The field of 144 competitors included139 professionals and five amateurs.
18-hole stroke play qualifying rounds were held on Monday, 21 July, on three places in England, Berkshire Golf Club, Camberley Heath and Mill Ride Golf Club, for players who were not already exempt. The 28 leading players from the qualifying competitions joined the 116 exempt players for the championship.[7]
The 77 players who made the 36-hole cut included 76 professionals and one amateur. Paul Simson finished leading amateur at tied 58th.
Fred Funk, Mark McNulty and Loren Roberts tied the lead after the fourth round, to meet in a sudden death playoff, to decide the winner. Curt Byrum's three eagles in the final round made him just the fifth player in Champions Tour history to record three eagles in a round.
The sudden-death playoff, playing the 18th hole at Sunningdale until one of the players had a lower score on the hole than anyone of the others, was the first three-way playoff and the ninth playoff in Senior Open Championship history. Fred Funk was eliminated at the first extra hole where Loren Roberts and Mark McNulty had birdies. Roberts beat McNulty with a par at the third extra hole. Loren Roberts' victory, added to his playoff win over Eduardo Romero in the 2006 championship, made him the sixth player with multiple wins in the Senior Open championship. He also became the second player in Senior Open Championship history to win with four rounds in the 60s.[3]