1955 Open Championship


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. 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, and after a 72 on the Old Course the next day he led the qualifiers at 135, a shot ahead of Laurie Ayton. The qualifying score was 148 and 94 players advanced to the first round on Wednesday.
Three shot 69 in the opening round on Wednesday; 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. All five made the cut, and the top U.S. finisher was Ed Furgol in a tie for 19th place. 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 was a par 5; for this Open it became a par 4, which reduced the course par from 73 to 72.
The winner's share was increased from £750 to £1,000, while the others were unchanged, bringing the total purse to £3,750.

Past champions in the field

PlayerCountryYear wonR1R2R3R4TotalTo parFinish
Peter Thomson195471687072281–71
Bobby Locke1949, 1950, 195274697072285–34
Fred Daly194775727071288ET12
Henry Cotton1934, 1937, 194870727876296+8T32
Max Faulkner195173747476297+9T35

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 6 July 1955
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Eric Brown69–3
T1Dai Rees69–3
T1Syd Scott69–3
T4Henry Cotton70–2
T4Cecil Denny70–2
T4Bernard Hunt70–2
T4Frank Jowle70–2
T4Jimmy Martin70–2
T4Dennis Smalldon70–2
T10John Anderson71–1
T10Romualdo Barbieri71–1
T10Ken Bousfield71–1
T10Ed Furgol71–1
T10Robert Halsall71–1
T10John Jacobs71–1
T10Christy O'Connor Snr71–1
T10Norman Sutton71–1
T10Peter Thomson71–1
T10Flory Van Donck71–1
T10Harry Weetman71–1

Source:

Second round

Thursday, 7 July 1955
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Eric Brown69-70=139–5
T1Dennis Smalldon70-69=139–5
T1Peter Thomson71-68=139–5
4John Fallon73-67=140–4
T5Bernard Hunt70-71=141–3
T5John Jacobs71-70=141–3
T5Frank Jowle70-71=141–3
T8Romualdo Barbieri71-71=142–2
T8Harry Bradshaw72-70=142–2
T8Henry Cotton70-72=142–2
T8Jimmy Martin70-72=142–2
T8Harry Weetman71-71=142–2

Source:

Amateurs: Bucher, Conrad, McHale , Lawrie, Carr, Murray, Orr, Robertson

Third round

Friday, 8 July 1955
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Peter Thomson71-68-70=209–7
2Frank Jowle70-71-69=210–6
T3Eric Brown69-70-73=212–4
T3John Jacobs71-70-71=212–4
T3Harry Weetman71-71-70=212–4
T6John Fallon73-67-73=213–3
T6Bobby Locke74-69-70=213–3
8Flory Van Donck71-72-71=214–2
T9Romualdo Barbieri71-71-73=215–1
T9Harry Bradshaw72-70-73=215–1
T9Antonio Cerdá73-71-71=215–1
T9Bernard Hunt70-71-74=215–1

Source:

Final round

Friday, 8 July 1955
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Peter Thomson71-68-70-72=281–71,000
2John Fallon73-67-73-70=283–5500
3Frank Jowle70-71-69-74=284–4350
4Bobby Locke74-69-70-72=285–3200
T5Ken Bousfield71-75-70-70=286–290
T5Antonio Cerdá73-71-71-71=286–290
T5Bernard Hunt70-71-74-71=286–290
T5Flory Van Donck71-72-71-72=286–290
T5Harry Weetman71-71-70-74=286–290
T10Romualdo Barbieri71-71-73-72=287–140
T10Christy O'Connor Snr71-75-70-71=287–140

Source:

Amateurs: Conrad, McHale, Bucher.