1921 British Open Winner and Scores
The 1921 British Open was the 56th time this major was played, but it produced the first American winner. And the tournament ended in a playoff, but only after one of the playoff competitors had to be convinced to show up for it.
Winner: Jock Hutchison, 296
Where it was played: The Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland
Tournament dates: June 23-25, 1921
Leader after first round: Jock Hutchison, 72
Leader after second round: Jock Hutchison, 147
Leader after third round: Jim Barnes and Sandy Herd, 222
What Happened In the 1921 Open Championship
In a tournament in which no golfer broke 70, Jock Hutchison and amateur Roger Wethered carded exceptional final rounds, 70 for Hutchison and 71 for Wethered, to tie at 296. A 36-hole playoff was scheduled for the next day. But Wethered had a conflict: his cricket team had a game at the same time. Wethered initially planned to play the cricket match, but eventually was talked into showing up for the Open playoff. ... Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that Hutchison easily won the playoff for his second and final major championship win. He shot 150 (74-76) to Wethered's 159 (77-82).In winning, Hutchison, born in Scotland, became the first American champion of the Open Championship. Hutchison was a naturalized American citizen by 1921. (The first golfer born in the U.S. to win The Open was Walter Hagen, one year later.) Hutchison had already won a major in his adopted country, the 1920 PGA Championship. And Hutchison later won the inaugural Senior PGA Championship, in 1937. Hutchison remained a visible part of the pro golf landscape all the way into the 1970s: From 1963-73, he served as an honorary starter at The Masters.
Bobby Jones made his Open Championship debut here, but it did not go well. He hit into a bunker on the 11th hole in the third round. After unsuccessfully taking four swings at the ball, Jones picked up the ball and walked off the course.
In the first round, Jones had been paired with Hutchinson, and at least Jones got to see what were almost the first back-to-back aces in Open history. On the par-3 eighth hole, Hutchison made a hole-in-one. On the ninth hole, Hutchison drove the green on a 303-yard par-4, and his ball skirted over the edge of the hole and stopped three inches from the cup.
1921 British Open Final Scores
| Jock Hutchison | 72-75-79-70—296 |
| a-Roger Wethered | 78-75-72-71—296 |
| Tom Kerrigan | 74-80-72-72—298 |
| Arthur Havers | 76-74-77-72—299 |
| George Duncan | 74-75-78-74—301 |
| Jim Barnes | 74-74-74-80—302 |
| Walter Hagen | 74-79-72-77—302 |
| Sandy Herd | 75-74-73-80—302 |
| Joe Kirkwood | 76-74-73-79—302 |
| Fred Leach | 78-75-76-73—302 |
| Arnaud Massy | 74-75-74-79—302 |
| Tom Williamson | 79-71-74-78—302 |
| Abe Mitchell | 78-79-76-71—304 |
| Walter Pursey | 74-82-74-74—304 |
| J.W. Gaudin | 78-76-75-76—305 |
| James Braid | 77-75-78-76—306 |
| Len Holland | 78-78-76-74—306 |
| Bill Mehlhorn | 75-77-76-78—306 |
| Frank Ball | 79-78-74-76—307 |
| a-Paul Hunter | 75-78-76-78—307 |
| Ted Ray | 76-72-81-78—307 |
| William Watt | 81-77-75-74—307 |
| Clarence Hackney | 77-75-80-76—308 |
| Henry Kinch | 73-77-81-77—308 |
| Harry Vardon | 77-77-80-74—308 |
| Aubrey Boomer | 78-80-72-79—309 |
| Walter Bourne | 78-78-75-78—309 |
| Arthur Butchart | 78-80-77-74—309 |
| John D. Edgar | 82-76-78-73—309 |
| Emmet French | 79-76-75-79—309 |
| a-Denis Kyle | 77-77-81-74—309 |
| George McLean | 76-73-82-78—309 |
| Hugh Roberts | 79-82-74-74—309 |
| J.H. Taylor | 80-80-75-74—309 |
| Archie Compston | 78-75-77-80—310 |
| Percy Hills | 75-76-83-77—311 |
| C.H. Reith | 79-83-75-74—311 |
| David Ayton Jr. | 77-82-78-75—312 |
| Percy Alliss | 75-77-81-80—313 |
| Rowland Jones | 77-77-79-80—313 |
| Charles Johns | 78-82-80-74—314 |
| Alfred Miles | 75-78-81-80—314 |
| a-Mark Seymour | 75-78-76-85—314 |
| Reginald G. Wilson | 80-77-78-79—314 |
| a-Alexander Armour | 77-83-75-80—315 |
| George Buckle | 79-79-74-83—315 |
| Angel De La Torre | 83-78-77-78—316 |
| Jean Gassiat | 80-81-80-75—316 |
| a-William A. Murray | 81-79-76-80—316 |
| Peter Robertson | 81-84-79-72—316 |
| W.E. Brown | 77-80-75-85—317 |
| James Ockenden | 79-84-79-75—317 |
| Fred Robson | 80-78-80-79—317 |
| Charles Hoffner | 75-86-77-80—318 |
| Tom King Jr. | 80-80-77-81—318 |
| F.C. Jewell | 81-81-78-79—319 |
| John Burgess | 79-84-81-76—320 |
| Albert Hallam | 80-85-80-75—320 |
| Josh Taylor | 81-79-78-82—320 |
| Jack White | 76-82-81-81—320 |
| Sid Brews | 81-82-80-78—321 |
| Arthur Day | 79-81-81-80—321 |
| a-Robert Harris | 81-85-78-78—322 |
| Fred McLeod | 78-79-83-82—322 |
| James Souter | 80-79-83-80—322 |
| James Anderson | 79-82-82-80—323 |
| James Batley | 81-82-82-78—323 |
| Richard May | 77-79-87-80—323 |
| George Smith | 80-80-83-80—323 |
| John Fulford | 81-82-84-77—324 |
| John Turner | 81-84-78-81—324 |
| William Ritchie | 82-80-82-81—325 |
| Claude Gray | 81-87-75-83—326 |
| a-Percy Quilter | 86-83-78-80—327 |
| Albert Seymour | 82-81-83-81—327 |
| Michael Bingham | 85-79-84-82—330 |
| J.M. Hunter | 87-81-76-88—332 |
| Robert McKenzie | 84-83-77-89—333 |
| Harry Wilson | 80-82-90-81—333 |
| Tom Mounce | 84-81-86-85—336 |
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