1961 Open Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 12–15 July 1961 |
| Location | Southport,England |
| Course(s) | Royal Birkdale Golf Club |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72[1] |
| Length | 6,844 yards (6,258 m) |
| Field | 108 players, 48 after cut[2] |
| Cut | 153 (+9) |
| Prize fund | £8,500 $23,800 |
| Winner's share | £1,400 $3,920 |
| Champion | |
 Arnold Palmer | |
| 284 (−4) | |
The1961 Open Championshipwas the 90thOpen Championship,played 12–15 July atRoyal Birkdale Golf ClubinSouthport,England.Arnold Palmerwon the first of two consecutive Open Championships, one stroke ahead ofDai Rees.[1]It was the second Open for Palmer, the runner-up in his first in1960,and the fourth of his sevenmajortitles. He was the first American to win theClaret JugsinceBen Hoganin1953.This was the second Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, which hosted in1954.
Qualifying took place on 10–11 July. Entries played 18 holes on the Championship course and 18 holes atHillside Golf Club.The number of qualifiers was limited to a maximum of 120. Ties for 120th place would not qualify. The qualifying score was 151 and 108 players qualified. There were 22 players on 152.Bob Charlesled the qualifiers on 136, two ahead ofGary Player.[3][4][5]A maximum of 50 players could make the cut after 36 holes. Ties for 50th place did not make the cut.
Gale-force winds caused scores to soar during the second round on Thursday,[6] followed by heavy rains which washed out both rounds on Friday.[7]Cancellation was a possibility, but the weather cooperated enough to play the third and fourth rounds in showers on Saturday.[1][8]
1959 Openchampion and reigningMasterschampionGary Playerwithdrew early in the third round due to a stomach ailment.[1]
Course layout[edit]
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards | 520 | 427 | 416 | 212 | 315 | 468 | 158 | 434 | 418 | 3,368 | 390 | 368 | 452 | 202 | 517 | 381 | 510 | 186 | 470 | 3,476 | 6,844 |
| Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
Round summaries[edit]
First round[edit]
Wednesday, 12 July 1961
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 |  Harold Henning |
68 | −4 |
 Kel Nagle
| |||
 Dai Rees
| |||
| T4 |  Jean Garaïalde |
69 | −3 |
 Norman Johnson
| |||
| David Miller
| |||
| T7 | Alan Brookes |
70 | −2 |
| Neil Coles
| |||
| Sam King
| |||
 John MacDonald
| |||
| Arnold Palmer
| |||
| Lionel Platts
|
Second round[edit]
Thursday, 13 July 1961
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Harold Henning |
68-74=142 | −2 |
| Dai Rees |
68-74=142 | ||
| T3 | Kel Nagle |
68-75=143 | −1 |
| Arnold Palmer |
70-73=143 | ||
| T5 | Neil Coles |
70-77=147 | +3 |
| Sam King |
70-77=147 | ||
 Ramón Sota |
71-76=147 | ||
| Peter Thomson |
75-72=147 | ||
| T9 | Peter Alliss |
73-75=148 | +4 |
| Ken Bousfield |
71-77=148 | ||
 Harry Bradshaw |
73-75=148 | ||
| Peter Butler |
72-76=148 | ||
| Eric Lester |
71-77=148 | ||
| David Miller |
69-79=148 | ||
| Christy O'Connor Snr |
71-77=148 | ||
| Dave Thomas |
71-77=148 | ||
| Brian Wilkes |
72-76=148 |
Amateurs:Christmas (+6), White (+6),Chapman (+11),Bonallack(+15),Carr(+17), Reece (+18), Pearson (+25)
Third round[edit]
Saturday, 15 July 1961 - (morning)
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arnold Palmer |
70-73-69=212 | −4 |
| 2 | Dai Rees |
68-74-71=213 | −3 |
| 3 | Christy O'Connor Snr |
71-77-67=215 | −1 |
| 4 | Neil Coles |
70-77-69=216 | E |
| T5 | Harold Henning |
68-74-75=217 | +1 |
| Peter Thomson |
75-72-70=217 | ||
| 7 | Kel Nagle |
68-75-75=218 | +2 |
| T8 | Eric Brown |
73-76-70=219 | +3 |
| Norman Johnson |
69-80-70=219 | ||
| Ramón Sota |
71-76-72=219 |
Final round[edit]
Saturday, 15 July 1961 - (afternoon)
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arnold Palmer |
70-73-69-72=284 | −4 | 1,400 |
| 2 | Dai Rees |
68-74-71-72=285 | −3 | 1,000 |
| T3 | Neil Coles |
70-77-69-72=288 | E | 710 |
| Christy O'Connor Snr |
71-77-67-73=288 | |||
| T5 | Eric Brown |
73-76-70-70=289 | +1 | 400 |
| Kel Nagle |
68-75-75-71=289 | |||
| 7 | Peter Thomson |
75-72-70-73=290 | +2 | 275 |
| T8 | Peter Alliss |
73-75-72-71=291 | +3 | 190 |
| Ken Bousfield |
71-77-75-68=291 | |||
| T10 | Harold Henning |
68-74-75-76=293 | +5 | 140 |
| Syd Scott |
76-75-71-71=293 |
Amateurs: White (+18), Christmas (+20)
References[edit]
- ^abcd"Palmer takes British crown".Eugene Register-Guard.Associated Press. 16 July 1961. p. 1B.
- ^"Media guide".The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 75, 203–8. Archived fromthe originalon 18 April 2012.Retrieved9 July2012.
- ^"Player's controlled power an Open golf hint - Charles leading qualifier".The Times.12 July 1961. p. 12.
- ^"Palmer fires opening 71 in British Open tourney".Eugene Register-Guard.Associated Press. 10 July 1961. p. 3B.
- ^"Trick-shooting Ezar fires 70".Eugene Register-Guard.Associated Press. 11 July 1961. p. 3B.
- ^"Palmer trailing by one in British".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.Associated Press. 14 July 1961. p. 15.
- ^"British weather may halt open tourney".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.Associated Press. 15 July 1961. p. 9.
- ^Longhurst, Henry (24 July 1961)."Arnie gets the one he wanted".Sports Illustrated.p. 20. Archived fromthe originalon 12 October 2014.Retrieved12 October2014.