1950 Open Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 5–7 July 1950 |
| Location | Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland |
| Course(s) |
Troon Golf Club Old Course |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 70[1] |
| Length | 6,583 yards (6,019 m)[2] |
| Field | 93 players, 35 after cut[3] |
| Cut | 148 |
| Prize fund | £1,500 |
| Winner's share | £300 |
| Champion | |
 Bobby Locke | |
| 279 (–1) | |
|
«1949 1951» | |
The 1950 Open Championship was the 79th Open Championship, held 5–7 July at Troon Golf Club in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Defending champion Bobby Locke of South Africa won the second of his four Open titles, two strokes ahead of runner-up Roberto De Vicenzo of Argentina.[1] His total of 279 was a record for the Open Championship, beating the previous best of 283. It was the second Open Championship at Troon, which had previously hosted the Championship in 1923; it became "Royal Troon" in 1978.
Qualifying took place on 3–4 July. Entries played 18 holes on the Championship course at Troon and 18 holes on the Troon Lochgreen Municipal Course. The number of qualifiers was limited to a maximum of 100. Ties for 100th place would not qualify. The qualifying score was 153 and 93 players qualified. Johnny Bulla led the qualifiers scoring 140 with Norman Von Nida next on 141. The maximum number of players making the cut after 36 holes was again set at 40. Ties for 40th place did not make the cut.[4]
Arthur Lees led after the first round with 68, a shot ahead of Bobby Locke and Lees playing partner Eddie Whitcombe.[5] Dai Rees led after two rounds on 139 with Bill Branch on 140 and Locke on 141. Lees and Whitcombe both slipped away after second rounds of 76. Locke scored 72 after taking six at the short 5th hole.[6]
After the third round, Locke, Rees and Roberto De Vicenzo were tied for the lead on 211, Branch dropping back after a 78. In the final round De Vicenzo was out in 33. At the 8th hole (the "Postage Stamp") he put his tee shot into a bunker. Finding it to be "plugged" he declared it unplayable and returned to the teeing ground. From there he put his second attempt "stone dead" and holed the short putt. The rules had recently been changed so that there was no penalty stroke for returning to the tee, so that he ended up with a par 3. Coming home he dropped a shot at the 10th, two more at the 12th and another at the 13th but a good finish gave him a 70 and the clubhouse lead on 281. Locke was also out in 33 and finished with a round of 68 to lead De Vicenzo by two. Rees was the remaining challenger for the Championship and he too was out in 33. However he had a 6 at the 10th and eventually finished with a 71 and a tie for third place. On a day of low scoring Eric Moore was out in 32 and finished with a 68 while Fred Daly and Frank Stranahan both scored 66.[7]
Final leaderboard
Friday, 7 July 1950
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Locke | South Africa | 69-72-70-68=279 | –1 | £300 |
| 2 | Roberto De Vicenzo |  Argentina | 72-71-68-70=281 | +1 | £200 |
| T3 | Fred Daly |  Northern Ireland | 75-72-69-66=282 | +2 | £87 10s |
| Dai Rees |  Wales | 71-68-72-71=282 | |||
| T5 | Max Faulkner |  England | 72-70-70-71=283 | +3 | £35 |
| Eric Moore | South Africa | 74-68-73-68=283 | |||
| T7 | Fred Bullock | England | 71-71-71-71=284 | +4 | £20 |
| Arthur Lees | England | 68-76-68-72=284 | |||
| T9 | Sam King | England | 70-75-68-73=286 | +6 | £20 |
| Frank Stranahan (a) |  United States | 77-70-73-66=286 | – | ||
| Flory Van Donck | .svg.png){kind=small} Belgium | 73-71-72-70=286 | £20 |
- (a) denotes amateur
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Bobby Locke Wins British Open With Record 279". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. 8 July 1950. p. 11. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
- ↑ "Rees Leads British Open Golf At 36 holes; Bulla Near Top". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. 7 July 1950. p. 15. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
- ↑ "Media Guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 86. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ↑ "Golf - Open Championship qualifiers". The Times. 5 July 1950. p. 4.
- ↑ "Golf - A. Lees in the lead at Troon". The Times. 6 July 1950. p. 4.
- ↑ "Golf - Exciting play at Troon". The Times. 7 July 1950. p. 2.
- ↑ "Golf - Locke champion again - A record aggregate". The Times. 8 July 1950. p. 4.
External links
| Preceded by 1950 PGA Championship |
Major Championships | Succeeded by 1951 Masters Tournament |