1963 Open Championship

Last updated

1963 Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates10–13 July 1963
Location Lytham St Annes, England
Course(s) Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
Statistics
Par70 [1] [2]
Length6,836 yards (6,251 m) [2]
Field120 players, 47 after cut [2]
Cut149 (+9)
Prize fund £8,500
$23,800
Winner's share£1,500
$4,200
Champion
Flag of New Zealand.svg Bob Charles
277 (−3), playoff
←  1962
1964  →
England relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Lytham &
St Annes
class=notpageimage|
Location in England
Lancashire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Lytham &
St Annes
class=notpageimage|
Location in Lancashire. England

The 1963 Open Championship was the 92nd Open Championship, held from 10 to 13 July at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, England.

Contents

Bob Charles won his only major championship in a 36-hole playoff on Saturday, eight strokes ahead of runner-up Phil Rodgers, and became the first left-hander to win a major title. [3] [4] [5] Masters winner Jack Nicklaus bogeyed the last two holes and came in third, one stroke out of the playoff. A heavy favourite among the local bettors, two-time defending champion Arnold Palmer tied for 26th. [1] U.S. Open champion Julius Boros did not play.

This was the last 36-hole playoff at The Open, the format was changed to 18 holes the following year, used in 1970 and 1975. [6] The four-hole aggregate format was introduced in 1986 and first used in 1989.

The PGA Championship was played the next week in Texas at Dallas, one of five times in the 1960s that these two majors were played in consecutive weeks in July. In epic heat, 23-year-old Nicklaus regrouped and won by two strokes for his third major title. [7] [8] [9]

Course layout

Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards2084394563932124665533941643,2853364832003394454623564623893,4726,757

Source: [10] [11]
Previous lengths of the course for The Open Championship (since 1950): [2]

Field

For the first time, leading players were exempt from qualifying. 44 players who entered were exempted: [12]

Peter Alliss, Brian Bamford, Michael Bonallack (a), Fred Boobyer, Ken Bousfield, Eric Brown, Peter Butler, Joe Carr (a), Billy Casper, Bob Charles, Neil Coles, Roger Foreman, Jean Garaïalde, Christy Greene, Tom Haliburton, Jimmy Hitchcock, Brian Huggett, Bernard Hunt, Denis Hutchinson, John Jacobs, Bobby Locke, Jimmy Martin, Cary Middlecoff, Sebastián Miguel, Ralph Moffitt, Kel Nagle, Jack Nicklaus, Christy O'Connor Snr, Arnold Palmer, John Panton, Lionel Platts, Gary Player, Dai Rees, Phil Rodgers, Sandy Saddler (a), Doug Sanders, Syd Scott, Doug Sewell, Dave Thomas, Peter Thomson, Harry Weetman, Ross Whitehead, Brian Wilkes, Guy Wolstenholme

Casper and Middlecoff subsequently withdrew leaving 42 pre-qualified players.

The exemption categories were:

1. The first 20 and those tying for 20th place in the 1962 Open
Peter Alliss, Bob Charles, Roger Foreman, Jean Garaïalde, Brian Huggett, Bernard Hunt, Denis Hutchinson, Jimmy Martin, Sebastian Miguel, Ralph Moffitt, Kel Nagle (3), Christy O'Connor Snr, Arnold Palmer (3,6), John Panton, Phil Rodgers, Syd Scott, Dave Thomas, Peter Thomson (3), Harry Weetman, Ross Whitehead

2. The first 30 and those tying for 30th place in the P.G.A. Order of Merit for 1962

3. The last 10 Open champions (1953–62)
Bobby Locke, Gary Player

4. The last 5 Amateur champions (1958–62)
Michael Bonallack (5) (a), Joe Carr (a)

5. Members of the 1962 British Eisenhower Cup team
Sandy Saddler (a)

6. The last 10 U.S. Open champions (1953–62)
Jack Nicklaus

7. The last 5 U.S. Amateur champions (1958–62)

8. The first 30 money winners and those tying for 30th place in the U.S.P.G.A. official list for one year ending with the P.G.A. tournament immediately before the closing date of the U.S. Open entries

Exemptions for amateur champions were only granted if the player was still an amateur.

