1952 British Open Golf Tournament Results

The 1952 British Open was the 81st time the tournament was played. The champion barely made his tee time on the last day after being locked out of a garage that contained his car — and his golf clubs in the trunk of that car.

Winner: Bobby Locke, 287

Where it was played: Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lytham St. Annes, England

Tournament dates: July 9-11, 1952

Leader after first round: Fred Daly, 67

Leader after second round: Fred Daly, 136

Leader after third round: Fred Daly, 213

What Happened in the 1952 Open Championship

Bobby Locke and Peter Thomson battled in multiple Open Championships in the 1950s, and the 1952 British Open was the first where they went head-to-head. Thomson was an Australian upstart in his early 20s; Locke was a more established star from South Africa.

In 1952, it was Locke who came out ahead, beating Thomson by one shot. It was Locke's third Open title in four years. He later added another to finish with four wins in this tournament. Thomson went on to win five Open titles, his first coming in 1954 (when he beat Locke by one stroke).

Fred Daly, winner of the 1947 British Open, led by four at the halfway mark, after opening with rounds of 67 and 69. The final two rounds (played on the third and final day) were played in poor weather, and Daly managed to close only with 77-76 and finished third.

Thomson struggled in the third round with his own 77, and his closing 70 wasn't enough to catch Locke after Locke's 74-73 on the final day.

Locke almost didn't make it to the course with his own clubs on the final day. According to the R&A's tournament history, Locke's clubs were in the trunk of his car, which was inside a private parking garage — a garage that was still locked when Locke showed up the morning of the final round to fetch his car and clubs. A passing milkman who knew the garage's owner was able to take Locke to fetch the key, which let him into the garage. Locke got to the course "with just enough time to change his shoes and walk straight to the first tee," the R&A account says.

Peter Alliss made his first cut in an Open here, and finished tied for 31st.

1952 British Open Final Scores

Bobby Locke 69-71-74-73—287
Peter Thomson 68-73-77-70—288
Fred Daly 67-69-77-76—289
Henry Cotton 75-74-74-71—294
Antonio Cerda 73-73-76-73—295
Sam King 71-74-74-76—295
Flory Van Donck 74-75-71-76—296
Fred Bullock 76-72-72-77—297
Harry Bradshaw 70-74-75-79—298
Eric Brown 71-72-78-77—298
Willie Goggin 71-74-75-78—298
Arthur Lees 76-72-76-74—298
Syd Scott 75-69-76-78—298
Norman Von Nida 77-70-74-77—298
John Panton 72-72-78-77—299
Harry Weetman 74-77-71-77—299
Max Faulkner 72-76-79-73—300
Gene Sarazen 74-73-77-76—300
Wally Smithers 73-74-76-77—300
Norman Sutton 72-74-79-76—301
Fred Allott 77-71-76-78—302
Ken Bousfield 72-73-79-78—302
Jimmy Hine 73-78-74-77—302
Eddie Noke 72-78-76-76—302
John A. Jacobs 74-72-81-76—303
Alan Poulton 71-74-76-82—303
Jack Hargreaves 75-75-79-75—304
John R.M. Jacobs 72-76-79-77—304
a-John Jones 73-70-78-83—304
Dai Rees 76-74-77-77—304
Peter Alliss 72-72-80-81—305
Reg Horne 77-74-80-74—305
a-Dixon Rawlinson 74-73-79-80—306
a-Alex Kyle 71-75-80-81—307
a-Henri De Lamaze 73-72-80-83—308
Bobby Halsall 74-75-78-81—308
Tom Haliburton 75-76-80-78—309
John Hawkins 76-72-82-79—309
George Johnson 73-75-78-83—309
a-Frank Stranahan 75-76-78-80—309
Hector Thomson 73-77-80-79—309
Hal Young 70-77-77-85—309
George Knight 74-75-80-82—311
Robert French 72-78-79-83—312
a-Frank Morrell 75-74-86-79—314
Bernard Hunt 75-75-82-83—315

Previous and next:
1951 British Open - 1953 British Open

Popular posts from this blog