 | 684,000 | |
T4 | Rafa Cabrera-Bello | 67-73-67-68=275 | −5 | 480,000 | |
T4 | Rory McIlroy | 71-68-69-67=275 | −5 | 480,000 | |
T6 | Branden Grace | 70-74-62-70=276 | −4 | 281,000 | |
T6 | Brooks Koepka | 65-72-68-71=276 | −4 | 281,000 | |
T6 | Marc Leishman | 69-76-66-65=276 | −4 | 281,000 | |
T6 | Alex Norén | 68-72-69-67=276 | −4 | 281,000 | |
T6 | Matthew Southgate | 72-72-67-65=276 | −4 | 281,000 |
Source:
Scorecard
Final roundHole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
Spieth | −10 | −10 | −9 | −8 | −9 | −9 | −9 | −9 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −7 | −8 | −10 | −11 | −12 | −12 |
Kuchar | −8 | −9 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −9 | −9 | −10 | −9 |
Li | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | E | −1 | −1 | −1 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −3 | −4 | −5 | −6 |
Cabrera-Bello | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −3 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −5 | −5 |
McIlroy | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −3 | −3 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −3 | −3 | −5 | −5 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Eagle | Birdie | Bogey |
Source: