The 1952 Open Championship was the 81st

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 9–11 July at

Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England, is one of the courses in the The Open Championship, Open Championship rotation. The Women's British Open has also been played on the course five times: once prior to being ...

Lytham St Annes 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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. This was the second Open at the course, its first was 26 years earlier in

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

Bobby Locke Arthur D'Arcy "Bobby" Locke (20 November 1917 – 9 March 1987) was a South African professional golfer. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won The Open Championship four times and 15 PGA Tour events in total ...

won the third of his four

Claret Jug The Golf Champion Trophy, commonly known as the Claret Jug, is the trophy presented to the winner of The Open Championship (also called the "British Open"), one of the four major championships in golf. The awarding of the Claret Jug dates fr ...

s at 287 (−1), one stroke ahead of runner-up

Peter Thomson Peter Thomson may refer to: * Peter Thomson (golfer) (1929–2018), Australian golfer * Peter Thomson (diplomat) (born 1948), Fiji's Permanent Representative to the United Nations * Peter Thomson (footballer) (born 1977), English footballer * Peter ...

. This was the first of seven consecutive Opens in which Thomson, age 22, finished as champion or runner-up.

Fred Daly Fred Daly may refer to: * Fred Daly (American football), American football player at Yale, head football coach at Williams College (1913–1914) * Fred Daly (politician) (1912–1995), member of the Australian House of Representatives (194 ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

champion, led after each of the first three rounds, but concluded with 153 (+9) on the final day and finished third. For qualifying, 274 players entered compared to the 148 the previous year in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Through an error, the initial entry did not include

Antonio Cerdá Antonio Cerdá (10 December 1921 – 28 November 2010) was an Argentine professional golfer. Cerdá finished second in the 1951 Open Championship to Max Faulkner, and second in the 1953 Open Championship to Ben Hogan, among seven consecutive top ...

, the prior year's runner-up. The Championship committee used its discretion to allow him a late entry. Qualifying took place on 7–8 July, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes at Royal Lytham & St Annes and 18 holes at adjacent Fairhaven. The number of qualifiers was limited to a maximum of 100, and ties for 100th place were not included.

John Panton John Panton, MBE (9 October 1916 – 24 July 2009) was a Scottish professional golfer, who represented Great Britain three times in the Ryder Cup. Panton was born in Pitlochry. He turned professional in 1935 and took up a job in the local gol ...

led at 134 with Harry Bradshaw next on 136. The qualifying score was 152 and 96 players Three former champions did not continue:

Reg Whitcombe Reginald Arthur Whitcombe (10 April 1898 – 11 January 1957) was an English professional golfer. Whitcombe began his career at Came Down Golf Club in Dorset and served in the British armed forces during World War I. He was the professional at P ...

(

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

) 154,

Alf Padgham Alfred Harry Padgham (2 July 1906 – 4 March 1966) was one of the leading British professional golfers of the 1930s and 1940s. He won the 1936 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, Merseyside, England and played for Great Bri ...

(

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

) 155, and Dick Burton (

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

) 156. The opening round on Wednesday had the lowest scoring, as Daly took the lead at 67, followed by Thomson (68), and Locke in third at Daly widened his lead in the second round on Thursday with 69 for 136. Locke was four behind at 140, with Thomson a stroke behind in third. English amateur

Jackie Jones Jacqueline Margarete Jones (born 10 February 1966) is a Welsh politician, barrister, and academic. She served as the Labour Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Wales from 2019 to 2020. She taught law at Cardiff Law School, Cardiff ...

was tied for fourth place, seven shots behind Daly. The maximum number of players making the cut after 36 holes remained at fifty, and ties for 50th place did not make the cut. The cut was at 151 (+7), and 46 players advanced. Stronger winds arrived on Friday morning for the third round, but Daly still led with 213 after a 77. Locke had closed to one shot after a 74 and Thomson was four behind Locke at 218 (+2), despite going out of bounds at the second hole. Harry Bradshaw and Sam King came next on 219. Starting an hour before Daly, Locke began the final round that afternoon 3-4-3 and reached the turn in 34. Daly was out in 37 and a victory for Locke seemed likely. However he finished with two fives and Daly still had a chance to catch him, but Daly took a six at the 15th; despite finishing 3-4-4, he ended up two shots behind. Thomson seemed to be out of contention after going out in 36, six shots behind Locke at the same stage. However, he came home in 34 with a birdie three at the last to take second place from Daly, one stroke behind Locke. Henry Cotton had the best score on the final day (74-71=145), but had been thirteen behind Daly at 149 after the first two rounds and finished fourth. Jones partnered Locke on the final day and, despite rounds of 78 and 83, held onto the position of leading amateur, winning the silver medal. Only five Americans were in the field; the top finisher was

Willie Goggin William Ambrose Goggin (February 18, 1906 – August 2, 1979) was an American professional golfer. His best finish in a major championship was runner-up at the 1933 PGA Championship, won by Gene Sarazen. In 1959, Goggin won the PGA Seniors' Cha ...

, in his first Open Championship at age 46, in a six-way tie for ninth. the

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 ...

champion, tied for seventeenth at age 50.

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Source:

Missed the cut

Source: Did not advance past qualifying rounds (Monday & Tuesday): * Dick Burton (

) 156,

(

) 154,

(

) 155. Did not enter: *

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (pronounced English_phonology">sni:d.html" ;"title="English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d">English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an ...

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1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

Denny Shute Herman Densmore "Denny" Shute (October 25, 1904 – May 13, 1974) was an American professional golfer who won three major championships in the 1930s. Life and career Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Shute was the son of a golf pro from England; Hermon ...

(

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

Round summaries

First round

''Wednesday, 9 July 1952'' Source:

Second round

''Thursday, 10 July 1952'' Source:

Third round

''Friday, 11 July 1952 (morning)'' Source:

Final round

''Friday, 11 July 1952 (afternoon)'' Source:
Amateurs: Jones (+16), Rawlinson (+18), Kyle (+19), De Lamaze (+20), Stranahan (+21), Morrell (+26)

References

External links

Royal Lytham & St Annes 1952 (Official site)
{{coord, 53.7495, -3.018, type:event, display=title The Open Championship Golf tournaments in England