1946 Open Championship

The 1946 Open Championship was the 75th Open Championship,[4] played 3–5 July at the Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland. Due to World War II, it was the first Open since 1939, also held at St Andrews. Sam Snead won his only Open title, four strokes ahead of runners-up Johnny Bulla and Bobby Locke.[5][6][7] It was the first win by an American in thirteen years and the second of Snead's seven major titles. Four Americans were in the field of 100;[8] the three that made the cut all finished in the top ten.[6]

1946 Open Championship

Tournament information
Dates	3–5 July 1946
Location	St Andrews, Scotland
Course(s)	Old Course at St Andrews
Statistics
Par	73[1][2]
Length	6,863 yards (6,276 m)
Field	100, 38 after cut[3]
Cut	156 (+10)[3]
Prize fund	£1,000[3] $4,000
Winner's share	£150[3] $600
Champion
Sam Snead
290 (–2)

St Andrews 

Location in Scotland

St Andrews

Location in Fife, Scotland

Qualifying took place on 1–2 July, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes on the Old Course and 18 holes on the New Course.[9][10] The number of qualifiers was limited to a maximum of 100, ties for 100th place would not qualify.[11] The qualifying score was 159 and exactly 100 players qualified. The Australian Norman Von Nida led the qualifiers at 145.[12][13] The maximum number of players making the cut after 36 holes was set at forty and ties for 40th place did not make the cut.[11]

In his second Open Championship appearance and first since 1937, Snead did not endear himself to the St Andrews crowd on arrival. His first impression of the course was "It looks like an old abandoned kinda place," ensuring a cold reception at the start of the tournament. He opened with a round of 71, two behind the lead of Locke, who led by one from Henry Cotton and Von Nida.[14][15] Cotton took the lead after 36-holes with consecutive rounds of 70, one ahead of Snead and two ahead of Dai Rees.[1][16]

Snead, Bulla, and Rees were tied for the lead at 215 (−4) going into the final round on Friday afternoon, with Cotton one behind.[2] Snead best navigated the strong winds of the final round; after dropping four shots on the front-nine, he was able to use his length and accuracy to record a 35 on the back for a round of 75 and a 290 total. Locke moved into second with a 76, while Bulla finished with a 79 to tie Locke for third place.[3][5][7] Rees tied for fourth with the help of a tournament record-tying round of 67 in the second round.

Snead's win here was his only Open Championship title and he played the tournament only three more times, not returning until 1962. He was the first American to win the title since Denny Shute in 1933. The next was Ben Hogan in 1953 at Carnoustie in his only trip to Britain, then Arnold Palmer's consecutive wins in 1961 and 1962.

Dick Burton, the defending champion from 1939, relinquished the trophy after seven years and finished in twelfth place.

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par	Finish
Henry Cotton	England	1934, 1937	70	70	76	79	295	+3	T4
Dick Burton	England	1939	74	76	76	76	302	+10	12
Reg Whitcombe	England	1938	71	76	82	76	305	+13	T14
Alf Perry	England	1935	78	77	78	80	313	+21	T26
Alf Padgham	England	1936	79	74	76	87	316	+24	T31

Source:[3]

Missed the cut

Player	Country	Year won	R1	R2	Total	To par
Arthur Havers	England	1923	77	78	155	+11

Source:[3]

Did not enter:

• Denny Shute (1933), Gene Sarazen (1932), Tommy Armour (1931),
  Bobby Jones (1926, 1927, 1930), Walter Hagen (1922, 1924, 1928, 1929), Jim Barnes (1925).[8]

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 3 July 1946

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Bobby Locke	South Africa	69	−4
T2	Henry Cotton	England	70	−3
	Norman Von Nida	Australia
T4	Johnny Bulla	United States	71	−2
	Bill Hancock	England
	Joe Kirkwood Sr.	Australia
	Sam Snead	United States
	Reg Whitcombe	England
9	Charlie Ward	England	73	E
T10	Percy Alliss	England	74	+1
	Dick Burton	England

