1953 Open Championship

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1953 Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates	8–10 July 1953
Location	Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland
Course(s)	Carnoustie Golf Links Championship Course
Statistics
Par	72
Length	7,200 yards (6,580 m)^[1]
Field	91 players, 49 after cut^[2]
Cut	154 (+10)
Prize fund	£2,500 $7,000
Winner's share	£500 $1,400
Champion
Ben Hogan
282 (–6)

Carnoustie

Location in Scotland

The 1953 Open Championship was the 82nd Open Championship, held 8–10 July at the Carnoustie Golf Links in Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland. In his only Open Championship appearance, Ben Hogan prevailed by four strokes over four runners-up to win his third major championship of the year. The purse was £2,500 ($7,000) and the winner's share was £500 ($1,400), less than one-third that of the U.S. Open or PGA Championship in 1953.

Hogan, with the Masters and U.S. Open titles under his belt, made the trip across the Atlantic for the Open Championship for the very first time. He arrived at Carnoustie two weeks early to practice with the smaller British golf ball. The 36-hole qualifier immediately preceded the championship, played Monday and Tuesday on the Championship and Burnside courses. In 1953, there were no exemptions, even defending champion Bobby Locke had to qualify.^[1]^[3] This policy, the small purse, and the conflict of schedule with the PGA Championship kept all but a few Americans at home; only four qualified for the first round on Wednesday and three made the 36-hole cut to play the final two rounds on Friday.

Although the field of 91 that qualified was mostly British, a strong international contingent stood ready to challenge Hogan, including fellow Americans Lloyd Mangrum and Frank Stranahan, Australian Peter Thomson, Antonio Cerdá and Roberto De Vicenzo of Argentina, and South Africa's Locke, the defending champion.

The Open Championship was Hogan's third major title of the year, but the modern Grand Slam was not possible, as the PGA Championship conflicted with the Open in 1953. (The final match (36 holes) of the seven-day PGA Championship was played near Detroit on Tuesday, 7 July.) After his automobile accident in 1949, Hogan did not enter the PGA Championship until 1960, after it became a stroke play event. (He won the PGA Championship in 1946 and 1948.)

Hogan did not play in another Open Championship, although he did make a lasting impression on Carnoustie. The par-5 6th hole features a split fairway, with the right side being safer but the left offering a better angle to the green. Hogan found the narrow left side in each of the four rounds, and that hole is now known as "Hogan's Alley."

Through 2012, Hogan remains the only one to win the Masters, U.S. Open, and Open Championship in the same calendar year. After winning the first two majors of the year, both Arnold Palmer (1960) and Jack Nicklaus (1972) were runners-up by a stroke at the Open Championship. Tiger Woods shot 81-65 on the weekend in 2002 and finished six strokes back, tied for 28th place.

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par	Finish
Bobby Locke	South Africa	1949, 1950, 1952	72	73	74	72	291	+3	8
Fred Daly	Northern Ireland	1947	73	75	71	75	295	+6	11
Max Faulkner	England	1951	74	71	73	77	295	+7	12
Dick Burton	England	1939	80	74	80	80	314	+26	47

Missed the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	Total	To par
Alf Padgham	England	1936	77	80	157	+13

Source:^[2]

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 8 July 1953

Stranahan set the early pace with a first round of 70, with Eric Brown in 2nd with a 71. Locke shot 72 and joined Dai Rees, Thomson, and De Vicenzo in 3rd. Dealing with putting problems, Hogan had to settle for an opening round of 73.

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Frank Stranahan (a)	United States	70	–2
2	Eric Brown	Scotland	71	–1
T3	Roberto De Vicenzo	Argentina	72	E
	Bobby Locke	South Africa
	Dai Rees	Wales
	Peter Thomson	Australia
T7	Fred Daly	Northern Ireland	73	+1
T7	Ben Hogan	United States	73	+1
T9	T.H.T. Fairbairn	Scotland	74	+2
	Max Faulkner	England
	Geoffrey Hunt	England
	Sam King	England
	Reg Knight	England
	Syd Scott	England

Source:^[4]

Second round

Thursday, 9 July 1953

Hogan's problems on the green continued in the second round, but he managed to better his score with a 71. Rees finished the round birdie-eagle to card a 70, giving him a share of the lead with Brown. De Vicenzo was in 3rd, with Hogan, Stranahan, and Thomson a shot further back.

