2002 British Open Golf Championship Results
Winner: Ernie Els, 278
Where it was played: Muirfield Links, Gullane, Scotland
Tournament dates: July 18-21, 2002
Leader after first round: David Toms, Duffy Waldorf and Carl Petterssen, 67
Leader after second round: Duffy Waldorf, Shigeki Maruyama, Bob Tway, Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington, 136
Leader after third round: Ernie Els, 208
Notable Notes: There was a 3-way tie after the first round, and a 5-way tie after the second round. Ernie Els appeared to take control after the third round, opening a 2-stroke lead. But the tournament ended in a 4-way playoff after three golfers who played great final rounds - Thomas Levet and Steve Elkington with 66s, and Stuart Appleby with a 65 - caught Els.
In the 4-hole aggregate playoff, Levet bogied the fourth hole to lose his 1-stroke advantage over Els. Appleby and Elkington dropped out, but Levet and Els had to go another hole. And on the fifth hole, Els finally won it with a par.
The third round was played in terrible conditions, wet and cold, and Tiger Woods shot 81. Woods had won the first two majors of 2002, the Masters and U.S. Open.
Final Scores
| p-Ernie Els | 70-66-72-70—278 |
| Thomas Levet | 72-66-74-66—278 |
| Stuart Appleby | 73-70-70-65—278 |
| Steve Elkington | 71-73-68-66—278 |
| Gary Evans | 72-68-74-65—279 |
| Padraig Harrington | 69-67-76-67—279 |
| Shigeki Maruyama | 68-68-75-68—279 |
| Peter O'Malley | 72-68-75-65—280 |
| Scott Hoch | 74-69-71-66—280 |
| Retief Goosen | 71-68-74-67—280 |
| Thomas Bjorn | 68-70-73-69—280 |
| Sergio Garcia | 71-69-71-69—280 |
| Soren Hansen | 68-69-73-70—280 |
| Davis Love III | 71-72-71-67—281 |
| Nick Price | 68-70-75-68—281 |
| Peter Lonard | 72-72-68-69—281 |
| Justin Leonard | 71-72-68-70—281 |
| Bob Estes | 71-70-73-68—282 |
| Greg Norman | 71-72-71-68—282 |
| Duffy Waldorf | 67-69-77-69—282 |
| Scott McCarron | 71-68-72-71—282 |
| Chris Riley | 70-71-76-66—283 |
| Toshimitsu Izawa | 76-68-72-67—283 |
| Mark O'Meara | 69-69-77-68—283 |
| Corey Pavin | 69-70-75-69—283 |
| David Duval | 72-71-70-70—283 |
| Justin Rose | 68-75-68-72—283 |
| Tiger Woods | 70-68-81-65—284 |
| Pierre Fulke | 72-69-78-65—284 |
| Bradley Dredge | 70-72-74-68—284 |
| Bernhard Langer | 72-72-71-69—284 |
| Niclas Fasth | 70-73-71-70—284 |
| Jerry Kelly | 73-71-70-70—284 |
| Jesper Parnevik | 72-72-70-70—284 |
| Loren Roberts | 74-69-70-71—284 |
| Des Smyth | 68-69-74-73—284 |
| Neal Lancaster | 71-71-76-67—285 |
| Ian Woosnam | 72-72-73-68—285 |
| Darren Clarke | 72-67-77-69—285 |
| Stephen Leaney | 71-70-75-69—285 |
| Andrew Coltart | 71-69-74-71—285 |
| Scott Verplank | 72-68-74-71—285 |
| Esteban Toledo | 73-70-75-68—286 |
| Steve Jones | 68-75-73-70—286 |
| Trevor Immelman | 72-72-71-71—286 |
| Carl Pettersson | 67-70-76-73—286 |
| Paul Eales | 73-71-76-67—287 |
| Jeff Maggert | 71-68-80-68—287 |
| Rocco Mediate | 71-72-74-70—287 |
| Warren Bennett | 71-68-82-67—288 |
| Mikko Ilonen | 71-70-77-70—288 |
| Fredrik Andersson | 74-70-74-70—288 |
| Ian Poulter | 69-69-78-72—288 |
| Bob Tway | 70-66-78-74—288 |
| Shingo Katayama | 72-68-74-74—288 |
| Barry Lane | 74-68-72-74—288 |
| Ian Garbutt | 69-70-74-75—288 |
| Craig Perks | 72-70-71-75—288 |
| Stewart Cink | 71-69-80-69—289 |
| Steve Stricker | 69-70-81-69—289 |
| Richard Green | 72-72-75-70—289 |
| Paul Lawrie | 70-70-78-71—289 |
| Nick Faldo | 73-69-76-71—289 |
| Kenichi Kuboya | 70-73-73-73—289 |
| Joe Durant | 72-71-73-73—289 |
| Phil Mickelson | 68-76-76-70—290 |
| Jarrod Moseley | 70-73-75-72—290 |
| Chris DiMarco | 72-69-75-74—290 |
| Matthew Cort | 73-71-78-69—291 |
| Toru Taniguchi | 71-73-76-71—291 |
| Stephen Ames | 68-70-81-72—291 |
| Len Mattiace | 68-73-77-73—291 |
| Jim Carter | 74-70-73-74—291 |
| Mike Weir | 73-69-74-75—291 |
| Sandy Lyle | 68-76-73-75—292 |
| Chris Smith | 74-69-71-78—292 |
| Anders Hansen | 71-72-79-71—293 |
| Roger Wessels | 72-71-73-77—293 |
| David Park | 73-67-74-80—294 |
| Lee Janzen | 70-69-84-72—295 |
| Mark Calcavecchia | 74-66-81-74—295 |
| Colin Montgomerie | 74-64-84-75—297 |
| David Toms | 67-75-81-75—298 |