The 2003 Senior British Open was a senior major golf championship and the 17th

Senior British Open The Senior Open Championship, or simply The Senior Open (and originally known as the Senior British Open) is a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and over. It is run by The R&A, the same body that organises The Open Championship. Pr ...

, held from 24–27 July at Turnberry in

South Ayrshire South Ayrshire ( sco, Sooth Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir a Deas, ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. On 30 June 2 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It was the 5th Senior British Open played at the course and the first

played as a senior major championship. Tom Watson defeated

Carl Mason Stuart Carl Mason (born 25 June 1953) is an English professional golfer. Mason was born in Buxton, Derbyshire. He won several amateur tournaments before turning professional and becoming something of a journeyman on the European Tour. After twe ...

in a playoff to win his first

title and his second senior major championship victory.

Venue

The 2003 event was the 5th

played at Turnberry.

Course layout

Field

The field consisted of 144 competitors: 139 professionals and 5 amateurs. 18-hole stroke play qualifying rounds were held on Monday, 21 July, on two places in Scotland, the Barassie Links in

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

and the Kintyre course at Turnberry, for players who were not already exempt. The 31 leading players from the qualifying competitions joined the 113 exempt players for the championship. 77 players made the 36-hole cut, 76 professionals and one amateur. Arthur Pierce,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, finished leading amateur at tied 62nd.

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Missed the cut

Past winners and runners-up at The Open Championship in the field

The field included five former winners of

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

. Four of them made the cut;

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

and 1983 Open champion Tom Watson (won),

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

and 1978 Open champion

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

(tied 14th), 1963 Open champion Bob Charles (tied 20th) and

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

and 1974 Open champion

Gary Player Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...

(tied 51st).

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

and 1962 Open champion

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

did not make the cut. The field also included three former runners-up at The Open Championship;

Tom Kite Thomas Oliver Kite Jr. (born December 9, 1949) is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He won the U.S. Open in 1992 and spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1989 and 1994. Career Kite wa ...

(4th),

Rodger Davis Rodger Miles Davis (born 18 May 1951) is an Australian professional golfer. Career Davis was born in Sydney. He turned professional in 1974 and spent his regular career playing mainly on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the European Tour. He won ...

(tied 27th) and

Simon Owen Simon Owen (born 10 December 1950) is a professional golfer from New Zealand. Early life Owen was born in Wanganui. Professional career He turned professional in 1971 and has won several tournaments in Australasia. He played on the Europe ...

(tied 32nd).

Round summaries

First round

''Thursday, 24 July 2003''

and Tom Watson posted four-under-par 66's on day one to lead by one shot.

Second round

''Friday 25 July 2003''

shot a 64 (−6) to take a one-shot lead over

D.A. Weibring Donald Albert "D. A." Weibring Jr. (born May 25, 1953) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments including several on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour. Early life and amateur career Weibring was born in Quincy, Illinois. ...

, who shot a seven-under-par 63. Amateurs: ''Pierse'' (−1), ''Reynolds'' (+5), ''Boles'' (+9), ''Baldwin'' (+11), ''MacNamara'' (+15)

Third round

''Saturday, 26 July 2003'' Mason and Weibring shot matching rounds of 65 (−5) as Mason maintained his one shot lead. Kite, Summerhays, and Watson all shot rounds of 66 (−4) to trail Mason by three shots.

Jim Colbert James Joseph Colbert (born March 9, 1941) is an American professional golfer. Colbert was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He attended Kansas State University, where he finished second in the NCAA golf championships in 1964, before graduating and ...

backed up his eight-under-par 62 with a 66 (−4) in the third round, trailing Mason by 4 strokes. Amateurs: ''Pierse'' (+2)

Final round

''Sunday, 27 July 2003'' Tom Watson trailed

by one stroke heading into the 72nd hole. Needing birdie to tie Mason, Watson bogeyed the par-4 18th hole to fall two shots behind the leader. Mason, now leading by 2 strokes, double bogeyed the 18th hole and fell into a playoff with Watson. Source:
Amateurs: ''Pierse'' (+6)

Playoff

''Sunday, 27 July 2003'' Tom Watson and

both parred the first playoff hole. Watson won with par on the second playoff hole as Mason made bogey.

Notes and references

External links

Results on European Tour website
{{coord, 55.316, -4.833, type:event, display=title Senior major golf championships Golf tournaments in Scotland