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
T1	Eric Brown	Scotland	71-71=142	–2
T1	Dai Rees	Wales	72-70=142	–2
3	Roberto De Vicenzo	Argentina	72-71=143	–1
T4	Ben Hogan	United States	73-71=144	E
	Frank Stranahan (a)	United States	70-74=144
	Peter Thomson	Australia	72-72=144
T7	T.H.T. Fairbairn	Scotland	74-71=145	+1
	Max Faulkner	England	74-71=145
	Bobby Locke	South Africa	72-73=145
10	Antonio Cerdá	Argentina	75-71=146	+2

Source:^[5]

Third round

Friday, 10 July 1953 - (morning)

In the third round, Cerdá set a new course record with a round of 69. Thomson shot 71 to join Cerdá and Rees in 3rd. Hogan was having an excellent round until he found trouble on the 17th, but he managed to get up-and-down from a bunker and salvage a 6. He birdied the 18th to card a 70 for a share of the lead with De Vicenzo.

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
T1	Roberto De Vicenzo	Argentina	72-71-71=214	–2
T1	Ben Hogan	United States	73-71-70=214	–2
T3	Antonio Cerdá	Argentina	75-71-69=215	–1
	Dai Rees	Wales	72-70-73=215
	Peter Thomson	Australia	72-72-71=215
T6	Eric Brown	Scotland	71-71-75=217	+1
T6	Frank Stranahan (a)	United States	70-74-73=217	+1
T8	T.H.T. Fairbairn	Scotland	74-71-73=218	+2
T8	Max Faulkner	England	74-71-73=218	+2
T10	Sam King	England	74-73-72=219	+3
T10	Bobby Locke	South Africa	72-73-74=219	+3

Final round

Friday, 10 July 1953 - (afternoon)

In the final round, Stranahan was out first and posted a 69 and 286 total, including an eagle at the last. De Vicenzo was unable to recover after hitting his ball out of bounds at the 9th and finished at 287. Hogan chipped-in for birdie at the 5th, then followed with another birdie at 6. He opened up a two-shot lead at the 13th, saved par at the 17th, then made another birdie at 18. Battling the flu, he finished with a round of 68 to better the record that Cerdá had set that morning.^[6] His total of 282 was four shots clear of the field.^[7]

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money (£)
1	Ben Hogan	United States	73-71-70-68=282	–6	500
T2	Frank Stranahan (a)	United States	70-74-73-69=286	–2	0
	Antonio Cerdá	Argentina	75-71-69-71=286		200
	Dai Rees	Wales	72-70-73-71=286
	Peter Thomson	Australia	72-72-71-71=286
6	Roberto De Vicenzo	Argentina	72-71-71-73=287	–1	75
7	Sam King	England	74-73-72-71=290	+2	30
8	Bobby Locke	South Africa	72-73-74-72=291	+3
T9	Peter Alliss	England	75-72-74-71=292	+4
T9	Eric Brown	Scotland	71-71-75-75=292	+4

(a) denotes amateur

Source:^[2]^[8]

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 "Bobby Locke has 32-33-65 in qualifying for British Open". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. 7 July 1953. p. 17.
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 83, 203-8. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
↑ "Burkemo wins P.G.A. - Locke paces British qualifiers". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. 8 July 1953. p. 21.
↑ Slappey, Sterling (9 July 1953). "Stranahan fires 70, leads British Open". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 5-part 2.
↑ "Stranahan and Hogan trailing in Open". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. 9 July 1953. p. 30.
↑ "British Open playoff would have been tough for Hogan". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. 11 July 1953. p. 8.
↑ "Ben Hogan wins Open with 68 final round". Miami Daily News. Associated Press. 10 July 1953. p. 11A.
↑ "Hogan takes British Open with final 68". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. 11 July 1953. p. 7.

External links

Preceded by 1953 PGA Championship	Major Championships	Succeeded by 1954 Masters Tournament

v t e 1953 Men's Major Golf Championships

The Masters U.S. Open The Open Championship PGA Championship

v t e The Open Championships

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Coordinates: 56°29′49″N 2°43′01″W / 56.497°N 2.717°W / 56.497; -2.717

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