1952 Open Championship

The 1952 Open Championship was the 81st Open Championship, held 9–11 July at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, England. This was the second Open at the course, its first was 26 years earlier in 1926.

1952 Open Championship

Tournament information
Dates	9–11 July 1952
Location	Lytham St Annes, England
Course(s)	Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
Statistics
Par	72
Length	6,657 yards (6,087 m)[1]
Field	96 players, 46 after cut[1]
Cut	151 (+7)
Prize fund	£1,700 $4,760
Winner's share	£300 $840
Champion
Bobby Locke
287 (–1)

Lytham &
St Annes

Location in England

Lytham &
St Annes

Location in Lancashire. England

Bobby Locke won the third of his four Claret Jugs at 287 (−1), one stroke ahead of runner-up Peter Thomson.[2] This was the first of seven consecutive Opens in which Thomson, age 22, finished as champion or runner-up. Fred Daly, 1947 champion, led after each of the first three rounds,[3] but concluded with 153 (+9) on the final day and finished third.[2][4]

For qualifying, 274 players entered compared to the 148 the previous year in Northern Ireland. Through an error, the initial entry did not include Antonio Cerdá, the prior year's runner-up.[5] The Championship committee used its discretion to allow him a late entry.[6] Qualifying took place on 7–8 July, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes at Royal Lytham & St Annes and 18 holes at adjacent Fairhaven. The number of qualifiers was limited to a maximum of 100, and ties for 100th place were not included. John Panton led at 134 with Harry Bradshaw next on 136. The qualifying score was 152 and 96 players advanced.[7][8][9] Three former champions did not continue: Reg Whitcombe (1938) 154, Alf Padgham (1936) 155, and Dick Burton (1939) 156.[7]

The opening round on Wednesday had the lowest scoring, as Daly took the lead at 67, followed by Thomson (68), and Locke in third at 69.[10][11][12] Daly widened his lead in the second round on Thursday with 69 for 136. Locke was four behind at 140, with Thomson a stroke behind in third.[3][13] English amateur Jackie Jones was tied for fourth place, seven shots behind Daly.[14] The maximum number of players making the cut after 36 holes remained at fifty, and ties for 50th place did not make the cut. The cut was at 151 (+7), and 46 players advanced.[13]

Stronger winds arrived on Friday morning for the third round, but Daly still led with 213 after a 77. Locke had closed to one shot after a 74 and Thomson was four behind Locke at 218 (+2), despite going out of bounds at the second hole. Harry Bradshaw and Sam King came next on 219. Starting an hour before Daly, Locke began the final round that afternoon 3-4-3 and reached the turn in 34. Daly was out in 37 and a victory for Locke seemed likely. However he finished with two fives and Daly still had a chance to catch him, but Daly took a six at the 15th; despite finishing 3-4-4, he ended up two shots behind. Thomson seemed to be out of contention after going out in 36, six shots behind Locke at the same stage. However, he came home in 34 with a birdie three at the last to take second place from Daly, one stroke behind Locke. Henry Cotton had the best score on the final day (74-71=145), but had been thirteen behind Daly at 149 after the first two rounds and finished fourth. Jones partnered Locke on the final day and, despite rounds of 78 and 83, held onto the position of leading amateur, winning the silver medal.[15]

Only five Americans were in the field;[3][8][12] the top finisher was Willie Goggin, in his first Open Championship at age 46, in a six-way tie for ninth.[16][17] Gene Sarazen, the 1932 champion, tied for seventeenth at age 50.[4]

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par	Finish
Bobby Locke	South Africa	1949, 1950	69	71	74	73	287	−1	1
Fred Daly	Northern Ireland	1947	67	69	77	76	289	+1	3
Henry Cotton	England	1934, 1937, 1948	75	74	74	71	294	+6	4
Max Faulkner	England	1951	72	76	79	73	300	+12	T17
Gene Sarazen	United States	1932	74	73	77	76	300	+12	T17

Source:[1][2]

Missed the cut

Player	Country	Year won	R1	R2	Total	To par
Alf Perry	England	1935	76	76	152	+8

Source:[1][13]

Did not advance past qualifying rounds (Monday & Tuesday):

• Dick Burton (1939) 156, Reg Whitcombe (1938) 154, Alf Padgham (1936) 155.[7]

Did not enter:

• Sam Snead (1946), Denny Shute (1933).[7][8][16]

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 9 July 1952

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Fred Daly	Northern Ireland	67	–5
2	Peter Thomson	Australia	68	–4
3	Bobby Locke	South Africa	69	–3
T4	Harry Bradshaw	Ireland	70	–2
	Bob Garner	England
	Arthur Young	England
T7	Eric Brown	Scotland	71	–1
	Willie Goggin	United States
	Sam King	England
	Alex Kyle (a)	Scotland
	Alan Poulton	England

