1998 Open Championship
The 1998 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 127th Open Championship, held from 16 to 19 July at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. In weekend wind and rain, Mark O'Meara won his second major championship of the year and first Open Championship in a playoff over Brian Watts, the 54-hole leader.
Three months earlier, O'Meara won the Masters on the final green by sinking a birdie putt. At age 41, he became the oldest player to win two majors in a year: Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, and Craig Wood were all age forty.
At the previous Open at Royal Birkdale seven years earlier in 1991, O'Meara was a co-leader after 54 holes, shot 69, and tied for
Course
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
| Yards | 449 | 421 | 407 | 203 | 344 | 480 | 177 | 457 | 411 | 3,349 | 403 | 408 | 183 | 498 | 198 | 544 | 416 | 547 | 472 | 3,669 | 7,018 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 70 |
Source:
Lengths of the course for previous Opens:
- 1991:, par 70
- 1983:, par 71
- 1976:, par 72
- 1971:, par 73
- 1965:, par 73
- 1961:
- 1954:
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, 16 July 1998| Place | Player | Score | To par | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T1 |  Second roundFriday, 17 July 1998
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