Qualifying

Qualification took place on 4–5 July (Thursday and Friday) at Fairhaven and St Annes Old Links. They were run as two separate events with 39 players to qualify from each venue to make a total field of 120. At each venue 34 players qualified on 147 and 6 players had a sudden-death playoff for the remaining five places. Max Faulkner, the 1951 Champion, was one of those who qualified in the playoff at Fairhaven. Bruce Devlin and Bill Large led the qualifying events. Three alternates were decided from each qualifying event. [13] [14]

Fairhaven – Grant Aitken, C.C. Bowman (a), Dick Burton, Colin Colenso, Gordon Cunningham, Stuart Davies, Bruce Devlin, Cherif El-Sayed Cherif, Max Faulkner, Tony Fisher, W.C.A. Hancock, Jack Hargreaves, Jimmy Henderson, J.R. Hood (a), Geoffrey Hunt, Jack Isaacs, Tony Jacklin, Arthur Lees, Eric Lester, Hugh Lewis, John MacDonald, G.R. Maisey, Bob Marshall, Frank Miller, A. Moore, Hedley Muscroft, George Parton, Frank Phillips, G.M. Rutherford (a), Denis Scanlan, David Snell, Bill Spence, Norman Sutton, Bobby Verwey, Bobby Walker, Gordon Weston, Trevor Wilkes, George Will, Michael Wolveridge
St Annes Old Links – Brian Allen, Herman Barron, David Beard, M. Birkett, Hugh Boyle, Harry Bradshaw, Alan Brookes, Fred Bullock, Alex Caygill, Barry Davies, Norman Drew, J.H. Ellis, C. Findlay, Simon Fogarty, Allan Gillies, Walter Godfrey, Tony Grubb, Harold Henning, Bryon Hutchinson, Norman Johnson, Alex King, Bill Large, Eddie Large, Malcolm Leeder, Nicky Lynch, Ian MacDonald, N.R. MacDonald, Jim McAlister, David Miller, Maurice Moir, D.G. Neech (a), Cyril Pennington, Sewsunker Sewgolum, Jack Sharkey, Ian Smith, Ramón Sota, Brian Stockdale (a), Donald Swaelens, Jack Wilkshire

Prize money

The total prize money remained unchanged at £8,500 but the distribution was changed. The winner's prize was increased to £1,500 with £1,000 for second, £800 for third, £650 for fourth, £500 for fifth, £350 for sixth, £275 for seventh, £225 for eighth, £175 for ninth, £150 for tenth, £140 for 11th, £135 for 12th, £130 for 13th, £125 for 14th, £120 for 15th, £110 for 16th reducing at £5 intervals to £65 for 25th. The 26th to 30th places each received £60 with £55 for 31st to 35th, £50 for 36th to 40th and £45 for 41st to 45th. If more than 45 players made the cut the 41st to 45th prize money was distributed between all those finishing 41st or lower. If less than 45 made the cut the remaining prize money was not distributed. The winner of each qualifying event won £75 with £50 for second and £25 for third place. [14]

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 10 July 1963

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1 Flag of the United States.svg Phil Rodgers 67−3
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Thomson
T3 Flag of New Zealand.svg Bob Charles 68−2
Flag of Scotland.svg Tom Haliburton
T5 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kel Nagle 69−1
Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Ramón Sota
T7 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Frank Phillips 70E
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Donald Swaelens
Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Brian Wilkes
T10 Flag of England.svg Geoffrey Hunt 71+1
Flag of England.svg Alex King
Flag of England.svg Hugh Lewis
Flag of Scotland.svg Ian MacDonald
Flag of the United States.svg Jack Nicklaus
Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Sewsunker Sewgolum

Small: [15]

Second round

Thursday, 11 July 1963

The cut rule was changed this year to a minimum of 45 players; it was previously a maximum of 50. The cut was 149 (+9) and 47 players advanced, but no amateurs.

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 Flag of the United States.svg Phil Rodgers 67-68=135−5
2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Thomson 67-69=136−4
3 Flag of the United States.svg Jack Nicklaus 71-67=138−2
4 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kel Nagle 69-70=139−1
5 Flag of New Zealand.svg Bob Charles 68-72=140E
T6 Flag of France.svg Jean Garaïalde 72-69=141+1
Flag of Scotland.svg Tom Haliburton 68-73=141
T8 Flag of Scotland.svg Ian MacDonald 71-71=142+2
Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Sebastián Miguel 73-69=142
Flag of Ireland.svg Christy O'Connor Snr 74-68=142
Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Ramón Sota 69-73=142

Source: [11]
Amateurs: Hood (+12), Saddler (+12), Carr (+15), Neech (+16), Rutherford (+16), Bonallack (+19), Bowman (+19), Stockdale (+20)

Third round

Friday, 12 July 1963 – (morning)

