1959 Open Championship

1959 Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates	1–3 July 1959
Location	Gullane, Scotland
Course(s)	Muirfield
Statistics
Par	72^[1]
Length	6,806 yards (6,223 m)
Field	90 players, 48 after cut^[2]
Cut	148 (+4)
Prize fund	£5,000 $14,000
Winner's share	£1,000 $2,800
Champion
Gary Player
284 (–4)
«1958 1960»

Muirfield

Location in Scotland

The 1959 Open Championship was the 88th Open Championship, held from 1–3 July at Muirfield Golf Links in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Gary Player shot a final round of 68 and won the first of his three Claret Jugs, two strokes ahead of runners-up Fred Bullock and Flory Van Donck.^[3]

The 1957 Open had originally been scheduled for Muirfield but 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. Entries played 18 holes at Muirfield and 18 holes at the number 1 course Gullane. The number of qualifiers was limited to a maximum of 100. Ties for 100th place would not qualify. The qualifying score was 147 and 90 players qualified. Peter Thomson led the qualifiers on 137 and won the £50 qualifying prize.^[4] The maximum number of players making the cut after 36 holes was again set at 50. Ties for 50th place did not make the cut.

The total prize money was increased by £150, from £4,850 to £5,000. The winner's prize 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.^[5]

Fred Bullock and Arnold Stickley led after the first round with scores of 68. A number of amateurs made good starts, Michael Bonallack being the leading amateur with a 70. Bullock retained the lead after a second round 70. Bonallack was one of four amateurs to make the cut. The three 'giants' Tony Locke, Gary Player and Peter Thomson all made the cut but were 8, 8 and 10 strokes behind Bullock.^[6]

On the final day Player teed off at 9:04 am and 1:34 pm, two hours earlier than the leaders who started at 11:04 am and 3:34 pm. Player was out in 37 in his morning round but came home in 33 and was only four strokes behind the leaders. The Scottish amateur Reid Jack had a third round 68 to be only two shots behind. In the afternoon Player reached the last needing 4 for a round of 66. However he drove into a bunker at the 18th and three-putted for a 6, a round of 68 and a total of 284. In the last group Bullock and Flory Van Donck both finished two shots behind Player. Jack won the silver medal for leading amateur by finishing tied for fifth place, two ahead of Bonallack.^[7]

Only three Americans were in the field of 90 and none made the cut.^[2]^[8]

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par	Finish
Peter Thomson	Australia	1954, 1955, 1956, 1958	74	74	72	74	294	+6	T23
Bobby Locke	South Africa	1949, 1950, 1952, 1957	73	73	76	73	295	+7	T29
Henry Cotton	England	1934, 1937, 1948	71	75	77	77	300	+12	T41

Missed the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	Total	To par
Dick Burton	England	1939	75	74	149	+5
Max Faulkner	England	1951	74	75	149	+5

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 1 July 1959

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

Source:^[1]

Second round

Thursday, 2 July 1959

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

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)

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

Final round

Friday, 3 July 1959 - (afternoon)

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

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

References

1 2 "Two unknowns (68s) top British Open". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. 2 July 1959. p. 5, part 2.
1 2 "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 77. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
↑ Longhurst, Henry (13 July 1959). "South Africans at Muirfield". Sports Illustrated.
↑ "Thomson head Open golf qualifiers - Proud day for amateur players". The Times. 1 July 1959. p. 5.
↑ "Golf - Centenary Open Championship - Prize money increased". The Times. 4 December 1959. p. 12.
↑ "Few Open golf clues - Three giants still trailing - Bullock keeps lead". The Times. 3 July 1959. p. 3.
↑ "Player rises to challenge and wins Open golf - Advantage of U.S. experience tells in the end". The Times. 4 July 1959. p. 3.
↑ "Gary Player wins British Open golf". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. 4 July 1959. p. 29.

External links

Preceded by 1959 U.S. Open	Major Championships	Succeeded by 1959 PGA Championship

1959 Men's Major Golf Championships

The Masters U.S. Open The Open Championship PGA Championship

The Open Championship

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

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