1958 British Open Winner and Scores

The 1958 British Open was the 87th time the tournament was played. The winner was the Open champion for the fourth time, but he had to survive a 36-hole playoff to gain this victory.

Winner: Peter Thomson, 278

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

Tournament dates: July 2-5, 1958

Leader after first round: Peter Thomson, 66

Leader after second round: Christy O'Connor Sr., 135

Leader after third round: Peter Thomson, 205

What Happened at the 1958 Open Championship

Peter Thomson won his fourth Open Championship title, defeating Dave Thomas in a 36-hole playoff at the 1958 British Open.

Thomson had a 2-stroke lead after the third round, but Thomas shot 71 to Thomson's 73 in the final round to force a tie at 278 (a new tournament low). Thomson had a 10-foot birdie putt on the 72nd green to win it, but missed.

The playoff was 36 holes by design, with morning and afternoon 18s. Thomson took the lead in the morning, 68 to 69. Thomas tied the score on the second hole of the afternoon, and they remained tied through the seventh (25th overall) hole. But Thomson picked up four strokes on Thomas over the following four holes, and he wound winning by that 4-stroke margin (139 to 143).

Thomas, from Wales, was a regular winner in Europe during the 1950s and 1960s, posting wins in tournaments such as the French Open and Dutch Open, and played in four Ryder Cups. He also finished second in the 1966 British Open.

Thomson previously won the British Open in 1954, 1955 and 1956; and he won again in 1965 to finish with five Open Championships. He finished first or second in seven consecutive Opens from 1952 through 1958.

Gene Sarazen, 56 years old, tied for 16th place in what turned out to be the last British Open in which he made the cut. Three-time Open champion Henry Cotton finished tied for eighth, his last Top 10 finish in the Open. Fred Daly, the 1947 British Open winner, made his last cut in an Open and placed 20th. Future British Open winner Bob Charles made his tournament debut as an amateur, missing the cut.

1958 British Open Final Scores

Peter Thomson	66-72-67-73—278 (68-71—139)
Dave Thomas	70-68-69-71—278 (69-74—143)
Eric Brown	73-70-65-71—279
Christy O'Connor Sr.	67-68-73-71—279
Leopoldo Ruiz	71-65-72-73—281
Flory Van Donck	70-70-67-74—281
Gary Player	68-74-70-71—283
Henry Cotton	68-75-69-72—284
Eric Lester	73-66-71-74—284
Harry Weetman	73-67-73-71—284
Peter Alliss	72-70-70-73—285
a-Donald Swaelens	74-67-74-70—285
Harold Henning	70-71-72-73—286
Jean Garaialde	69-74-72-72—287
Dai Rees	77-69-71-70—287
Max Faulkner	68-71-71-78—288
Bobby Locke	76-70-72-70—288
Eric Moore	72-72-70-74—288
Gene Sarazen	73-73-70-72—288
Tony Coop	69-71-75-75—290
Fred Daly	71-74-72-73—290
Norman Drew	69-72-75-74—290
Christy Greene	75-71-72-72—290
Harry Bradshaw	70-73-72-76—291
Gerry De Wit	71-75-72-73—291
Antonio Cerda	72-71-74-75—292
Sebastian Miguel	74-71-73-74—292
Trevor Wilkes	76-70-69-77—292
Miguel Angel Martin	71-70-75-77—293
Bernard Hunt	70-70-76-79—295
Sam King	71-73-76-75—295
David Snell	72-72-72-79—295
Jack Wilkshire	74-70-78-74—296
Bruce Crampton	73-73-75-76—297
Syd Scott	73-74-74-76—297
Brian Wilkes	73-73-75-76—297
a-Joe Carr	70-74-77-77—298
David Melville	76-71-76-79—302
Cecil Denny	74-73-77-79—303
Bill Large	70-72-81-80—303

Previous and next:
1957 British Open - 1959 British Open