hamilton won his first pga tour event at the 2004 honda classic. he birdied the final two holes to beat davis love iii by one stroke at 12 under par. later that year, hamilton won a major championship in one of golf's all-time upsets when he defeated ernie els in a four-hole playoff to win the open championship at royal troon golf club. after shooting an opening round 71, hamilton fired a second round 67 to move to -4 and a fifth-place tie with future world golf hall of famers els, vijay singh and colin montgomerie as well as michael campbell. hamilton again shot a 67 in the third round to take a one-shot lead over els. entering the tournament's 72nd hole, hamilton held a one-shot lead over els, but hamilton bogeyed the 18th hole, leaving els with a 12-foot birdie putt for the win, which he missed. els and hamilton headed for the four-hole aggregate playoff, in which hamilton carded four pars while els managed three pars and a bogey, and hamilton took the win.