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 PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Eric Brown69−3 Dai Rees Syd ScottT4 Henry Cotton70−2 Cecil Denny Bernard Hunt Frank Jowle Ian Martin Dennis SmalldonT10 John Anderson71−1 Romualdo Barbieri Ken Bousfield Ed Furgol Robert Halsall John Jacobs Christy O'Connor Snr Norman Sutton Peter Thomson Flory Van Donck Harry Weetman Source:
Second round Thursday, 7 July 1955 PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Eric Brown69-70=139−5 Dennis Smalldon70-69=139 Peter Thomson71-68=1394 John Fallon73-67=140−4T5 Bernard Hunt70-71=141−3 John Jacobs71-70=141 Frank Jowle70-71=141T8 Romualdo Barbieri71-71=142−2 Harry Bradshaw72-70=142 Henry Cotton70-72=142 Ian Martin70-72=142 Harry Weetman71-71=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) PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Peter Thomson71-68-70=209−72 Frank Jowle70-71-69=210−6T3 Eric Brown69-70-73=212−4 John Jacobs71-70-71=212 Harry Weetman71-71-70=212T6 John Fallon73-67-73=213−3 Bobby Locke74-69-70=2138 Flory Van Donck71-72-71=214−2T9 Romualdo Barbieri71-71-73=215−1 Harry Bradshaw72-70-73=215 Antonio Cerdá73-71-71=215 Bernard Hunt70-71-74=215 Source:
Final round Friday, 8 July 1955 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScoreTo par Money (£)1 Peter Thomson 71-68-70-72=281 −71,0002 John Fallon 73-67-73-70=283 −55003 Frank Jowle 70-71-69-74=284 −43504 Bobby Locke 74-69-70-72=285 −3200T5 Ken Bousfield 71-75-70-70=286 −290 Antonio Cerdá 73-71-71-71=286 Bernard Hunt 70-71-74-71=286 Flory Van Donck 71-72-71-72=286 Harry Weetman 71-71-70-74=286T10 Romualdo Barbieri 71-71-73-72=287 −140 Christy O'Connor Snr 71-75-70-71=287 Source: Amateurs: Conrad (+5), McHale (+7), Bucher (+23).
References
External links St Andrews 1955 (Official site)