1923 Open Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 14–15 June 1923 |
| Location | Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland |
| Course(s) |
Troon Golf Club Old Course |
| Statistics | |
| Length | 6,415 yards (5,866 m)[1] |
| Field | 88 players[2] |
| Cut | none |
| Prize fund | £200 |
| Winner's share | £75 |
| Champion | |
 Arthur Havers | |
| 295 | |
|
«1922 1924» | |
The 1923 Open Championship was the 58th Open Championship, held 14–15 June at Troon Golf Club in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Arthur Havers holed a bunker shot on the 72nd hole to win his only major title, one stroke ahead of defending champion Walter Hagen,[3] who won the following year.
Under the rotation system then in place, the Open should have been held at Muirfield. However some doubt existed "as to the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers being desirous of their course being used for the event"[4] 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, the first time the Open had been held in south-west Scotland since 1925.
Qualifying took place on 11–12 June. Entries played 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 80 and ties qualified. The qualifying score was 159 and 88 players qualified. Albert Tingey, Jr., Syd Wingate and Charles Whitcombe led the qualifiers on 146. Walter Hagen was among the 11 players who just qualified on 159 while Gene Sarazen and Jim Barnes both scored 160 and missed out. On the second day Sarazen had been in the first group out on the New Course and had had the worst of the weather scoring 85 after a first day 75.[5] Sarazen had won the Daily Dispatch Northern Professional Championship just 10 days earlier.[6]
Havers opened with three consecutive rounds of 73 and carried a two-stroke lead over Hagen into the final round on Friday afternoon.[7] 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 and 295 total. 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 finished a stroke behind Hagen in third place.[8]
After his win here, Havers made a tour of the United States and defeated both Bobby Jones and Gene Sarazen in match play contests.
Venue
The 1923 Open was the first played at the Troon Golf Club. The course was changed significantly for the Open with the addition of 60 new banked-up bunkers, although the length was reduced from 6,439 yards to 6,415 yards. The 5th hole (Greenan) was reduced from 323 yards to 185 yards.
| Hole | Name | Yards | Bogie | Hole | Name | Yards | Bogie | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seal | 350 | 4 | 10 | Sandhills | 420 | 5 | |
| 2 | Black Rock | 360 | 5 | 11 | The Railway | 315 | 4 | |
| 3 | Gyaws | 385 | 4 | 12 | The Fox | 385 | 5 | |
| 4 | Dunure | 450 | 5 | 13 | Burmah | 350 | 4 | |
| 5 | Greenan | 185 | 4 | 14 | Alton | 175 | 3 | |
| 6 | Turnberry | 580 | 6 | 15 | Crosbie | 435 | 5 | |
| 7 | Tel-el-Kebir | 370 | 4 | 16 | Well | 560 | 6 | |
| 8 | Ailsa | 120 | 3 | 17 | Rabbit | 220 | 3 | |
| 9 | The Monk | 385 | 5 | 18 | Craigend | 370 | 4 | |
| Out | 3,185 | 40 | In | 3,230 | 39 | |||
| Total | 6,415 | 79 | ||||||
Source:[9]
First day leaderboard
Thursday, 14 June 1923
| Place | Player | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Arthur Havers | England | 73-73=146 |
| Charles Whitcombe | England | 70-76=146 | |
| 3 | Walter Hagen |  United States | 76-71=147 |
| 4 | Gordon Lockhart |  Scotland | 78-71=149 |
| 5 | Robert Scott, Jr. (a) | Scotland | 74-76=150 |
| T6 | Tom Fernie | Scotland | 73-78=151 |
| Joe Kirkwood |  Australia | 72-79=151 | |
| Tom Walton | England | 77-74=151 | |
| 9 | Johnny Farrell | United States | 79-73=152 |
| T10 | Frank Ball | England | 76-77=153 |
| Sid Brews | England | 77-76=153 | |
| Macdonald Smith | United States | 80-73=153 | |
| Willie Watt | Scotland | 76-77=153 |
Final leaderboard
Source: [10]
Friday, 15 June 1923
| Place | Player | Country | Score | Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arthur Havers | England | 73-73-73-76=295 | £75 |
| 2 | Walter Hagen | United States | 76-71-74-75=296 | £40 |
| 3 | Macdonald Smith | United States | 80-73-69-75=297 | £25 |
| 4 | Joe Kirkwood | Australia | 72-79-69-78=298 | £15 |
| 5 | Tom Fernie | Scotland | 73-78-74-75=300 | £10 |
| T6 | George Duncan | Scotland | 79-75-74-74=302 | £8 15s |
| Charles Whitcombe | England | 70-76-74-82=302 | ||
| T8 | Herbert Jolly |  Guernsey | 79-75-75-74=303 | £4 7s 6d |
| James MacKenzie | Scotland | 76-78-74-75=303 | ||
| Abe Mitchell | England | 77-77-72-77=303 | ||
| Willie Watt | Scotland | 76-77-72-78=303 |
References
- ↑ "Troon Old Course". The Times. 11 June 1923. p. 7.
- ↑ "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 114. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- ↑ McNutt, Patterson (16 June 1923). "Hagen, U.S. golfer, loses British Open crown to A.G. Havers". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. p. 6. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- ↑ "The Championships". The Times. 22 May 1922. p. 22.
- ↑ "The Open Golf Championship - Qualifying Scores". The Times. 13 June 1923. p. 6.
- ↑ "Northern Championship – An American victory". The Glasgow Herald. 2 June 1923. p. 15.
- ↑ McNutt, Patterson (15 June 1923). "Havers leads British Open golf tourney with 219 for 54 holes". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. p. 42. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- ↑ "Hagen is eliminated in British Open tourney". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. 15 June 1923. p. 12. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- ↑ "The Course for the Open Golf Championship". Dundee Evening Telegraph. 8 June 1923. Retrieved 27 July 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
- ↑ "British Win - Prize List and Aggregates". The Glasgow Herald. 16 June 1923. p. 10.
External links
Coordinates: 55°31′55″N 4°39′00″W / 55.532°N 4.65°W