1926 British Open Winner and Scores
The 1926 British Open was the 61st time this major was played. Bobby Jones won this tournament for the first of three times.
Winner: Bobby Jones, 291
Where it was played: Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lytham & St. Annes, England
Tournament dates: June 23-25, 1926
Leader after first round: Walter Hagen, 68
Leader after second round: Bobby Jones and Bill Mehlhorn, 144
Leader after third round: Al Watrous, 215
What Happened in the 1926 Open Championship
Bobby Jones and Harry Vardon both had personal firsts at the 1926 British Open: Jones won the Open for the first time; Vardon missed the cut in the Open for the first time. But, of course, those were two players at the opposite ends of their careers.Jones was 24 years old, had won the 1923 U.S. Open and would also win the 1926 U.S. Open. Vardon was 56 years old, a 6-time British Open winner who had made the cut in every Open Championship he played since 1893. A year earlier, Vardon finished 17th. But in 1926, Vardon opened with rounds of 80-82, missing the cut. He played the Open only three more times after.
Jones had played the Open only once before, and it hadn't been a good experience. At the 1921 British Open, a frustrated Jones picked up his ball and walked off the course during play.
Walter Hagen opened with a 68 to take the first-round lead, but a second-round 77 set Hagen back. Jones was steady throughout, his first three rounds scoring 72, 72 and 73. But he trailed Al Watrous by two strokes entering the final round after Watrous carded a 69 in Round 3.
Watrous struggled to a 78 in Round 4, though, whiles Jones was once again steady at 74. Jones finished at 291 and a winner by two strokes over Watrous, four strokes over Hagen.
Watrous' 2-stroke lead held through 14 holes of the final round. But Jones played the final five holes in just 19 strokes. That stretch by Jones included what the R&A called "one of the greatest shots ever played." The R&A related:
"At the 17th, with his opponent on the green, Jones played from a sandy scrub area, blind behind a dune, with a mashie-niblick, from 175 yards. The shot was a wonder, not only landing on the green but finishing inside Watrous, who was so shaken that he promptly three-putted."When Jones won the U.S. Open a few weeks later, he became the first golfer to win both the U.S. and British opens in the same year.
The 1926 British Open boasted several other firsts, too:
- It was the first Open played at Royal Lytham & St. Annes (which acquired its "Royal" designation only this year);
- an admission fee for spectators was charged for the first time;
- the tournament was three days long (rather than two) for the first time;
- and leading up to the tournament, regional qualifying events were played for the first time.
1926 British Open Final Scores
| a-Bobby Jones | 72-72-73-74—291 |
| Al Watrous | 71-75-69-78—293 |
| Walter Hagen | 68-77-74-76—295 |
| a-George Von Elm | 75-72-76-72—295 |
| Thomas Barber | 77-73-78-71—299 |
| Abe Mitchell | 78-78-72-71—299 |
| Fred McLeod | 71-75-76-79—301 |
| Emmet French | 76-75-74-78—303 |
| Jose Jurado | 77-76-74-76—303 |
| Bill Mehlhorn | 70-74-79-80—303 |
| Herbert Gaudin | 78-78-71-77—304 |
| J.H. Taylor | 75-78-71-80—304 |
| Tommy Armour | 74-76-75-80—305 |
| a-Lister Hartley | 77-74-79-76—306 |
| Harry Walker | 74-77-78-77—306 |
| Reg Whitcombe | 73-82-76-75—306 |
| Tom Williamson | 78-76-76-76—306 |
| Jim Barnes | 77-80-72-78—307 |
| Fred Robson | 79-76-77-75—307 |
| Cyril Walker | 79-71-80-77—307 |
| George Duncan | 75-79-80-74—308 |
| Sandy Herd | 81-76-75-76—308 |
| Herbert Jolly | 79-76-79-75—309 |
| Edward Douglas | 79-78-75-78—310 |
| George Gadd | 80-71-78-81—310 |
| Joe Kirkwood | 81-76-78-75—310 |
| Charles Whitcombe | 79-78-75-78—310 |
| James Braid | 82-75-75-79—311 |
| Arthur Havers | 75-76-82-78—311 |
| Frederick Boobyer | 79-79-80-74—312 |
| Charles Corlett | 77-80-76-79—312 |
| Jean Gassiat | 78-78-79-77—312 |
| James McDowall | 75-82-75-80—312 |
| Ted Ray | 78-80-74-80—312 |
| Jack Smith | 78-80-76-79—313 |
| William H. Davies | 76-81-78-79—314 |
| Antonio Perez | 76-75-81-82—314 |
| James Sherlock | 76-76-77-85—314 |
| Bob Bradbeer | 83-74-76-82—315 |
| Charles Johns | 81-75-81-78—315 |
| James Ockenden | 79-76-80-80—315 |
| Thomas Howard | 79-79-76-82—316 |
| Michael Daragon | 77-76-83-81—317 |
| Harry Kidd | 78-78-82-79—317 |
| James Bradbeer | 75-79-83-81—318 |
| Arthur Young | 79-78-85-76—318 |
| Harry Ball | 77-78-78-87—320 |
| Sidney Ball | 75-82-81-82—320 |
| Cedric Sayner | 80-77-82-81—320 |
| Dick Wheildon | 78-78-81-84—321 |
| Bert Weastell | 79-79-82-83—323 |
| John Sullivan | 78-78-83-89—328 |
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