Todd Hamilton’s victory at the 2004 Open Championship surprised a lot of people, including him.
Heading into the event, Hamilton was a little-known journeyman who’d spent more than a decade on the Japan Golf Tour. After trying — and failing — eight times to earn his PGA Tour card, he finally made the big stage in 2003, at age 38.
In early 2004, Hamilton captured his first Tour title at the Honda Classic. But the week before the Open, he wasn’t at his best, posting a middling finish at the John Deere Classic. His cross-Atlantic trip didn’t bode well either. Delayed while connecting through Chicago, Hamilton arrived at Royal Troon late Tuesday afternoon, leaving little time to prepare. In his opening round, he ground out a 71, birdieing the last for an even-par round, which put him in a better frame of mind.
“For some reason, that made a big impact on me, saying that I shot par in a major for one round, rather than one over,” Hamilton said on a recent episode of GOLF’s Subpar podcast.
But the real difference-maker came in his post-round range session, where he made a discovery every golfer dreams of: a simple, helpful swing thought that, he said, became “the only thing I thought about the next three days.”
And what was that thought? As Hamilton explained it, his preferred ball flight was a gentle fade. But that fade had gotten out of hand.
“I have a tendency to get very open at address,” Hamilton said. “So I was hitting a lot of weak, high shots to the right.”
To correct that flaw, Hamilton focused on keeping his belt buckle pointed at the ball at address “instead of too far out front.”
The rest is history. Hamilton’s ball-striking instantly improved and remained solid throughout the week. That, combined with deft chipping and putting, propelled him to a win in a four-hole playoff over Ernie Els, making him the second out-of-nowhere Open champion in as many years, following Ben Curtis’ victory in 2003.
If you think that’s unlikely, you should also hear where Hamilton keeps his Claret Jug. You can listen to the entire episode here or watch below.
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