1955 Open Championship

The 1955 Open Championship was the 84th Open Championship, played 6–8 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. Peter Thomson won the second of three consecutive Open titles, two strokes ahead of runner-up John Fallon. Thomson won a total of five Claret Jugs, the last in 1965.

Qualifying took place on 4–5 July, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes on the Old Course and 18 holes on the New Course. The number of qualifiers was limited to a maximum of 100, and ties for 100th place did not qualify. On Monday, Frank Jowle scored 63 on the New Course, and after a 72 on the Old Course the next day he led the qualifiers at 135, a shot ahead of Laurie Ayton. The qualifying score was 148 and 94 players advanced to the first round on Wednesday.

Three shot 69 in the opening round on Wednesday; after the second round on Thursday, three shared the 36-hole lead at 139: Eric Brown, Dennis Smalldon, and Thomson, with Fallon a stroke back in fourth. The maximum number of players making the cut was set at fifty, and ties for 50th place were not included. Five Americans were in the field of 94, three professionals and two amateurs. All five made the cut, and the top U.S. finisher was Ed Furgol in a tie for 19th place. Byron Nelson, whose only previous appearance at The Open was a fifth-place finish in 1937, tied for 32nd. The two amateurs finished in the top thirty.

Previously the 17th hole (the "Road Hole") was a par 5; for this Open it became a par 4, which reduced the course par from 73 to 72.

The winner's share was increased from £750 to £1,000, while the others were unchanged, bringing the total purse to £3,750.

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 6 July 1955

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Scotland Eric Brown	69	−3
Wales Dai Rees
England Syd Scott
T4	England Henry Cotton	70	−2
England Cecil Denny
England Bernard Hunt
England Frank Jowle
Scotland Ian Martin
Wales Dennis Smalldon
T10	Scotland John Anderson	71	−1
Argentina Romualdo Barbieri
England Ken Bousfield
United States Ed Furgol
England Robert Halsall
England John Jacobs
Republic of Ireland Christy O'Connor Snr
England Norman Sutton
Australia Peter Thomson
Belgium Flory Van Donck
England Harry Weetman

Source:

Second round

Thursday, 7 July 1955

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Scotland Eric Brown	69-70=139	−5
Wales Dennis Smalldon	70-69=139
Australia Peter Thomson	71-68=139
4	Scotland John Fallon	73-67=140	−4
T5	England Bernard Hunt	70-71=141	−3
England John Jacobs	71-70=141
England Frank Jowle	70-71=141
T8	Argentina Romualdo Barbieri	71-71=142	−2
Republic of Ireland Harry Bradshaw	72-70=142
England Henry Cotton	70-72=142
Scotland Ian Martin	70-72=142
England Harry Weetman	71-71=142

Source: Amateurs: Bucher (+2), Conrad (+4), McHale (+4), Lawrie (+5), Carr (+9), Murray (+11), Orr (+13), Robertson (+15)

Third round

Friday, 8 July 1955 (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Australia Peter Thomson	71-68-70=209	−7
2	England Frank Jowle	70-71-69=210	−6
T3	Scotland Eric Brown	69-70-73=212	−4
England John Jacobs	71-70-71=212
England Harry Weetman	71-71-70=212
T6	Scotland John Fallon	73-67-73=213	−3
South Africa Bobby Locke	74-69-70=213
8	Belgium Flory Van Donck	71-72-71=214	−2
T9	Argentina Romualdo Barbieri	71-71-73=215	−1
Republic of Ireland Harry Bradshaw	72-70-73=215
Argentina Antonio Cerdá	73-71-71=215
England Bernard Hunt	70-71-74=215

Source:

Final round

Friday, 8 July 1955 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money (£)
1	Australia Peter Thomson	71-68-70-72=281	−7	1,000
2	Scotland John Fallon	73-67-73-70=283	−5	500
3	England Frank Jowle	70-71-69-74=284	−4	350
4	South Africa Bobby Locke	74-69-70-72=285	−3	200
T5	England Ken Bousfield	71-75-70-70=286	−2	90
Argentina Antonio Cerdá	73-71-71-71=286
England Bernard Hunt	70-71-74-71=286
Belgium Flory Van Donck	71-72-71-72=286
England Harry Weetman	71-71-70-74=286
T10	Argentina Romualdo Barbieri	71-71-73-72=287	−1	40
Republic of Ireland Christy O'Connor Snr	71-75-70-71=287

Source: Amateurs: Conrad (+5), McHale (+7), Bucher (+23).

External links

56°20′35″N 2°48′11″W/56.343°N 2.803°W/ 56.343; -2.803