Source:[10]

Second round

Thursday, 10 July 1952

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Fred Daly	Northern Ireland	67-69=136	–8
2	Bobby Locke	South Africa	69-71=140	–4
3	Peter Thomson	Australia	68-73=141	–3
T4	Eric Brown	Scotland	71-72=143	–1
	Jackie Jones (a)	England	73-70=143
T6	Peter Alliss	England	72-72=144	E
	Harry Bradshaw	Ireland	70-74=144
	John Panton	Scotland	72-72=144
	Syd Scott	England	75-69=144
T10	Ken Bousfield	England	72-73=145	+1
	Henri de Lamaze (a)	France	71-74=145
	Willie Goggin	United States	71-74=145
	Sam King	England	71-74=145
	Alan Poulton	England	71-74=145

Source:[1][13]

Third round

Friday, 11 July 1952 (morning)

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Fred Daly	Northern Ireland	67-69-77=213	–3
2	Bobby Locke	South Africa	69-71-74=214	–2
3	Peter Thomson	Australia	68-73-77=218	+2
T4	Harry Bradshaw	Ireland	70-74-75=219	+3
	Sam King	England	71-74-74=219
T6	Fred Bullock	England	76-72-72=220	+4
	Willie Goggin	United States	71-74-75=220
	Syd Scott	England	75-69-76=220
	Flory Van Donck	Belgium	74-75-71=220
T10	Eric Brown	Scotland	71-72-78=221	+5
	Jackie Jones (a)	England	73-70-78=221
	Alan Poulton	England	71-74-76=221
	Norman Von Nida	Australia	77-70-74=221

Source:[1][2]

Final round

Friday, 11 July 1952 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money (£)
1	Bobby Locke	South Africa	69-71-74-73=287	–1	300
2	Peter Thomson	Australia	68-73-77-70=288	E	200
3	Fred Daly	Northern Ireland	67-69-77-76=289	+1	100
4	Henry Cotton	England	75-74-74-71=294	+6	75
T5	Antonio Cerdá	Argentina	73-73-76-73=295	+7	35
	Sam King	England	71-74-74-76=295
7	Flory Van Donck	Belgium	74-75-71-76=296	+8	20
8	Fred Bullock	England	76-72-72-77=297	+9	20
T9	Harry Bradshaw	Ireland	70-74-75-79=298	+10	20
	Eric Brown	Scotland	71-72-78-77=298
	Willie Goggin	United States	71-74-75-78=298
	Arthur Lees	England	76-72-76-74=298
	Syd Scott	England	75-69-76-78=298
	Norman Von Nida	Australia	77-70-74-77=298

Source:[1][2][4]
Amateurs: Jones (+16), Rawlinson (+18), Kyle (+19), De Lamaze (+20), Stranahan (+21), Morrell (+26)

References

1. "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 84, 203–8. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
2. "Locke wins Open by one stroke". Glasgow Herald. 12 July 1952. p. 5.
3. "Daly fires 69 to retain lead in British Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. p. 3, sec. 3.
4. "Locke's 287 takes 1st in British Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. p. 4, sec. 3.
5. "The Open Championship". The Times. 19 June 1952. p. 2.
6. "Open Golf Championship". The Times. 7 July 1952. p. 4.
7. "Panton's day of record-equalling". Glasgow Herald. 9 July 1952. p. 9.
8. "Sarazen gets second 69 in British Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. 9 July 1952. p. 3 sec. 3.
9. "Golf - Open Championship". The Times. 9 July 1952. p. 2.
10. "Daly leads by stroke in "Open"". Glasgow Herald. 10 July 1952. p. 9.
11. "Golf - Daly's lead at St. Annes". The Times. 10 July 1952. p. 2.
12. "Goggin tops Americans in British Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. 10 July 1952. p. 1, sec. 6.
13. "Daly's four-stroke lead in "Open"". Glasgow Herald. 11 July 1952. p. 7.
14. "Golf - Open Championship". The Times. 11 July 1952. p. 2.
15. "Locke's golf victory - Third Open in four years - Thomson beaten by one stroke". The Times. 12 July 1952. p. 4.
16. "Four Yankees keep British Open chance". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. 11 July 1952. p. 19.
17. "Locke paces British Open". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). United Press. 10 July 1952. p. 31.

External links

• 81st Open - Royal Lytham & St Annes 1952 (Official site)
• 1952 Open Championship (about.sports)

Preceded by 1952 PGA Championship	Major Championships	Succeeded by 1953 Masters Tournament