1957 Open Championship

The 1957 Open Championship was the 86th Open Championship, played 3–5 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. Bobby Locke, age 39, won his fourth and final Open title, three strokes ahead of runner-up Peter Thomson, who had won the three previous Opens.[3][4][5][6]

1957 Open Championship

Tournament information
Dates	3–5 July 1957
Location	St Andrews, Scotland
Course(s)	Old Course at St Andrews
Statistics
Par	72
Length	6,936 yards (6,342 m)[1]
Field	96 players, 46 after cut[2]
Cut	148 (+4)
Prize fund	£3,750 $10,500
Winner's share	£1,000 $2,800
Champion
Bobby Locke
279 (–9)

St Andrews 

Location in Scotland

St Andrews 

Location in Fife, Scotland

The Open, last played at the Old Course just two years prior, was originally scheduled for Muirfield,[7] but the "Suez Crisis" in Egypt in late 1956 led to serious fuel shortages in Britain and rationing of petrol. In early 1957, the R&A decided that St Andrews, on a railway line, would be an easier place for players and spectators to get to than Muirfield, and so it was moved.[8] Petrol rationing ended in May 1957 but it was then too late to switch back to the original venue and Muirfield was allocated the 1959 edition.

Qualifying took place on 1–2 July, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes on the Old Course and 18 holes on the New Course. With an entry of 295, compared to the record 360 entries the previous year, qualifying was in pairs rather than the three-balls used in 1956.[9] The number of qualifiers was limited to a maximum of 100, and ties for 100th place were not included. Bernard Hunt and Bobby Locke led the qualifiers at 137; the qualifying score was 149 and 96 players advanced to the opening round on Wednesday.[10]

There were fifteen American entries, many of them amateurs,[9] but only four qualified for the field of 96:[11] professionals Cary Middlecoff and Frank Stranahan finished in the top twenty and the two amateurs missed the cut.[12]

During the first round on Wednesday, competitors playing behind Middlecoff demonstratively complained of his slow play. They officially protested to the R&A, which sided with Middlecoff, who had completed his 18-hole round with Antonio Cerdá in three hours and 18 minutes.[13] The maximum number of players making the cut after 36 holes was set at fifty, and ties for 50th place were not included.[1]

This was the first Open Championship in which the leaders after 36 holes went off last for the final 36 holes. Previously a random draw had been used.[14] Flory Van Donck and Eric Brown, the leading two players after 36 holes were paired together in the final group for the final two rounds.[1]

A mini-controversy surrounded the ending of the championship. Lying two, Bobby Locke was only four feet (1.2 m) from the cup on the 72nd hole when he moved his ball marker one putter-head length to avoid the line of fellow competitor Bruce Crampton's putt. After Crampton holed out, Locke forgot to replace his ball to its original position and sank his putt. Only much later were officials made aware of Locke's mistake; the Championship Committee decreed that no advantage had been gained and that the result, and Locke's three-stroke victory, stood.[15]

Card of the course

Hole	Name	Yards	Par		Hole	Name	Yards	Par
1	Burn	374	4		10	Tenth ^	338	4
2	Dyke	411	4		11	High (In)	170	3
3	Cartgate (Out)	400	4		12	Heathery (In)	360	4
4	Ginger Beer	439	4		13	Hole O'Cross (In)	427	4
5	Hole O'Cross (Out)	567	5		14	Long	560	5
6	Heathery (Out)	377	4		15	Cartgate (In)	413	4
7	High (Out)	364	4		16	Corner of the Dyke	380	4
8	Short	163	3		17	Road	453	4
9	End	359	4		18	Tom Morris	381	4
Out		3,454	36		In		3,482	36
Source:[1]					Total		6,936	72

^ The 10th hole was posthumously named for Bobby Jones in 1972

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, 1952	69	72	68	70	279	–9	1
Peter Thomson	Australia	1954, 1955, 1956	73	69	70	70	282	–6	2
Henry Cotton	England	1934, 1937, 1948	74	72	69	72	287	–1	T9
Max Faulkner	England	1951	74	70	71	72	287	–1	T9

Missed the cut

Player	Country	Year won	R1	R2	Total	To par
Dick Burton	England	1939	77	72	149	+5
Fred Daly	Northern Ireland	1947	80	74	154	+10

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 3 July 1957

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
T1	Laurie Ayton, Jnr	Scotland	67	–5
	Eric Brown	Scotland
3	Bruce Crampton	Australia	68	–4
T4	Jimmy Hitchcock	England	69	–3
	Bobby Locke	South Africa
	Keith MacDonald	England
	Norman Sutton	England
T8	Roberto De Vicenzo	Argentina	70	–2
	Norman Drew	Northern Ireland
	Robin Galloway (a)	Scotland

