2023 Senior Open Championship


The 2023 Senior Open Championship was a senior major golf championship for players aged 50 and over and the 36th Senior Open Championship. It was held 27–30 July at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Porthcawl, Wales. It was the 20th Senior Open Championship played as a senior major championship. The presenting sponsor was Rolex.

Venue

The club was founded in 1891 and moved to its present location in 1895.
The 2023 event was the third Senior Open Championship played at Royal Porthcawl. The club previously hosted the 2014 and 2017 Senior Open Championships, both won by Bernhard Langer. It has also been the venue for The Amateur Championship on six occasions and the Welsh Golf Classic on the European Tour in the early 1980s.

Course layout

Field

The field of 144 competitors included 136 professionals and eight amateurs, either exempt via different criteria or advancing from qualifying competitions.
For players who were not already exempt, four 18-hole stroke play qualifying events took place on Monday 24 July at four venues in Wales; Southerndown Golf Club, Pyle and Kenfig Golf Club, Machynys Peninsula Golf Club, Monk’s Island, in Llanelli and Ashburnham Golf Club in Burry Port. One 18-hole stroke play qualifying event took place on 10 July, at Firestone Country Club, Akron, Ohio, United States.
35 places became available to players not qualified under the exemption categories. The qualifying event in United States received 1/5 of the places available. The remaining places were proportionately divided by the number of players taking part in each of the four qualifying events in Wales.

Exemption categories and exempt players

Each exemption category required players to have reached their 50th birthday on or before 27 July 2023.
1. Former winners of The Senior Open aged 65 or under
2. Former winners of the Masters Tournament, US PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open Championship aged 65 or under
3. Top 60 players on career money list as of 3 July 2023
4. Top 60 players on the PGA Tour Champions all time money list as of 3 July 2023
5. The leading 20 players, not otherwise exempt on the closing date, on the Legends Tour Order of Merit for 2022
6. The leading 20 players, not otherwise exempt on the closing date, on the Charles Schwab Cup points list for 2022
7. Players finishing in positions 1-15, and those tying for 15th place, in The Senior Open 2022
8. Winners of official tournaments on the Legends Tour or PGA Tour Champions since The Senior Open 2022
9. Winners of official tournaments on the European Tour or PGA Tour, when aged 50 years on 27 July 2023
10. Past members of Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup teams aged 50 on 27 July 2023
11. Former winners of the European Tour or PGA Tour Order of Merit aged 50–55 years on 27 July 2023
12. Winners of the US Senior Open 2018 – 2023
13. Winners of the Senior PGA Championship 2018 – 2023
14. The leading 2 players, not otherwise exempt, in the top 10 of the Japan PGA Senior Tour money list for 2022
15. The first 4 players, and those tying for 4th place, who are not otherwise exempt, in the top 30 of the current Legends Tour Order of Merit as of 24 July 2023
16. The first 4 players, and those tying for 4th place, who are not otherwise exempt, in the top 30 of the current Charles Schwab Cup money list as of 24 July 2023
17. The leading amateur in the 2022 Senior Open who completed 72 holes
18. The Senior Amateur champion for 2023
  • Brent Paterson
19. The US Senior Amateur champion for 2022
  • Rusty Strawn
20. The European Senior Men’s Amateur champion for 2023
  • Edward McCormack
21. Special exemptions

Qualifying competitions and qualifiers

10 July 2023 at Firestone Country Club, Akron, Ohio, United States
24 July 2023 at Southerndown Golf Club, Bridgend, Wales, Pyle and Kenfig Golf Club, Bridgend, Wales, Machynys Peninsula Golf Club, Monk's Island, Llanelli, Wales and Ashburnham Golf Club, Burry Port, Wales

First round

Thursday, 27 July 2023
PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1

Second round

Friday, 28 July 2023
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1

Third round

Saturday, 29 July 2023
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1

Final round

Sunday, 30 July 2023
The final round was played in strong winds and recurring rain. Scores were significantly higher than in previous rounds. Pádraig Harrington, who finished second the year before, birdied his 72nd hole to tie the lead with his playing partner Alex Čejka after regulation play. A playoff, to start at 7 p.m. local time, was necessary to decide the winner. Defending champion Darren Clarke finished tied 33rd, ten shots behind the leaders. The only amateur to make the cut, John Kemp, finished tied 14th.
PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney
T1

Playoff

Sunday, 30 July 2023
Alex Čejka and Pádraig Harrington went to a sudden death playoff, the 11th playoff in the history of the championship, playing the par-5 18th hole until one of the two players had a lower score than the other. On the first playoff hole Čejka reached the green in two while Harrington's second shot went slightly over the green, from where he choose to putt. Both players two-putted for easy birdies. On the second playoff hole Čejka reached the green in two again. Harrington's second shot rolled a few yards past the green. He missed his chip shot, which did not reach the green. From their positions, both players two-putted, why Čejka won by a shot and captured his first Senior Open Championship and third senior major championship.
PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney
1