Scott was the leader after 54 holes at 199 (−11), with Els six strokes back, tied for fifth.[4] After a birdie at the 14th hole, Scott was four strokes ahead with four holes to play. Els, two groups ahead of Scott on the course, birdied the 18th hole for a score of 68 and the clubhouse lead at 273 (−7). When Scott agonizingly bogeyed each of the final four holes, he dropped to second and Els won the Championship by a single stroke.[4][5]
Entering the final round, Graeme McDowell and Snedeker were tied for second at 203 (−7), four strokes behind Scott.[4] McDowell shot a 75 (+5) and Snedeker a 74 to knock them out of contention; Woods had a triple bogey at the sixth hole and carded a 73 to tie for third with Snedeker.[4]
The 2012 event was the eleventh Open Championship to be played at Royal Lytham & St Annes. The previous one was in 2001, when David Duval won his only major championship, three strokes clear of runner-up Niclas Fasth. Tom Lehman won the previous Open at the venue, in 1996.
3. Past Open Champions born between 22 July 1946 and 19 July 1948
This exemption category was introduced in 2008 when the age limit for past Open Champions was reduced from 65 to 60. It enabled those past Champions aged 60 to 65 at that time to continue playing until they were 65. Johnny Miller is now the only player in this category. He has not played in the Open since 1991.
4. Past Open Champions finishing in the top 10 and tying for 10th place in The Open Championship 2007–2011
10. First 2 European Tour members and any European Tour members tying for 2nd place, not exempt, in a cumulative money list taken from the seven official European Tour events leading up to and including the 2012 Irish Open
17. First 3 and anyone tying for 3rd place, not exempt having applied from #6, in the top 20 of the FedEx Cup points list of the 2012 PGA Tour on completion of the HP Byron Nelson Championship
18. First 2 PGA Tour members and any PGA Tour members tying for 2nd place, not exempt, in a cumulative money list taken from The Players Championship and the five PGA Tour events leading up to and including the 2012 Greenbrier Classic
27. First 2 and anyone tying for 2nd place, not exempt having applied (26) above, in a cumulative money list taken from all official 2012 Japan Golf Tour events up to and including the 2012 Mizuno Open
Notable absences included Mark O'Meara (who had appeared in the previous 17 Opens) and Henrik Stenson (who had appeared in the previous seven).
Alternates
Where places are available to make up the full entry of 156, these additional places are allocated in ranking order from the Official World Golf Ranking. The alternates are allocated when it becomes clear that additional places are available (using the latest World Rankings), except that places allocated after the issue of Week 27 rankings (9 July) use those rankings.[27]
After the final qualifying events on 15 July there were 157 qualified players. The withdrawal of Robert Karlsson reduced the field size to the usual 156. Russ Cochran then withdrew and was replaced by Michael Thompson (ranked 56), as Ben Crane (ranked 54) chose not to travel.
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, 19 July 2012
The weather conditions during the first day of the tournament turned out to be less harsh than expected, with very little wind and cloudy skies. Adam Scott made eight birdies and only two bogeys en route to a 6-under-par 64, tying the course record. Tiger Woods shot a 3-under 67, hitting all but one fairway in regulation.[28]
Some rain showers wet the course overnight and in the early morning hours, but the calm conditions continued into day two of the tournament. Brandt Snedeker fired a bogey-free round of 64 to vault to the top of the leaderboard, one shot ahead of Adam Scott, who shot 67. Tiger Woods, for the second straight round, only missed one fairway in regulation and shot another 3-under 67, including a holed green-side bunker shot for birdie on the 18th hole, to enter the weekend trailing the lead by four shots.
Tom Watson, at 62 years of age, set a new record as the oldest player to make the cut in the history of the Open Championship, beating his own record set in 2011.[29]
For the first time since 2003, no amateurs made the halfway cut.
In the third round, leader Brandt Snedeker faltered by shooting a 73 (3-over-par) to move him down to a tie for second with Graeme McDowell, who rose up to second place with a score of 67 (3-under-par).[30]Adam Scott, who entered the round one stroke behind Snedeker, shot a 68 (two under par) to move to eleven strokes under par, retaking the lead from Snedeker.[30]Tiger Woods shot an even par of 70 to stay at six strokes under par, moving him to fourth place behind Scott, McDowell, and Snedeker.[30]
In the fourth and final round, leader Adam Scott got off to a poor start on the front nine holes by scoring a 36 (2-over-par), bringing his score to nine-under par.[4]Graeme McDowell, Brandt Snedeker, and Tiger Woods entered the round within striking distance of Scott, but each faltered and sank out of contention.[4] McDowell shot a 75 (five-over-par), and fell to a tie for fifth with Luke Donald.[4] Snedeker double-bogeyed the seventh and eighth holes, leading to a final round score of 74 (4-over-par), in a tie for third with Woods. Woods had trouble with a greenside bunker on the sixth hole, and triple-bogeyed the hole which he had birdied in each of the three previous rounds. Woods scored a 73 to put him into a tie for third with Snedeker.[4]
Despite two bogeys on the front nine, Ernie Els got back to even par for the round with a birdie at the 12th hole and then birdied the 14th.[4] Scott also birdied the 14th but bogeyed the next three to leave him at 7-under, tied with Els, who had birdied the final hole.[4] On the tournament's 72nd hole, Scott put his tee shot into a bunker and had to exit sideways to the fairway. His third shot left him an 8-foot (2.4 m) par-saving putt to force a playoff, but it missed to the left. Els was bogey-free on the back nine with four birdies to card a 32 (−4) and win by one stroke.[4]
Ernie Els
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