1958 British Open Winner and Scores
The 1958 British Open was the 87th time the tournament was played. The winner was the Open champion for the fourth time, but he had to survive a 36-hole playoff to gain this victory.
Winner: Peter Thomson, 278
Where it was played: Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lytham St. Annes, England
Tournament dates: July 2-5, 1958
Leader after first round: Peter Thomson, 66
Leader after second round: Christy O'Connor Sr., 135
Leader after third round: Peter Thomson, 205
What Happened at the 1958 Open Championship
Peter Thomson won his fourth Open Championship title, defeating Dave Thomas in a 36-hole playoff at the 1958 British Open.Thomson had a 2-stroke lead after the third round, but Thomas shot 71 to Thomson's 73 in the final round to force a tie at 278 (a new tournament low). Thomson had a 10-foot birdie putt on the 72nd green to win it, but missed.
The playoff was 36 holes by design, with morning and afternoon 18s. Thomson took the lead in the morning, 68 to 69. Thomas tied the score on the second hole of the afternoon, and they remained tied through the seventh (25th overall) hole. But Thomson picked up four strokes on Thomas over the following four holes, and he wound winning by that 4-stroke margin (139 to 143).
Thomas, from Wales, was a regular winner in Europe during the 1950s and 1960s, posting wins in tournaments such as the French Open and Dutch Open, and played in four Ryder Cups. He also finished second in the 1966 British Open.
Thomson previously won the British Open in 1954, 1955 and 1956; and he won again in 1965 to finish with five Open Championships. He finished first or second in seven consecutive Opens from 1952 through 1958.
Gene Sarazen, 56 years old, tied for 16th place in what turned out to be the last British Open in which he made the cut. Three-time Open champion Henry Cotton finished tied for eighth, his last Top 10 finish in the Open. Fred Daly, the 1947 British Open winner, made his last cut in an Open and placed 20th. Future British Open winner Bob Charles made his tournament debut as an amateur, missing the cut.
1958 British Open Final Scores
| Peter Thomson | 66-72-67-73—278 (68-71—139) |
| Dave Thomas | 70-68-69-71—278 (69-74—143) |
| Eric Brown | 73-70-65-71—279 |
| Christy O'Connor Sr. | 67-68-73-71—279 |
| Leopoldo Ruiz | 71-65-72-73—281 |
| Flory Van Donck | 70-70-67-74—281 |
| Gary Player | 68-74-70-71—283 |
| Henry Cotton | 68-75-69-72—284 |
| Eric Lester | 73-66-71-74—284 |
| Harry Weetman | 73-67-73-71—284 |
| Peter Alliss | 72-70-70-73—285 |
| a-Donald Swaelens | 74-67-74-70—285 |
| Harold Henning | 70-71-72-73—286 |
| Jean Garaialde | 69-74-72-72—287 |
| Dai Rees | 77-69-71-70—287 |
| Max Faulkner | 68-71-71-78—288 |
| Bobby Locke | 76-70-72-70—288 |
| Eric Moore | 72-72-70-74—288 |
| Gene Sarazen | 73-73-70-72—288 |
| Tony Coop | 69-71-75-75—290 |
| Fred Daly | 71-74-72-73—290 |
| Norman Drew | 69-72-75-74—290 |
| Christy Greene | 75-71-72-72—290 |
| Harry Bradshaw | 70-73-72-76—291 |
| Gerry De Wit | 71-75-72-73—291 |
| Antonio Cerda | 72-71-74-75—292 |
| Sebastian Miguel | 74-71-73-74—292 |
| Trevor Wilkes | 76-70-69-77—292 |
| Miguel Angel Martin | 71-70-75-77—293 |
| Bernard Hunt | 70-70-76-79—295 |
| Sam King | 71-73-76-75—295 |
| David Snell | 72-72-72-79—295 |
| Jack Wilkshire | 74-70-78-74—296 |
| Bruce Crampton | 73-73-75-76—297 |
| Syd Scott | 73-74-74-76—297 |
| Brian Wilkes | 73-73-75-76—297 |
| a-Joe Carr | 70-74-77-77—298 |
| David Melville | 76-71-76-79—302 |
| Cecil Denny | 74-73-77-79—303 |
| Bill Large | 70-72-81-80—303 |
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