1950 British Open Winner and Scores

The 1950 British Open was the 79th time the tournament was played. The winner, for the second consecutive year, was South African Bobby Locke.

Winner: Bobby Locke, 279

Where it was played: Royal Troon Golf Club in South Ayrshire, Scotland

Tournament dates: July 5-7, 1950

Leader after first round: Arthur Lees, 68

Leader after second round: Dai Rees, 139

Leader after third round: Bobby Locke, Roberto De Vicenzo and Dai Rees, 211

What Happened at the 1950 Open Championship

Bobby Locke opened with a 69, had a 72 on the second day, and on the 36-hole final day carded 70-68. His 279 total was a tournament record at the time.

After three rounds, Locke shared the lead with Roberto De Vicenzo and Dai Rees. De Vicenzo finished second after shooting 70 in the final round, and Rees shared third with 1947 British Open champ Fred Daly, who surged with a 66.

Rees never won the Open, although he did finish second three times and inside the Top 5 once more in addition to his third-place showing in 1950. De Vicenzo did win this tournament, but not until the 1967 British Open. This was De Vicenzo's third appearance in the Open, and in those first three years he finished third, third and second in the tournament.

Locke was the first back-to-back champion in the Open since Walter Hagen won in 1928 and 1929. Locke's 279 total was the lowest score in tournament history to this point and stood until Peter Thomson lowered the record in 1958.

Two scores of particular note in this Open. German amateur Herman Tissies made a 15 on the 8th hole, Troon's "Postage Stamp," after hitting into a bunker and going from one bunker to another several times. And American amateur Frank Stranahan shot 66 in the final round, which stood as the lowest round by an amateur in the Open until 2011.

1950 British Open Final Scores

Bobby Locke 69-72-70-68—279
Roberto De Vicenzo 73-71-68-70—282
Fred Daly 75-72-69-66—282
Dai Rees 71-68-72-71—282
Max Faulkner 72-70-70-71—283
Eric Moore 74-68-73-68—283
Fred Bullock 71-71-71-71—284
Arthur Lees 68-76-68-72—284
Sam King 70-75-68-73—286
a-Frank Stranahan 77-70-73-66—286
Flory Van Donck 73-71-72-70—286
Jimmy Adams 73-75-69-70—287
Wally Smithers 74-70-73-70—287
Johnny Bulla 73-70-71-74—288
Hector Thomson 71-72-73-72—288
Harry Bradshaw 73-71-75-70—289
a-James McHale 73-73-74-70—290
Reg Horne 73-75-71-71—290
Ernest Whitcombe 69-76-72-73—290
Alf Padgham 77-71-74-69—291
John Panton 76-69-70-76—291
Norman Von Nida 74-72-76-69—291
Eric Brown 73-73-73-73—292
Trevor Allen 77-70-75-71—293
Bill Branch 71-69-78-75—293
Stewart Field 73-71-73-76—293
Norman Sutton 71-75-74-73—293
Bill White 74-74-73-72—293
Fred Allott 72-71-77-74—294
a-David Blair 72-72-77-74—295
Hassan Hassanein 73-72-77-73—295
Syd Scott 75-71-75-75—296
Joseph Carroll 73-72-74-79—298
Alf Perry 73-74-76-75—298
a-James Wilson 72-76-79-72—299

Previous and next:
1949 British Open - 1951 British Open

Popular posts from this blog