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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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1959 Open Championship
The 1959 Open Championship was the 88th Open Championship, held 1–3 July at Muirfield Golf Links in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Gary Player, age 23, shot a final round of 68 to win the first of his nine major titles, two strokes ahead of runners-up Fred Bullock and Flory Van Donck. It was the first of Player's three Claret Jugs; he won again in 1968 and 1974.

Muirfield was originally scheduled to host in 1957, but it was transferred to St. Andrews because of petrol rationing following the "Suez Crisis" in late 1956. Muirfield was subsequently allocated the 1959 Championship.

Qualifying took place on 29–30 June, with 18 holes at Muirfield and 18 holes at the number 1 course of Gullane Golf Club. There were no exemptions and the number of qualifiers was limited to a maximum of 100, and ties did not qualify. The qualifying score was 147 and 90 players advanced to the first round the next day; defending champion Peter Thomson led with 137 and won the £50 qualifying prize. The maximum number of players making the cut after 36 holes was again set at 50, and ties did not make the cut.

The purse was increased to £5,000, up 150 from 4,850 in 1958; the winner's share remained unchanged at £1,000, but the prizes for second to fifth places were increased. Second place received £700, with 525 for third, 400 for fourth, and 325 for fifth.

Only four Americans were in the field of 90 (Willie Goggin, Bob Sweeny, Bob Watson, and John Garrett) and none made the cut. Sweeny and Garrett were amateurs.

Course

Main article: Muirfield
Hole Yards Par     Hole Yards Par
1 453 4 10 480 4
2 353 4 11 359 4
3 382 4 12 380 4
4 192 3 13 153 3
5 510 5 14 458 5
6 458 4 15 393 4
7 157 3 16 193 3
8 455 4 17 513 5
9 490 5 18 427 4
Out 3,450 36 In 3,356 36
Source: Total 6,806 72

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 1 July 1959

Fred Bullock and Arnold Stickley led after the first round on Wednesday at 68. A number of amateurs made good starts, the best was Michael Bonallack at 70.

Place Player Score To par
T1 England Fred Bullock 68 −4
England Arnold Stickley
3 Argentina Antonio Cerdá 69 −3
T4 England Michael Bonallack (a) 70 −2
England Sam King
Belgium Flory Van Donck
T7 Scotland Jimmy Adams 71 −1
Republic of Ireland Harry Bradshaw
England Henry Cotton
Northern Ireland Norman Drew
Scotland Reid Jack (a)
England Reg Knight
England Eddie Whitcombe

Source:

Second round

Thursday, 2 July 1959

Bullock retained the lead after a second round 70 and Bonallack was one of four amateurs to make the cut. The three 'giants' Bobby Locke, Henry Cotton, and Thomson all made the cut, but all were eight or more strokes behind Bullock.

Place Player Score To par
1 England Fred Bullock 68-70=138 −6
2 Belgium Flory Van Donck 70-70=140 −4
T3 England Michael Bonallack (a) 70-72=142 −2
England Reg Knight 71-71=142
England Arnold Stickley 68-74=142
T6 Argentina Antonio Cerdá 69-74=143 −1
Scotland Tom Haliburton 74-69=143
England Jimmy Hitchcock 75-68=143
England Syd Scott 73-70=143
T10 England Sam King 70-74=144 E
England Eric Lester 73-71=144
Scotland John Panton 72-72=144

Source:

Amateurs: Bonallack (−2), Carr (+1), Jack (+2), Wolstenholme (+4),
Sweeny Jr (+7), Smith (+8), Garrett (+12), Dalziel (+13), Ferguson (+13), Stuart (+13).

Third round

Friday, 3 July 1959 - (morning)

Gary Player teed off at 9:04 am (and 1:34 pm), two hours before the leaders, who started at 11:04 am (and 3:34 pm). He was out in 37 in his morning round, but came home in 33 and was only four strokes behind the leaders after 54 holes. Amateur Reid Jack of Scotland posted 68 and was only two shots back.

Place Player Score To par
T1 England Fred Bullock 68-70-74=212 −4
England Sam King 70-74-68=212
T3 England Jimmy Hitchcock 75-68-70=213 −3
Belgium Flory Van Donck 70-70-73=213
T5 England Michael Bonallack (a) 70-72-72=214 −2
Scotland Reid Jack (a) 71-75-68=214
T7 England John Panton 72-72-71=215 −1
Wales Dai Rees 73-73-69=215
Argentina Leopoldo Ruiz 72-74-69=215
T10 Argentina Antonio Cerdá 69-74-73=216 E
England Reg Knight 71-71-74=216
South Africa Gary Player 75-71-70=216
England Syd Scott 73-70-73=216

Source:

Final round

Friday, 3 July 1959 - (afternoon)

Gary Player reached the last hole and a par four would have yielded a round of 66. However he drove into a bunker and three-putted for a double-bogey six, 68 for the round, and a total of 284. In the last group, Fred Bullock and Flory Van Donck both finished two shots behind Player. Reid Jack won the silver medal for leading amateur by finishing tied for fifth place, two ahead of Bonallack.

Place Player Score To par Money (£)
1 South Africa Gary Player 75-71-70-68=284 −4 1,000
T2 England Fred Bullock 68-70-74-74=286 −2 612
Belgium Flory Van Donck 70-70-73-73=286
4 England Syd Scott 73-70-73-71=287 −1 400
T5 Scotland Reid Jack (a) 71-75-68-74=288 E –
England Sam King 70-74-68-76=288 258
Republic of Ireland Christy O'Connor Snr 73-74-72-69=288
Scotland John Panton 72-72-71-73=288
T9 Wales Dai Rees 73-73-69-74=289 +1 137
Argentina Leopoldo Ruiz 72-74-69-74=289

Source:

Amateurs: Jack (E), Bonallack (+2), Wolstenholme (+3), Carr (+10).

References

  1. ^ "Two unknowns (68s) top British Open". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. 2 July 1959. p. 5, part 2.
  2. ^ "The lay-out of the Muirfield course". Glasgow Herald. 29 June 1959. p. 6.
  3. ^ "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 77. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  4. ^ Horne, Cyril (4 July 1959). "Open Championship for G.J. Player". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. p. 1.
  5. ^ Longhurst, Henry (13 July 1959). "South Africans at Muirfield". Sports Illustrated.
  6. ^ Horne, Cyril (29 June 1959). "Open Championship starts today". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. p. 1.
  7. ^ Horne, Cyril (1 July 1959). "Holder leads 90 qualifiers for Open title". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. p. 9.
  8. ^ "Thomson head Open golf qualifiers - Proud day for amateur players". The Times. London. 1 July 1959. p. 5.
  9. ^ "Centenary Open Championship: prize money increased". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. 4 December 1959. p. 12.
  10. ^ "Golf - Centenary Open Championship - Prize money increased". The Times. London. 4 December 1959. p. 12.
  11. ^ "Four Americans Fail In British Open Golf". Plainfield Courier-News. New Jersey. Associated Press. 3 July 1959. p. 11 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Horne, Cyril (2 July 1959). "Bullock and Stickley lead after one round". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. p. 9.
  13. ^ Horne, Cyril (3 July 1959). "Bullock half-way leader in Open golf". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. p. 9.
  14. ^ "Few Open golf clues - Three giants still trailing - Bullock keeps lead". The Times. London. 3 July 1959. p. 3.
  15. ^ "Player rises to challenge and wins Open golf - Advantage of U.S. experience tells in the end". The Times. London. 4 July 1959. p. 3.

56°02′35″N 2°49′23″W / 56.043°N 2.823°W / 56.043; -2.823

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