1947 Open Championship

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Short descriptionTemplate:Template other 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. It was Daly's only major title.

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

Par was set at 68 for the championship, which was the course record at the time. The course was regularly par 72 at ; all four par-5 holes were shortened slightly and made into par-4 holes.

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. 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, but in the second round both fell back with rounds of 78 and 80, respectively. After 36 holes, Daly led at 143 (+7), four shots ahead of Cotton and Sam King. 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.

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.

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 2 July 1947

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Template:Flagicon Laurie Ayton, Jnr	69	+1
	Template:Flagicon Henry Cotton
3	Template:Flagicon Frank Stranahan (a)	71	+3
T4	Template:Flagicon Jimmy Adams	73	+5
	Template:Flagicon John Burton
	Template:Flagicon Fred Daly
	Template:Flagicon Flory Van Donck
T8	Template:Flagicon William Anderson	74	+6
	Template:Flagicon Fred Bullock
	Template:Flagicon Norman Von Nida

Source:

Second round

Thursday, 3 July 1947

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

Source:

Third round

Friday, 4 July 1947 (morning)

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

Source:

Final round

Friday, 4 July 1947 (afternoon)

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

(a) denotes amateur

Source:

External links

• Royal Liverpool 1947 (Official site)
• Official Programme