2007 Open Championship the PGA Tour's money list. Carnoustie hosted its first Open Championship in 1931 and the 2007 Open was the seventh to be held at Carnoustie, and third consecutive to end in a playoff. Carnoustie's prestige in the golf community is irrefutable as the list of champions includes Tommy Armour (1931), Henry Cotton (1937), Ben Hogan (1953), Gary Player (1968), Tom Watson (1975) and Paul Lawrie (1999). The 1999 championship was nicknamed "Carnastie" due to how difficult the course and conditions were. Jean van de Velde stood on the 72nd tee with a three-shot lead, needing only a double-bogey to win.
Carnoustie Balmerino Abbey in 1617, and the lands of 'Carnouslie' are referred to in the title deeds confirming its purchase by George Maule, 2nd Earl of Panmure in 1672. Adair is perhaps the first to depict Carnoustie with the current spelling in 1703, while Roy's military survey of Scotland, 1747–55 has it as 'Cornisty'. In Webster's Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (1819), Carnoustie is mentioned as 'Carnuistie'. The area surrounding Carnoustie has been occupied continuously since the Neolithic period, as evidenced by a Cursus monument, identified from cropmarks near Woodhill. This cursus is of a similar scale to the well characterised, mid-4th-century