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 Flag of New Zealand.svg Bob Charles 68-72-66=206−4
2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Thomson 67-69-71=207−3
T3 Flag of the United States.svg Jack Nicklaus 71-67-70=208−2
Flag of the United States.svg Phil Rodgers 67-68-73=208
5 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kel Nagle 69-70-73=212+2
6 Flag of France.svg Jean Garaïalde 72-69-72=213+3
T7 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Harold Henning 76-68-71=215+5
Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Sebastián Miguel 73-69-73=215
Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Ramón Sota 69-73-73=215
T10 Flag of England.svg Bernard Hunt 72-71-73=216+6
Flag of Scotland.svg Ian MacDonald 71-71-74=216

Source: [16] [17]

Final round

Friday, 12 July 1963 – (afternoon)

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney (£)
T1 Flag of New Zealand.svg Bob Charles 68-72-66-71=277−3Playoff
Flag of the United States.svg Phil Rodgers 67-68-73-69=277
3 Flag of the United States.svg Jack Nicklaus 71-67-70-70=278−2800
4 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kel Nagle 69-70-73-71=283+3650
5 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Thomson 67-69-71-78=285+5500
6 Flag of Ireland.svg Christy O'Connor Snr 74-68-76-68=286+6350
T7 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Gary Player 75-70-72-70=287+7250
Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Ramón Sota 69-73-73-72=287
T9 Flag of France.svg Jean Garaïalde 72-69-72-75=288+8163
Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Sebastián Miguel 73-69-73-73=288

Source: [16] [17] [18]

Playoff

Saturday, 13 July 1963

Charles won the 36-hole playoff by eight strokes; he led by three after the first round. [3] [4] [5]

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney (£)
1 Flag of New Zealand.svg Bob Charles 69-71=140E1,500
2 Flag of the United States.svg Phil Rodgers 72-76=148+81,000

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Charles (golfer)</span> New Zealand professional golfer

Sir Robert James Charles is a New Zealand professional golfer who won the 1963 Open Championship, the first left-handed player to win a major championship. He won the 1954 New Zealand Open as an 18-year-old amateur and made the cut in the same event in 2007, at the age of 71. His achievements over that period, in which he won 80 tournaments, rank him as one of the most successful New Zealand golfers of all time. He is, along with Michael Campbell, one of only two New Zealanders to win a men's major golf championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Jacklin</span> English professional golfer, born 1944

Anthony Jacklin CBE is an English golfer. He was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, the 1969 Open Championship and the 1970 U.S. Open. He was also Ryder Cup captain from 1983 to 1989; Europe winning two and tying another of these four events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Amateur Championship</span> Amateur golf tournament

The Amateur Championship is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 1949 and 2019 when Ireland hosted the championship. It is one of the two leading individual tournaments for amateur golfers, alongside the U.S. Amateur. It normally has the widest international representation of any individual amateur event, with 38 golf federations from all six continents represented in the 2018 championship.

Clive Anthony Clark is an English professional golfer and more recently a broadcaster and golf course architect.

The 1966 Masters Tournament was the 30th Masters Tournament, held April 7–11 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

The 1969 Masters Tournament was the 33rd Masters Tournament, held April 10–13 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

The 1970 Masters Tournament was the 34th Masters Tournament, held April 9–13 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. A field of 83 players started the tournament and 48 made the 36-hole cut at 150 (+6).

The 1976 Masters Tournament was the 40th Masters Tournament, held April 8–11 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1971 Open Championship</span> Golf tournament

The 1971 Open Championship was the 100th Open Championship, played 7–10 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Lee Trevino won the first of his consecutive Open Championships, one stroke ahead of Lu Liang-Huan. It was the third of his six major titles and his second consecutive; he won the U.S. Open less than a month earlier in a playoff over Jack Nicklaus.

The 1970 Open Championship was the 99th Open Championship, played 8–12 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. Jack Nicklaus won the second of his three Opens in an 18-hole Sunday playoff over Doug Sanders, 72 to 73. In gusty winds during the fourth round on Saturday, Sanders saved par from the Road Hole bunker and led by one heading to the 72nd hole. After a lengthy drive on the short par-4, he took four shots from just 74 yards (68 m) and missed a downhill putt for par from three feet to win.

The 1958 Open Championship was the 87th Open Championship, held from 2–5 July at the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, England. Peter Thomson won his fourth Claret Jug in five years in a 36-hole Saturday playoff, four strokes ahead of Dave Thomas. It was the first playoff at the Open since 1949 and the seventh consecutive year that Thomson, 28, finished either as champion or runner-up. The 278 scored by Thomas and Thomson was a record low for the Open.

