9 Todd Hamilton
You wait forever for a bus, then two come along at once…
In 2004, the golfing world waited for normal service to be resumed at the Open Championship, only to find the unknown American Todd Hamilton of Illinois taking the honours at Royal Troon.
To be fair, Hamilton had already won the Honda Classic earlier in the year, and had won numerous times in Japan, but in time-honoured fashion has won absolutely zilch since.
His win also differed from Curtis’ in that he actually went out and outplayed the contenders. First knocking Phil Mickleson out of the lead, then going head-to-head with Ernie Els in a four-hole play-off and coolly taking the title by a shot. Well, coolly until the final putt dropped, then he leapt on his caddie in a quite unseemly manner.
Luckily the engraver got his name right on the trophy, unlike the US newspaper which called him Scott Hamilton in its reports.
