This was the fourth time that Royal Birkdale had provided the venue for this, the most important women’s golf event on British soil, and one of women’s golf major championships.

Despite being opposed by all the world’s top players, including the great Annika Sorenstam, the tiny Korean, Jeong Jang, became the unexpected but wholly deservedly winner, triumphing by four shots.

In the bitterly cold rain-lashed conditions of the first day Jang’s brilliant round of 68 gave the 5ft tall Korean a lead which she was never to relinquish.  Rounds of 66 and 69 further stretched her advantage to five shots with one round to play.  There were those that felt that being partnered by Sorenstam might impose too much pressure for the relatively inexperienced 24 year old, Jang, to withstand.  Nothing could have been further from the truth.  The Korean showed not a flicker of anxiety, regularly driving over 250 yds despite her modest stature.  Moreover, playing with an engaging smile on her face, Jang seemed to positively enjoy and thrive on the occasion.  Her closing 69 and 16 under par total of 272 over a course measuring 6,480 yds was truly remarkable, leaving long hitting Sophie Gustafson, who had won this event over Royal Birkdale in 2000, trailing in her wake in second place with fellow Korean, Young Kim, and the phenomenal 15 year old amateur, Michelle Wie, two strokes further behind.

Leading scores:
272 – Jang Jeong (S Korea) – 68, 66, 69, 69
276 – Sophie Gustafson (Sweden)
278 – Young Kim (S Korea); Michelle Wie (USA)
279 – L Neumann (Sweden); C Kerr (USA); A Sorenstam (Sweden)
2008 - The Open at Royal Birkdale

The 137th Open, at Royal Birkdale, will be remembered for its wild weather, its pure drama — and for a champion who almost didn’t play in the tournament. Padraig Harrington, defending the trophy, admitted on the eve of the first round that had it not been The Open, he would not have played.

When he pulled out of practice on Wednesday to have intensive treatment to his right wrist the odds on Harrington retaining the crown went rocketing upwards. But tonight the trophy is heading back to Ireland and at the end of a roller-coaster day he was a runaway champion by four strokes.

And in the end it was not any of the overnight leaders who challenged him hardest, but his European Tour colleague Ian Poulter who emerged from the pack with a superb round of 69 — but even that was four strokes adrift of Harrington. Another European, Henrik Stenson, shared third place with the week’s most talked-about name, Greg Norman.

Even by links standards, a wind that was never less than 20mph, and at times gusted up to 50 meant a constant roller-coaster with many good scores every day being wrecked by double-bogeys or worse. It all began in the most horrendous conditions with not only wind by torrential rain wrecking things for those who went out on the first morning. The afternoon starters had things slightly better, but by the end of the day only three players had broken par, and then by only one stroke.

Popular American Rocco Mediate, who gave Tiger Woods a run for his money in the US Open, shared the lead with Northern Irish hope Graeme McDowell — fresh from his victory at the Scottish Open — and the seasoned Australian Robert Allenby.

Tucked in behind, on par 70 for the day, were American Bart Bryant, with Australian star of the present Adam Scott, and a certain Australian star of the past named Norman. The Great White Shark, who many considered had long been consigned to the deep of semi-retirement, was ostensibly at Royal Birkdale to hone his game for next week’s Senior Open at Troon — but he clearly left the script at home.

Newly-wed Greg, with his bride Chris Evert along for fairway inspiration, was still right in the thick of it on Day 2, when he took the lead halfway through and lost it only late in the afternoon to a determined round of 67 by another veteran, South Korean KJ Choi. Tucked in behind them by then was the upcoming Colombian Camilo Villegas — who, by the time the TV commentators had got their tongues around how to pronounce his name (it’s “Vee-jay-gas”) had strung together a finishing blast of five successive birdies.

It was so tight that only five strokes covered the first 21 players, but already the wind had blown away the hopes of many fancied contenders. The cut came at the end of the plus-nines, and out went six former Open champions — Paul Lawrie, Mark O’Meara, Tom Watson and Mark Calcavecchia, plus the injured John Daly, who completed two rounds of 80 and 89 — and Sandy Lyle, who called it quits after 10 miserable holes of the first round in driving rain. Other big names, such as Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els, Lee Westwood, Colin Montgomerie and Phil Mickelson had already effectively fallen by the wayside, but the Saturday morning papers were full off Shark talk — and Norman did not let anyone down.

While many waited for what they thought would be an inevitable fade-out by the 53-year-old, he not only defied the years and the cynics, but actually improved his position. With more heavy wind, particularly in the morning, conditions remained far from ideal. None of the remaining 83 players broke par, and 72s were enough to plant Norman and defending champion Padraig Harrington at the top of the leaderboard.

Norman led by two, with KJ Choi’s 75 sliding him down to joint second with Harrington, while a surprise English name came into the reckoning in fourth, Simon Wakefield, whose round of 70 was one of only four at that level on the day. Another 70 man, Ben Curtis, achieved his in the worst of the conditions.

And so to the climax. One by one the challengers fell away — Choi and Wakefield so dramatically that they each took 79 to finish way down. Norman maybe went too boldly at his task, bogeys at one, two and three immediately setting him back, and more lost shots at 10, 13 and 18 compounding his drift back down.

The tournament will also be remembered for the showing of the amateurs. On the course where Justin Rose made his name as a 17-year-old, Chris Wood earned a share of fifth place with rounds of 75, 70, 73 and 72, while Tom Sherreard finished his first Open, eagle-birdie to finish +14 way ahead of many leading pro players.

Ironically, that included Justin Rose, whose “homecoming” was far from happy, with rounds of 74, 73, 82 and 73 leaving him tied for 70th place.