Els stunned Adam Scott at the British Open

Els stunned Adam Scott at the British Open

SENIOR BRITISH OPEN, Turnberry Resort (Ailsa Course), Ayrshire, Scotland - The Senior British Open taylormade rocketballz rbz fairway wood kicks off at Turnberry on Thursday, but will be without its reigning champion. Russ Cochran went 10-under par over the final two rounds to earn a 2-stroke win over Mark Calcavecchia last year. The victory was Cochran's first career major championship and third win on the Champions Tour. Cochran won't be on hand to defend his title as he is battling a back injury that forced him to withdraw from the U.S. taylormade rocketballz rbz driver Senior Open two weeks ago. He has been battling the injury for some time now. This week's host venue, Turnberry, hosted the first three Senior Opens from 1987-89. Turnberry also hosted four Open Championships, two of which Tom Watson had a starring roll in. Watson taylormade rocketballz rbz irons won one his five British Open titles in 1977 at Turnberry as he beat Jack Nicklaus in the "Duel in the Sun." In 2009, Watson nearly made history as the oldest major champion ever.Then 59, Watson was one back after an opening 65. After a brutal second round, Watson shared the lead with Steve Marino before shooting a 71 in round three to take the lead into the final round. Watson, also a three-time Senior Open winner, birdied the 71st hole to take a 1-shot lead over Stewart Cink. However, Watson bogeyed the final hole of regulation to force a playoff, where things went all wrong for the Hall-of- Famer. Watson had a double-bogey and two bogeys in the extra session as Cink beat him by six shots. This week, Watson will look to become the first four-time Senior Open winner.