Golf Channel · Jul 12, 2016
Signs pointed to Hamilton's surprise '04 Open triumph
TROON, Scotland – In retrospect, the signs were there. But when you’re in the middle of living the experience, signs are more coincidence than a showcase of fate.
Todd Hamilton was a 38-year-old, world travelling, one-time PGA Tour winner when he arrived at Royal Troon for the 2004 Open. A journeyman, by every definition.
He came over to Scotland with his wife, three kids and his mother. He had won the Honda Classic in March, but there was no reason – even for him – to believe that he would return to the U.S. with the claret jug.
Sure, Ben Curtis, then world No. 396, had won The Open the previous year, but lightning wasn’t likely to strike twice for a surprising American winner.