Source:[3][14]

Second round

Thursday, 4 July 1946

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Henry Cotton	England	70-70=140	−6
2	Sam Snead	United States	71-70=141	−5
3	Dai Rees	Wales	75-67=142	−4
T4	Johnny Bulla	United States	71-72=143	−3
	Bobby Locke	South Africa	69-74=143
T6	Percy Alliss	England	74-72=146	E
	Joe Kirkwood Sr.	Australia	71-75=146
	Norman Von Nida	Australia	70-76=146
	Charlie Ward	England	73-73=146
10	Reg Whitcombe	England	71-76=147	+1

Source:[3][16]

Third round

Friday, 5 July 1946 (morning)

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
T1	Johnny Bulla	United States	71-72-72=215	−4
	Dai Rees	Wales	75-67-73=215
	Sam Snead	United States	71-70-74=215
4	Henry Cotton	England	70-70-76=216	−3
5	Bobby Locke	South Africa	69-74-75=218	−1
6	Charlie Ward	England	73-73-73=219	E
7	Norman Von Nida	Australia	70-76-74=220	−1
T8	Fred Daly	Northern Ireland	77-71-76=224	+5
	Joe Kirkwood Sr.	Australia	71-75-78=224
10	Lawson Little	United States	78-75-72=225	+6

Source:[3][17]

Final round

Friday, 5 July 1946 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money (£)
1	Sam Snead	United States	71-70-74-75=290	–2	150
T2	Johnny Bulla	United States	71-72-72-79=294	+2	87 ½
	Bobby Locke	South Africa	69-74-75-76=294
T4	Henry Cotton	England	70-70-76-79=295	+3	26 ¼
	Dai Rees	Wales	75-67-73-80=295
	Norman Von Nida	Australia	70-76-74-75=295
	Charlie Ward	England	73-73-73-76=295
T8	Fred Daly	Northern Ireland	77-71-76-74=298	+6	15
	Joe Kirkwood Sr.	Australia	71-75-78-74=298
10	Lawson Little	United States	78-75-72-74=299	+7

Source:[3][17]

Amateurs: Bell (+24), Wilson (+25), Dowie (+27), White (+28), Urry (+38).

References

1. "Cotton birdies to lead Open". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. 5 July 1946. p. 14. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
2. "Three are tied in British Open". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. 5 July 1946. p. 30.
3. "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 92. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
4. "1946 / St Andrews". The Open. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
5. "'Open' golf trophy goes to America". Glasgow Herald. 6 July 1946. p. 3.
6. "Snead's 290 wins British Open; Bulla 2d on 294". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. 6 July 1946. p. 11.
7. "Snead reaches golf rainbow". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. 6 July 1946. p. 7. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
8. "4 Americans in British Open Field". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. 3 July 1946. p. 21.
9. "World golfers faced by nerve test". Glasgow Herald. 1 July 1946. p. 3.
10. ""Unknown" golfers vie with favourites". Glasgow Herald. 2 July 1946. p. 3.
11. "Golf - The Open Championship". The Times. 1 July 1946. p. 2.
12. "Overseas challenge for "Open" title". Glasgow Herald. 3 July 1946. p. 5.
13. "Golf - Open Championship". The Times. 3 July 1946. p. 2.
14. "Threat to Britain's golf power". Glasgow Herald. 4 July 1946. p. 5.
15. "Golf - Open Championship". The Times. 4 July 1946. p. 2.
16. "Memorable day's golf for Britain". Glasgow Herald. 5 July 1946. p. 5.
17. "Final aggregates at St Andrews". Glasgow Herald. 6 July 1946. p. 6.

External links

• 75th Open - St Andrews 1946 (Official site)
• 1946 Open Championship (about.sports)

Preceded by 1946 U.S. Open	Major Championships	Succeeded by 1946 PGA Championship