GOLF.com: Todd Hamilton Reveals How an Unconventional Hybrid Shot Secured His 2004 Open Championship Victory

Twenty-two years after claiming the Claret Jug at Royal Troon, Todd Hamilton joined the Subpar podcast to reflect on the decisive role an unconventional club played in his 2004 Open Championship victory.

The Club at the Center of It All

Hamilton's weapon of choice that week was a Sonartec club—originally a 17-degree head that a manufacturer bent down to 14 degrees—which he used as his 3-Wood. Though technically a hybrid, Hamilton emphasized it functioned differently from today's hybrids. He had only started incorporating it into his game early in 2004.

Links Conditions Made the Shot Possible

The bump-and-run with this club rarely works on American courses, where thick, grainy turf kills the roll. But Royal Troon's firm, tightly mown ground around the greens—Hamilton compared it to "a slower putting green"—made it ideal. He deployed the shot 12 to 14 times during the week as a chip-putt hybrid, converting nearly every up-and-down attempt. The single failure came on hole 10 in the final round, where he missed a 5-6 foot putt after a solid approach.

The Playoff-Winning Stroke

In the sudden-death aggregate playoff against Ernie Els, Hamilton rolled a bump-and-run with the hybrid to within three feet on the final hole, setting up the winning birdie and securing his place in Open Championship history.

Strokeslab Perspective

Hamilton's week is a masterclass in SG: ATG (Around the Green) execution—adapting shot selection to course conditions rather than defaulting to habit. In an era before Strokes Gained analytics, he intuitively maximized expected value around the greens by leaning on a single, well-rehearsed shot that fit the environment perfectly.