1956 Open Championship

The 1956 Open Championship was the 85th Open Championship, held 4–6 July at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. Two-time defending champion Peter Thomson of Australia won his third consecutive Open, three strokes ahead of runner-up Flory Van Donck of Belgium. It was the third of five Open titles for the 26-year-old Thomson.[1]

1956 Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates4–6 July 1956
LocationHoylake, England
Course(s)Royal Liverpool Golf Club
Statistics
Par71[1]
Length6,960 yards (6,364 m)[2]
Field96 players, 49 after cut[3]
Cut153 (+11)
Prize fund£3,750
$10,500
Winner's share£1,000
$2,800
Champion
Peter Thomson
286 (+2)
Hoylake
Location in England

Qualifying took place on 2–3 July. Entries played 18 holes on the Championship course and 18 holes at Wallasey. With a record 360 entries it was decided that, for the first time, qualifying would be in groups of three rather than the usual two.[4] The number of qualifiers was limited to a maximum of 100. Ties for 100th place would not qualify. The qualifying score was 152 and 96 players qualified. Gary Player and Peter Thomson led the qualifiers on 140.[5] The maximum number of players making the cut after 36 holes was set at 50. Ties for 50th place did not make the cut. Prize money was unchanged with £1,000 for the winner out of a total purse of £3,750.

Past champions in the field

Made the cut
PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2R3R4TotalTo parFinish
Peter Thomson Australia1954, 195570707274286+21
Henry Cotton England1934, 1937, 194872767174293+9T6
Gene Sarazen United States19327874WD

Missed the cut
PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2TotalTo par
Bobby Locke South Africa1949, 1950, 19527679155+13
Fred Daly Northern Ireland19477781158+16
Dick Burton England19398379162+20

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 4 July 1956

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Dennis Smalldon Wales68–3
2Enrique Bertolino Argentina69–2
T3Al Balding Canada70–1
Eric Lester England
Dave Thomas Wales
Peter Thomson Australia
T7Carlos Celles Spain71E
Roberto De Vicenzo Argentina
Ángel Miguel Spain
Gary Player South Africa
Flory Van Donck Belgium

Second round

Thursday, 5 July 1956

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Peter Thomson Australia70-70=140–2
T2Enrique Bertolino Argentina69-72=141–1
Roberto De Vicenzo Argentina71-70=141
T4Ángel Miguel Spain71-74=145+3
Flory Van Donck Belgium71-74=145
6Eric Lester England70-76=146+4
T7Gary Player South Africa71-76=147+5
Dennis Smalldon Wales68-79=147
T9Henry Cotton England72-76=148+6
Bernard Hunt England75-73=148
Mike Souchak United States74-74=148
Frank Stranahan United States72-76=148
Dave Thomas Wales70-78=148
Charlie Ward England73-75=148
Harry Weetman England72-76=148

Amateurs: Carr (+8), Sharp (+12), Jones (+12), Tate (+14), Shepperson (+17), Thirlwell (+18), Fogarty (+21).

Third round

Friday, 6 July 1956 - (morning)

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Peter Thomson Australia70-70-72=212–1
2Flory Van Donck Belgium71-74-70=215+2
3Enrique Bertolino Argentina69-72-76=217+4
4Henry Cotton England72-76-71=219+6
T5Roberto De Vicenzo Argentina71-70-79=220+7
Ángel Miguel Spain71-74-75=220
Gary Player South Africa71-76-73=220
Frank Stranahan United States72-76-72=220
9Antonio Cerdá Argentina72-81-68=221+8
T10John Panton Scotland74-76-72=222+9
Mike Souchak United States74-74-74=222

Final round

Friday, 6 July 1956 - (afternoon)

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney (£)
1Peter Thomson Australia70-70-72-74=286+21,000
2Flory Van Donck Belgium71-74-70-74=289+5500
3Roberto De Vicenzo Argentina71-70-79-70=290+6350
4Gary Player South Africa71-76-73-71=291+7200
5John Panton Scotland74-76-72-70=292+8150
T6Enrique Bertolino Argentina69-72-76-76=293+987
Henry Cotton England72-76-71-74=293
T8Antonio Cerdá Argentina72-81-68-73=294+1062
Mike Souchak United States74-74-74-72=294
T10Christy O'Connor Snr Ireland73-78-74-70=295+1140
Harry Weetman England72-76-75-72=295

Amateur: Carr (+22).

References
  1. "Thomson wins third straight British Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. 7 July 1956. p. 11. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  2. "Smalldon leads British Open, Al Balding tied for third". Montreal Gazette. Canadian Press. 5 July 1956. p. 34.
  3. "Media Guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 80. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  4. "New measure in Open golf - Threesomes in two qualifying rounds". The Times. 7 June 1956. p. 3.
  5. "Player and Thomson lead qualifiers in Open - Unexpected failure of Mills". The Times. 4 July 1956. p. 5.
Preceded by
1956 U.S. Open		 Major Championships Succeeded by
1956 PGA Championship

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