Source:[2]

Second round

Thursday, 4 July 1957

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Eric Brown	Scotland	67-72=139	–5
2	Flory Van Donck	Belgium	72-68=140	–4
T3	Bruce Crampton	Australia	68-73=141	–3
	Bobby Locke	South Africa	69-72=141
T5	Antonio Cerdá	Argentina	71-71=142	–2
	John Fallon	Scotland	75-67=142
	Peter Thomson	Australia	73-69=142
T8	Laurie Ayton, Jnr	Scotland	67-76=143	–1
	Jimmy Hitchcock	England	69-74=143
	Keith MacDonald	England	69-74=143
	Cary Middlecoff	United States	72-71=143
	John Panton	Scotland	71-72=143
	Dickson Smith (a)	Scotland	71-72=143

Source:[2]
Amateurs: Smith (–1), Galloway (+2), Joe Carr (+6), Shepperson (+7), Sinclair (+7),
Butler (+8), Texier (+8), Will (+8), Lawrie (+9), Andrews (+10), Allan (+12), Reid (+12), Keck (+21).

Third round

Friday, 5 July 1957 - (morning)

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Bobby Locke	South Africa	69-72-68=209	–7
T2	Eric Brown	Scotland	67-72-73=212	–4
	Peter Thomson	Australia	73-69-70=212
T4	Tom Haliburton	Scotland	72-73-68=213	–3
	Ángel Miguel	Spain	72-72-69=213
T6	Antonio Cerdá	Argentina	71-71-72=214	–2
	Flory Van Donck	Belgium	72-68-74=214
T8	Henry Cotton	England	74-72-69=215	–1
	John Fallon	Scotland	75-67-73=215
	Max Faulkner	England	74-70-71=215
	Dickson Smith (a)	Scotland	71-72-72=215

Source:[2][3][4]

Final round

Friday, 5 July 1957 - (afternoon)

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money (£)
1	Bobby Locke	South Africa	69-72-68-70=279	–9	1,000
2	Peter Thomson	Australia	73-69-70-70=282	–6	500
3	Eric Brown	Scotland	67-72-73-71=283	–5	350
4	Ángel Miguel	Spain	72-72-69-72=285	–3	200
T5	Tom Haliburton	Scotland	72-73-68-73=286	–2	108
	Dickson Smith (a)	Scotland	71-72-72-71=286		–
	Dave Thomas	Wales	72-74-70-70=286		108
	Flory Van Donck	Belgium	72-68-74-72=286
T9	Antonio Cerdá	Argentina	71-71-72-73=287	–1	58
	Henry Cotton	England	74-72-69-72=287
	Max Faulkner	England	74-70-71-72=287

Source:[2][3][4]
Amateurs: Smith (–2), Galloway (+12).

References

1. "Prospect of close finish in Open golf championship". Glasgow Herald. 5 July 1957. p. 4.
2. "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 79. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
3. "Locke again Open golf champion". Glasgow Herald. 6 July 1957. p. 5.
4. "Bobby Locke wins his 4th British Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. 6 July 1957. p. 11.
5. "Locke wins British Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. 6 July 1955. p. 1, sec. 2.
6. Longhurst, Henry (15 July 1957). "The Butler's day". Sports Illustrated. p. 14.
7. "1957 golf events in Scotland - "Open" at Muirfield". Glasgow Herald. 5 January 1956. p. 2.
8. "Change of courses for important events - "Open" switched to St. Andrews". Glasgow Herald. 19 January 1957. p. 9.
9. "Draw for the Open golf Championship - Forty players from overseas". The Times. 13 June 1957. p. 3.
10. "Locke and Hunt lead qualifiers for Open golf Championship - field of 96 to contest title". Glasgow Herald. 3 July 1957. p. 4.
11. "U.S. forces led by Stranahan in British Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. 3 July 1957. p. 3, sec.4.
12. "Middlecoff fires 71 for 143 in British Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. 5 July 1957. p. 15.
13. "Middlecoff cards 72 in British Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. 4 July 1957. p. 39.
14. "Draw for the Open Golf Championship". The Times. 13 June 1957. p. 3.
15. "86th Open, St Andrews". Open Championship. 1957. Retrieved 9 May 2017.

External links

• 86th Open - St Andrews 1957 (Official site)
• 1957 Open Championship (about.sports)

Preceded by 1957 U.S. Open	Major Championships	Succeeded by 1957 PGA Championship