The 1922 Open Championship was the 57th Open Championship, played 22–23 June at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. Walter Hagen became the first American-born winner of the Open Championship, one stroke ahead of runners-up Jim Barnes and George Duncan. It was the first of Hagen's four Open Championships and the fourth of his eleven major titles.
Qualifying took place on 19–20 June, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes at St. George's and 18 holes at the top eighty and ties qualified. Hagen and Joe Kirkwood led the field on 147; the qualifying score was 161 and exactly 80 players advanced. Wednesday was an idle day, which included a driving contest.
Hagen, the winner over Barnes in the PGA Championship finals in 1921, was the 36-hole leader at 149, two strokes ahead of Duncan, Barnes, and five-time champion J.H. Taylor. In the two-day format, there was not a cut after 36 holes.
In the third round on Friday morning, defending champion Jock Hutchison shot 73 and moved to the lead, one shot ahead of Taylor and Jean Gassiat, and two shots over Hagen and Barnes. Despite a seven on the fourth hole, Hutchison carded a 36 on the front nine of the final round, but a 40 on the final nine led to a 76 and a fourth-place finish in his second and last Open.
Hagen and Barnes battled for the championship, but Barnes' 73 was one off Hagen's 72, his lowest round of the championship. Duncan, the 1920 champion, shot an 81 in the third round and fell six strokes back into a tie for tenth, then rebounded with a 69 in the afternoon to climb the leaderboard and tie Barnes for second. Taylor and Gassiat shot high scores in the final round and dropped to sixth and seventh, respectively.
For the final time, two members of the Great Triumvirate finished in the top-10 at the Open Championship; Taylor, age 51, finished sixth and six-time champion Harry Vardon, age 52, tied for eighth. The third member, James Braid, missed qualifying on Tuesday by a stroke.
Round summaries First round Thursday, 22 June 1922 (morning) PlacePlayerScoreT1 Ted Ray 73 J.H. Taylor 3 Gus Faulkner 74T4 Percy Alliss 75 Jim Barnes Aubrey Boomer Jean Gassiat Fred Jewell Alfred Miles Tom Walton Reg Wilson Source:
Second round Thursday, 22 June 1922 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScore1 Walter Hagen 76-73=149T2 Jim Barnes 75-76=151 George Duncan 76-75=151 J.H. Taylor 73-78=151T5 Percy Alliss 75-78=153 Jean Gassiat 75-78=153 Jock Hutchison 79-74=153 Tom Walton 75-78=153T9 Charles Johns 78-76=154 Roger Wethered (a) 76-78=154 Source:
Third round Friday, 23 June 1922 (morning) PlacePlayerScore1 Jock Hutchison 79-74-73=226 T2 J.H. Taylor 73-78-76=227 Jean Gassiat 75-78-74=227 T4 Jim Barnes 75-76-77=228 Walter Hagen 76-73-79=228 Charles Whitcombe 77-79-72=2287 Tom Walton 75-78-77=230T8 Percy Alliss 75-78-78=231 Aubrey Boomer 75-80-76=231T10 George Duncan 76-75-81=232 Harry Vardon 79-79-74=232 Ernest Whitcombe 77-78-77=232 Source:
Final round Friday, 23 June 1922 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScoreMoney (£)1 Walter Hagen 76-73-79-72=300 75T2 Jim Barnes 75-76-77-73=301 3210s George Duncan 76-75-81-69=3014 Jock Hutchison 79-74-73-76=302 155 Charles Whitcombe 77-79-72-75=303 106 J.H. Taylor 73-78-76-77=304 7 Jean Gassiat 75-78-74-79=306 7 10sT8 Harry Vardon 79-79-74-75=307 65s Tom Walton 75-78-77-77=30710 Percy Alliss 75-78-78-77=308 5 Source:
References
External links Royal St George's 1922 (Official site)