1955 Open Championship

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1955 Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates6–8 July 1955
LocationSt Andrews, Scotland
Course(s)Old Course at St Andrews
Statistics
Par72[1]
Length6,936 yards (6,342 m)[1]
Field94 players, 49 after cut[2]
Cut148 (+4)
Prize fund£3,750
$10,500
Winner's share£1,000
$2,800
Champion
Australia Peter Thomson
281 (–7)
← 1954
1956 →
St Andrews  is located in Scotland
St Andrews 
St Andrews 
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Location in Scotland
St Andrews  is located in Fife
St Andrews 
St Andrews 
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Location in Fife, Scotland

The 1955 Open Championship was the 84th Open Championship, played 6–8 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. Peter Thomson won the second of three consecutive Open titles, two strokes ahead of runner-up John Fallon.[3][4][5] Thomson won a total of five Claret Jugs, the last in 1965.

Qualifying took place on 4–5 July, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes on the Old Course and 18 holes on the New Course. The number of qualifiers was limited to a maximum of 100, and ties for 100th place did not qualify. On Monday, Frank Jowle scored 63 on the New Course,[6] and after a 72 on the Old Course the next day he led the qualifiers at 135, a shot ahead of Laurie Ayton.[7][8] The qualifying score was 148 and 94 players advanced to the first round on Wednesday.[7]

Three shot 69 in the opening round on Wednesday;[2][9] after the second round on Thursday, three shared the 36-hole lead at 139: Eric Brown, Dennis Smalldon, and Thomson, with Fallon a stroke back in fourth. The maximum number of players making the cut was set at fifty, and ties for 50th place were not included. Five Americans were in the field of 94, three professionals and two amateurs.[10][11] All five made the cut,[12] and the top U.S. finisher was Ed Furgol in a tie for 19th place.[3][4][5] Byron Nelson, whose only previous appearance at The Open was a fifth-place finish in 1937, tied for 32nd. The two amateurs finished in the top thirty.

Previously the 17th hole (the "Road Hole") was a par 5; for this Open it became a par 4, which reduced the course par from 73 to 72.[1]

The winner's share was increased from £750 to £1,000, while the others were unchanged, bringing the total purse to £3,750.[13]

Past champions in the field[]

Player Country Year(s) won R1 R2 R3 R4 Total To par Finish
Peter Thomson  Australia 1954 71 68 70 72 281 –7 1
Bobby Locke  South Africa 1949, 1950, 1952 74 69 70 72 285 –3 4
Fred Daly  Northern Ireland 1947 75 72 70 71 288 E T12
Henry Cotton  England 1934, 1937, 1948 70 72 78 76 296 +8 T32
Max Faulkner  England 1951 73 74 74 76 297 +9 T35

Round summaries[]

First round[]

Wednesday, 6 July 1955

Place Player Country Score To par
T1 Eric Brown  Scotland 69 –3
Dai Rees  Wales
Syd Scott  England
T4 Henry Cotton  England 70 –2
Cecil Denny  England
Bernard Hunt  England
Frank Jowle  England
Jimmy Martin  Ireland
Dennis Smalldon  Wales
T10  Scotland 71 –1
 Argentina
Ken Bousfield  England
Ed Furgol  United States
 England
John Jacobs  England
Christy O'Connor Snr  Ireland
Norman Sutton  England
Peter Thomson  Australia
Flory Van Donck  Belgium
Harry Weetman  England

Source:[2][9]

Second round[]

Thursday, 7 July 1955

Place Player Country Score To par
T1 Eric Brown  Scotland 69-70=139 –5
Dennis Smalldon  Wales 70-69=139
Peter Thomson  Australia 71-68=139
4 John Fallon  Scotland 73-67=140 –4
T5 Bernard Hunt  England 70-71=141 –3
John Jacobs  England 71-70=141
Frank Jowle  England 70-71=141
T8  Argentina 71-71=142 –2
Harry Bradshaw  Ireland 72-70=142
Henry Cotton  England 70-72=142
Jimmy Martin  Ireland 70-72=142
Harry Weetman  England 71-71=142

Source:[2][10][11][12]
Amateurs: Bucher (+2), Conrad (+4), McHale (+4), Lawrie (+5), Carr (+9), Murray (+11), Orr (+13), Robertson (+15)

Third round[]

Friday, 8 July 1955 (morning)

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Peter Thomson  Australia 71-68-70=209 –7
2 Frank Jowle  England 70-71-69=210 –6
T3 Eric Brown  Scotland 69-70-73=212 –4
John Jacobs  England 71-70-71=212
Harry Weetman  England 71-71-70=212
T6 John Fallon  Scotland 73-67-73=213 –3
Bobby Locke  South Africa 74-69-70=213
8 Flory Van Donck  Belgium 71-72-71=214 –2
T9  Argentina 71-71-73=215 –1
Harry Bradshaw  Ireland 72-70-73=215
Antonio Cerdá  Argentina 73-71-71=215
Bernard Hunt  England 70-71-74=215

Source:[2][3][4][5]

Final round[]

Friday, 8 July 1955 (afternoon)

Place Player Country Score To par Money (£)
1 Peter Thomson  Australia 71-68-70-72=281 –7 1,000
2 John Fallon  Scotland 73-67-73-70=283 –5 500
3 Frank Jowle  England 70-71-69-74=284 –4 350
4 Bobby Locke  South Africa 74-69-70-72=285 –3 200
T5 Ken Bousfield  England 71-75-70-70=286 –2 90
Antonio Cerdá  Argentina 73-71-71-71=286
Bernard Hunt  England 70-71-74-71=286
Flory Van Donck  Belgium 71-72-71-72=286
Harry Weetman  England 71-71-70-74=286
T10  Argentina 71-71-73-72=287 –1 40
Christy O'Connor Snr  Ireland 71-75-70-71=287

Source:[2][3][4][5]
Amateurs: Conrad (+5), McHale (+7), Bucher (+23).

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Three tied for lead in British Open golf". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Associated Press. 8 July 1955. p. 19.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 81. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "P.W. Thomson's second victory". Glasgow Herald. 9 July 1955. p. 5.
  4. ^ a b c d "Thomson edges Fallon by two strokes in British Open". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. 9 July 1955. p. 9.
  5. ^ a b c d "Thomson's 281 keeps British Open crown". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. 9 July 1955. p. 4, sec. 3.
  6. ^ "Lowest score ever returned in Open golf championship". Glasgow Herald. 5 July 1955. p. 4.
  7. ^ a b "Ninety-four qualifiers for "Open"". Glasgow Herald. 6 July 1955. p. 4.
  8. ^ "Thomson goes easily and efficiently on - Chance of retaining his Open Golf Championship". The Times. 6 July 1955. p. 4.
  9. ^ a b "Only three players beat 70 in first round". Glasgow Herald. 7 July 1955. p. 2.
  10. ^ a b "Holder shares halfway lead in Open title golf". Glasgow Herald. 8 July 1955. p. 4.
  11. ^ a b "Thomson, Brown, Smalldon lead British Open with 139". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. 8 July 1955. p. 19.
  12. ^ a b "Thomson's 68 ties for lead in British Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. 8 July 1955. p. 3, sec. 3.
  13. ^ "Larger prize for "Open"". Glasgow Herald. 24 December 1954. p. 7.

External links[]

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