1947 Open Championship

The 1947 Open Championship was the 76th Open Championship, held 2–4 July at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. Fred Daly became the first Irish winner of the Open Championship, one stroke ahead of runners-up Reg Horne and amateur Frank Stranahan.[3][4][5] It was Daly's only major title.

1947 Open Championship

Front cover of the 1947 Open Programme
Tournament information
Dates	2–4 July 1947
Location	Hoylake, England
Course(s)	Royal Liverpool Golf Club
Organized by	The R&A
Statistics
Par	68[1][2]
Length	6,978 yards (6,381 m)[1]
Field	100, 40 after cut
Cut	156 (+20)
Prize fund	£1,000 $4,000
Winner's share	£150 $600
Champion
Fred Daly
293 (+21)

Hoylake

Location in England

Hoylake

Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, Merseyside, west of Liverpool, England

Qualifying took place on 30 June and 1 July, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes at Hoylake and 18 holes at Arrowe Park.[6] The number of qualifiers was limited to a maximum of 100, and ties for 100th place would not qualify.[7] Norman Von Nida led the qualifiers for the second successive year, scoring 139; the qualifying score was 155 and 100 players advanced.[8][9] Only five Americans entered the qualifier, and none were former champions.[1]

Par was set at 68 for the championship, which was the course record at the time. The course was regularly par 72 at 7,048 yards (6,445 m); all four par-5 holes were shortened slightly and made into par-4 holes.[1]

The total prize money was £1000, with a winner's share of £150, £100 for second, £75 for third, £50 for fourth, £25 for fifth, and £15 for each of the next 35 players. The £1000 was completed with a £15 prize for winning the qualification event and four £15 prizes for the lowest score in each round. Where an amateur finished in a place where there was a cash prize that money was donated to the P.G.A. Benevolent Fund.[7] The prize money distribution meant that, with a maximum of forty players making the cut, all professionals making the cut received prize money.

Henry Cotton and Laurie Ayton, Jnr shared the first round lead on Wednesday,[10][11] but in the second round both fell back with rounds of 78 and 80, respectively.[2] After 36 holes, Daly led at 143 (+7), four shots ahead of Cotton and Sam King.[12][13] The maximum number of players making the cut after 36 holes was again set at 40, and ties for 40th place did not make the cut.[7]

Daly had a poor third round on Friday morning, shooting 78 to fall into a tie for the lead with Cotton, Arthur Lees, and Norman Von Nida. There were a further nine players within three-strokes of the lead. Horne, who began two back, made the first move with a 35 on the front-nine. He took a pair of 5s at the 16th and 17th holes, however, and at the 18th his putt for a three lipped out and finished at 294. Daly began the round with a 38 (+4) on the front, but he recovered on the back and holed a birdie putt on the 18th to post 293. Cotton made the turn in 36 and needed another 36 on the back to tie Daly, but in the blustery wind this proved too difficult and he finished at 297. That left Stranahan as the last player on the course able to tie Daly. He reached the 17th needing to play the final two holes in seven strokes, but a three-putt led to a five and saw him needing an improbable two on the last. He gave it a good shot, with his approach stopping less than a foot (0.3 m) from the hole.[3]

Past champions in the field

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par	Finish
Dick Burton	England	1939	77	71	77	71	296	+24	5
Henry Cotton	England	1934, 1937	69	78	74	76	297	+25	T6
Alf Padgham	England	1936	75	75	74	76	300	+28	T13
Reg Whitcombe	England	1938	75	77	71	77	300	+28	T13
Alf Perry	England	1935	76	77	71	77	304	+32	T18
Arthur Havers	England	1923	80	76	79	76	311	+39	T27

Source:[14][3]

All past champions in the field made the cut.

