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1950 Open Championship

Coordinates: 55°31′55″N 4°39′04″W / 55.532°N 4.651°W / 55.532; -4.651
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1950 Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates5–7 July 1950
LocationTroon, South Ayrshire, Scotland
Course(s)Troon Golf Club
Old Course
Statistics
Par70[1]
Length6,583 yards (6,019 m)[2][3]
Field93 players,[4] 35 after cut[5][6]
Cut148
Prize fund£1,500
Winner's share£300
Champion
South Africa Bobby Locke
279 (−1)
← 1949
1951 →
Troon Golf Club is located in Scotland
Troon Golf Club
Troon Golf Club
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Location in Scotland
Troon Golf Club is located in South Ayrshire
Troon Golf Club
Troon Golf Club
class=notpageimage|
Location in South Ayrshire, Scotland

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][7] 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.[8]

Qualifying took place on 3–4 July, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes on the Old Course at Troon and 18 holes on the Lochgreen municipal course.[2][9] Johnny Bulla led the scoring at 140 with Norman Von Nida next on 141.[10] The field for the Open proper was limited to a maximum of 100 participants and did not include ties. The qualifying score was 153 and 93 players advanced to the first round on Wednesday.[4]

Arthur Lees led after the first round with 68, a shot ahead of playing partner Eddie Whitcombe and Locke.[11][12] Dai Rees was the 36-hole leader at 139, followed by Bill Branch (140) and Locke (141).[5][6] Lees and Whitcombe both slipped back after Thursday rounds of 76, and Locke scored 72 after a six at the short fifth hole.[13] The maximum number of players making the cut after 36 holes was again set at 40. Ties for 40th place at 149 did not make the cut and only 35 players advanced to the final two rounds.[5][6][14]

After the third round on Friday morning, Locke, Rees, and De Vicenzo were tied for the lead at 211, Branch dropping back after a 78. In the final round that afternoon, De Vicenzo was out in 33 and at the par-3 8th hole (the "Postage Stamp"), he put his tee shot into one of its penalizing bunkers. 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, and he ended up with a par. Coming home he dropped a shot at the tenth, two more at the twelfth and another at the thirteenth, 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 six at the tenth hole and finished with 71 to tie for third place. On a day of low scoring, Eric Moore was out in 32 and finished with 68; Fred Daly and Frank Stranahan both scored 66.[15]

Course

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Main article: Troon Golf Club

Old Course

Hole Name Yards Par Hole Name Yards Par
1 Seal 355 4 10 Sandhills 436 4
2 Black Rock 372 4 11 The Railway 326 4
3 Gyaws 378 4 12 The Fox 385 4
4 Dunure 443 4 13 Burmah 400 4
5 Greenan 180 3 14 Alton 170 3
6 Turnberry 580 5 15 Crosbie 450 4
7 Tel-el-Kebir 368 4 16 Well 566 5
8 Postage Stamp 120 3 17 Rabbit 223 3
9 The Monk 427 4 18 Craigend 410 4
Out 3,217 35 In 3,366 35
Source:[2][3] Total 6,583 70

Opens from 1962 through 1989 played the 11th hole as a par-5;
4th hole was lengthened and a par-5 since 1962.

Round summaries

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First round

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Wednesday, 5 July 1950

Place Player Score To par
1 England Arthur Lees 68 −2
T2 South Africa Bobby Locke 69 −1
England Eddie Whitcombe
4 England Sam King 70 E
T5 England Bill Branch 71 +1
England Fred Bullock
Wales Dai Rees
England Norman Sutton
Scotland Hector Thomson
T10 England Fred Allott 72 +2
Scotland David Blair (a)
England George Boomer
Argentina Roberto De Vicenzo
England Max Faulkner
Scotland John Fallon
England James Wilson (a)

Source:[11][16]

Second round

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Thursday, 6 July 1950

Place Player Score To par
1 Wales Dai Rees 71-68=139 −1
2 England Bill Branch 71-69=140 E
3 South Africa Bobby Locke 69-72=141 +1
T4 England Fred Bullock 71-71=142 +2
England Max Faulkner 72-70=142
South Africa Eric Moore 74-68=142
T7 England Fred Allott 72-71=143 +3
United States Johnny Bulla 73-70=143
Argentina Roberto De Vicenzo 72-71=143
Scotland Hector Thomson 71-72=143

Source:[5][6]

Third round

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Friday, 7 July 1950 (morning)

Place Player Score To par
T1 Argentina Roberto De Vicenzo 72-71-68=211 +1
South Africa Bobby Locke 69-72-70=211
Wales Dai Rees 71-68-72=211
T4 England Max Faulkner 72-70-70=212 +2
England Arthur Lees 68-76-68=212
T6 England Fred Bullock 71-71-71=213 +3
England Sam King 70-75-68=213
8 United States Johnny Bulla 73-70-71=214 +4
9 South Africa Eric Moore 74-68-73=215 +5
T10 Northern Ireland Fred Daly 75-72-69=216 +6
Scotland Hector Thomson 71-72-73=216
Belgium Flory Van Donck 73-71-72=216

Source:[1][7]

Final round

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Friday, 7 July 1950 (afternoon)

Place Player Score To par Money (£)
1 South Africa Bobby Locke 69-72-70-68=279 −1 300
2 Argentina Roberto De Vicenzo 72-71-68-70=281 +1 200
T3 Northern Ireland Fred Daly 75-72-69-66=282 +2 87
Wales Dai Rees 71-68-72-71=282
T5 England Max Faulkner 72-70-70-71=283 +3 35
South Africa Eric Moore 74-68-73-68=283
T7 England Fred Bullock 71-71-71-71=284 +4 20
England Arthur Lees 68-76-68-72=284
T9 England Sam King 70-75-68-73=286 +6
Belgium Flory Van Donck 73-71-72-70=286
United States Frank Stranahan (a) 77-70-73-66=286 0

Source:[1][7]
Amateurs: Stranahan (+6), McHale (+10), Blair (+15), Wilson (+19)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Bobby Locke wins British Open with record 279". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. 8 July 1950. p. 11.
  2. ^ a b c "Old Troon test for golfers". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. 3 July 1950. p. 5.
  3. ^ a b "Rees leads British Open golf at 36 holes; Bulla near top". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. 7 July 1950. p. 15.
  4. ^ a b "Overseas strength among Open qualifiers". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. 7 July 1950. p. 7.
  5. ^ a b c d "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 86, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d "Rees leads 35 qualifiers for last day of Open". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. 7 July 1950. p. 7.
  7. ^ a b c "Locke retains Open Championship". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. 8 July 1950. p. 5.
  8. ^ "Now it's Royal Troon". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. 5 June 1978. p. 16.
  9. ^ ""Open" begins with records on both courses". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. 4 July 1950. p. 6.
  10. ^ "British trials led by Bulla". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. 5 July 1950. p. 5, sec. 3.
  11. ^ a b "Old Course wins first round in Open". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. 6 July 1950. p. 7.
  12. ^ "Golf - A. Lees in the lead at Troon". The Times. 6 July 1950. p. 4.
  13. ^ "Golf - Exciting play at Troon". The Times. 7 July 1950. p. 2.
  14. ^ "Golf - Open Championship qualifiers". The Times. London. 5 July 1950. p. 4.
  15. ^ "Golf - Locke champion again - A record aggregate". The Times. London. 8 July 1950. p. 4.
  16. ^ "Art Lee takes British Open golf lead with 68". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Associated Press. 6 July 1950. p. 15.
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55°31′55″N 4°39′04″W / 55.532°N 4.651°W / 55.532; -4.651

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