The 1959 Open Championship was the 88th Open Championship, held 1–3 July at Muirfield Golf Links in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Gary Player, age 23, shot a final round of 68 to win the first of his nine major titles, two strokes ahead of runners-up Fred Bullock and Flory Van Donck. It was the first of Player's three Claret Jugs; he won again in 1968 and 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1960 Open Championship</span> Golf tournament

The 1960 Open Championship was the 89th Open Championship, played 6–9 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. In the centenary year of the Open Championship, Kel Nagle prevailed over Arnold Palmer by a single stroke; this year marked the championship's re-emergence as a major stop for American players.

The 1962 Open Championship was the 91st Open Championship, played from 11 to 13 July at Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland. Arnold Palmer won his second consecutive Open, six strokes ahead of runner-up Kel Nagle. It was the sixth of Palmer's seven major titles and the second of the year; he won his third Masters in April.

The 1964 Open Championship was the 93rd Open Championship, played 8–10 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. Tony Lema won his only major championship, five strokes ahead of runner-up Jack Nicklaus. He led by seven strokes after 54 holes and shot a final round 70. Neither had played the Old Course before and Lema had never played in Britain; he gave much of the credit for his victory to his caddy, Tip Anderson. It was Lema's fourth victory in six weeks; he won three events on the PGA Tour in June. Nicklaus equaled the course record with a 66 in the third round.

The 1966 Open Championship was the 95th Open Championship, held 6–9 July at Muirfield Golf Links in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Jack Nicklaus won the first of his three Claret Jugs, one stroke ahead of runners-up Doug Sanders and Dave Thomas. It was the sixth of eighteen major titles for Nicklaus and marked the completion of the first of his three career grand slams.

The 1968 Open Championship was the 97th Open Championship, played 10–13 July at Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus, Scotland. Gary Player won the second of his three Open titles, two strokes ahead of runners-up Bob Charles and Jack Nicklaus. It was the fifth of Player's nine major titles.

The 1963 PGA Championship was the 45th PGA Championship, played July 18–21 at the Blue Course of Dallas Athletic Club in Dallas, Texas. Jack Nicklaus won the first of his five PGA Championship titles, two strokes ahead of runner-up Dave Ragan. It was the second major win of the year for Nicklaus, and the third of his eighteen major titles.

Alec Edward Shepperson is an English amateur golfer. He played in the 1957 and 1959 Walker Cup matches.

Elizabeth M. Chadwick was an English amateur golfer. She won the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship in 1966 and 1967. She played in the Curtis Cup in 1966.

References

  1. 1 2 Brown, Gwilym S. (22 July 1963). "The Ham and the Knife". Sports Illustrated. pp. 10–11, 43–45.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 73, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  3. 1 2 Horne, Cyril (15 July 1963). "Open Championship for R.J. Charles". Glasgow Herald. p. 8.
  4. 1 2 "Charles wins British Open". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. 13 July 1963. p. 1B.
  5. 1 2 "Bob Charles wins by 8 in Open". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. 14 July 1963. p. 1, sec. 2.
  6. ↑ "Play-off in Open reduced". The Times. 14 January 1964. p. 4.
  7. ↑ Wright, Alfred (29 July 1963). "Hottest man in a furnace". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
  8. ↑ Bartlett, Charles (22 July 1963). "Nicklaus wins P.G.A. on 30-foot putt". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
  9. ↑ Petersen, Leo (22 July 1963). "Birdie putt on 15th clinches PGA tourney victory for Nicklaus at Dallas". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). UPI. p. 19.
  10. ↑ "Card of course". Glasgow Herald. 10 July 1963. p. 6.
  11. 1 2 Horne, Cyril (12 July 1963). "Rogers leads by one stroke from Thomson". Glasgow Herald. p. 6.
  12. ↑ "44 Open Golf Exemptions – Key to Foreign Opposition". The Times. 13 June 1963. p. 5.
  13. ↑ "Faulkner Scrapes Through". The Times. 6 July 1963. p. 4.
  14. 1 2 "Revision of Open Golf Championship". Glasgow Herald. 30 November 1962. p. 1,6.
  15. ↑ Horne, Cyril (11 July 1963). "Palmer nine strokes behind leaders". Glasgow Herald. p. 12.
  16. 1 2 "Final aggregates". Glasgow Herald. 13 July 1963. p. 8.
  17. 1 2 Horne, Cyril (13 July 1963). "Tie for Open golf title". Glasgow Herald. p. 1.
  18. ↑ "Rodgers and Charles tie in Britain". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. 14 July 1963. p. 1, sec. 2.

53°44′58″N3°01′05″W / 53.7495°N 3.018°W / 53.7495; -3.018

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.