Did not enter:

• Sam Snead (1946), Denny Shute (1933), Gene Sarazen (1932), Tommy Armour (1931).[1][8][15][16]

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 2 July 1947

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
T1	Laurie Ayton, Jnr	Scotland	69	+1
	Henry Cotton	England
3	Frank Stranahan (a)	United States	71	+3
T4	Jimmy Adams	Scotland	73	+5
	John Burton	England
	Fred Daly	Northern Ireland
	Flory Van Donck	Belgium
T8	William Anderson	Scotland	74	+6
	Fred Bullock	England
	Norman Von Nida	Australia

Source:[10][11]

Second round

Thursday, 3 July 1947

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Fred Daly	Northern Ireland	73-70=143	+7
T2	Henry Cotton	England	69-78=147	+11
	Sam King	England	75-72=147
4	Dick Burton	Northern Ireland	77-71=148	+12
T5	Laurie Ayton, Jnr	Scotland	69-80=149	+13
	Arthur Lees	England	75-74=149
	Charlie Ward	England	76-73=149
	Flory Van Donck	Belgium	73-76=149
T10	Alf Padgham	England	75-75=150	+14
	Bill Shankland	Australia	76-74=150
	Frank Stranahan (a)	United States	71-79=150
	Norman Von Nida	Australia	74-76=150

Source:[12]

Third round

Friday, 4 July 1947 (morning)

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
T1	Henry Cotton	England	69-78-74=221	+15
	Fred Daly	Northern Ireland	73-70-78=221
	Arthur Lees	England	75-74-72=221
	Norman Von Nida	Australia	74-76-71=221
5	Frank Stranahan (a)	United States	71-79-72=222	+16
T6	Laurie Ayton, Jnr	Scotland	69-80-74=223	+17
	Reg Horne	England	77-74-72=223
	Alf Perry	England	76-77-70=223
	Reg Whitcombe	England	75-77-71=223
T10	Jimmy Adams	Scotland	73-80-71=224	+18
	Sam King	England	75-72-77=224
	Alf Padgham	England	75-75-74=224
	Dai Rees	Wales	77-74-73=224

Source:[14][3]

Final round

Friday, 4 July 1947 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money (£)
1	Fred Daly	Northern Ireland	73-70-78-72=293	+21	150
T2	Reg Horne	England	77-74-72-71=294	+22	87 ½
	Frank Stranahan (a)	United States	71-79-72-72=294		–
4	Bill Shankland	Australia	76-74-75-70=295	+23	50
5	Dick Burton	England	77-71-77-71=296	+24	25
T6	Johnny Bulla	United States	80-72-74-71=297	+25	15
	Henry Cotton	England	69-78-74-76=297
	Sam King	England	75-72-77-73=297
	Arthur Lees	England	75-74-72-76=297
	Norman Von Nida	Australia	74-76-71-76=297
	Charlie Ward	England	76-73-76-72=297

(a) denotes amateur

Source:[14][3]

References

1. "Set par of 68 for British Open". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. 30 June 1947. p. 9.
2. "Cotton, King tie for lead". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. 3 July 1947. p. 2, part 2.
3. "Daly first Irishman to win Open". Glasgow Herald. 5 July 1947. p. 5.
4. "Stranahan's bid for title fails". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. 5 July 1947. p. 1, sec. 2.
5. "Stranahan misses title". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. 5 July 1947. p. 4, part 2.
6. "Hopes of British win in Open Championship". Glasgow Herald. 30 June 1947. p. 7.
7. ""Open" golf conditions". Glasgow Herald. 13 March 1947. p. 6.
8. "Ominous overseas threat in golf "Open"". Glasgow Herald. 2 July 1947. p. 6.
9. "Open Championship qualifiers". The Times. 2 July 1947. p. 2.
10. "Britain's early blows for Open golf title". Glasgow Herald. 3 July 1947. p. 6.
11. "Yanks falter in British Open". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. 3 July 1947. p. 13.
12. "Irishman breaks through in golf "Open"". Glasgow Herald. 4 July 1947. p. 6.
13. "Tempers, scores high in England". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. 3 July 1947. p. 8.
14. "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 91. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
15. "Amateur's 70 tops Yanks in British Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. 1 July 1947. p. 26.
16. "Bulla fires 67 to qualify for British Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. 2 July 1947. p. 1, sec. 2.

External links

• 76th Open - Royal Liverpool 1947 (Official site)
• 1947 Open Championship (about.sports)
• Official Programme

Preceded by 1947 PGA Championship	Major Championships	Succeeded by 1948 Masters Tournament