The 1923 Open Championship was the 58th

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

, held 14–15 June at

Troon Golf Club Royal Troon Golf Club is a links golf course in Scotland, located in Troon, South Ayrshire, southwest of Glasgow. Founding and early years The club, which now has a total of 45 holes, was founded in 1878, initially with five holes. It lies adj ...

Troon, South Ayrshire Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O opera ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Arthur Havers Arthur Gladstone Havers (10 June 1898 – 27 December 1980)"Mr A.G. Havers. ''The Times'', 29 December 1980; p. 12; Issue 60812."Deaths – Havers. ''The Times'', 31 December 1980; p. 22; Issue 60814. was an English professional golfer. Havers wo ...

holed a bunker shot on the 72nd hole to win his only

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

title, one stroke ahead of defending champion

Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tiger ...

, who won the following year. Under the rotation system then in place, the Open should have been held at

Muirfield Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for The ...

. However some doubt existed "as to the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers being desirous of their course being used for the event" and the Championship was moved to Troon, the first Open Championship to be played there. Troon hosted the Open for the second time in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

, the first time the Open had been held in southwest Scotland since

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...

at nearby

Prestwick Prestwick ( gd, Preastabhaig) is a town in South Ayrshire on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland about southwest of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr to the south on the Firth of Clyde coast, the centre of which is about south, an ...

. Qualifying took place on 11–12 June, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes on the New (Portland) Course at Troon Golf Club and 18 holes on Troon Municipal Course number 2 (now called Lochgreen). The top eighty and ties qualified. Albert Tingey Jr.,

Syd Wingate Sydney Wingate (1894 – 17 April 1953) was an English professional golfer. He twice finished in the top 10 of the Open Championship, in 1920 and 1925. Golfing career Wingate was from a golfing family. His father, Frank (1872–1923), was a prof ...

, and Charles Whitcombe led the field on 146; the qualifying score was 159 and 88 players advanced. Hagen was among the eleven who just qualified on 159, while future champions

Jim Barnes James Martin Barnes (April 8, 1886 – May 24, 1966) was an English golfer and a leading figure in the early years of professional golf in the United States. He is one of three native Britons (with Tommy Armour and Rory McIlroy) to win three di ...

(

) and

Gene Sarazen Gene Sarazen (; born Eugenio Saraceni, February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s, and the winner of seven major championships. He is one of five players (along ...

(

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

) both scored 160 and missed out by a stroke. After a 75 on Monday, Sarazen was in the first group out on the New Course on Tuesday morning; they had the worst of the rain and wind, and he shot 85. Sarazen, age 21, already a winner of two majors, had won the Daily Dispatch Northern Professional Championship just ten days earlier at

Lytham Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 42,954 ...

. Six-time champion

Harry Vardon Henry William Vardon (9 May 1870 – 20 March 1937) was a professional golfer from Jersey. He was a member of the Great Triumvirate with John Henry Taylor and James Braid. Vardon won The Open Championship a record six times, and also won the ...

was at 163; it was the first time he did not play in an Open in over thirty years. Wednesday was an idle day. In the opening round on Thursday morning, Joe Kirkwood led with 72; after the second round that afternoon, Havers and Charles Whitcombe co-led at 146, with Hagen a stroke back. In the two-day format, there was no cut after 36 holes. Havers carded a third consecutive 73 on Friday morning to carry a two-stroke lead over Hagen into the final round that afternoon. Hagen threatened the lead throughout the round, and when Havers found a bunker on his approach shot at the 18th it appeared as if the door was open for Hagen. Havers, however, chipped in from the bunker to post a 76 for 295. Hagen found the same bunker and needed to hole out to force a 36-hole playoff on Saturday, but his shot narrowly missed and he finished a shot behind Havers.

Macdonald Smith Macdonald "Mac" Smith (March 18, 1890 – August 31, 1949) was one of the top professional golfers in the world from about 1910 into the mid-1930s. He was a member of a famous Scottish golfing family. Smith is regarded, based on his results, as on ...

finished a stroke behind Hagen in third place. After his win, Havers made a tour of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and defeated both Bobby Jones and

in match play contests.

Venue

This was the first Open at Troon and its Old Course was changed significantly with the addition of sixty new banked-up bunkers. Its length was reduced slightly, from ; the 5th hole (Greenan) was reduced from .

Round summaries

First round

''Thursday, 14 June 1923 (morning)'' Source:

Second round

''Thursday, 14 June 1923 (afternoon)'' Source:

Third round

''Friday, 15 June 1923 (morning)'' Source:

Final round

''Friday, 15 June 1923 (afternoon)'' Source: Amateurs: R. Scott (307), Tolley (313), Soulby (315), Caven (325), E. Scott (328), Watson (330)

References

External links

Royal Troon 1923 (Official site)
{{coord, 55.532, -4.65, type:event, display=title The Open Championship Golf tournaments in Scotland