THE WAY THEY WERE .... SNEAD WINS 1946 OPEN AT ST ANDREWS
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Deeside Golf Club professional FRANK COUTTS has loaned me a scrapbook of newspaper cuttings from the post World War II golf scene.
Over the next few weeks, I'll be reproducing some of the articles for Scottishgolfview.com readers.
Here is the first one - from The Press and Journal of Saturday, July 6, 1946, the day AFTER the last day of the first Open to be held since 1939, and at the same venue - the Old Course, Andrews.
In those days and for a few years later, the Open was played over three days, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday with the last two rounds on the Friday.
This was a throwback to the days when club professionals had to get back to their club shops for Saturday members' competitions which made it their busiest day of the week.
In the Open championships of yesteryear, all the entrants played a qualifying round to produce a field of around 100 for the championship proper.
Unfortunately, the P and report does not mention the qualifying competition so we don't know if any big names missed out of the championship proper.
SAM SNEAD WINS 1946 OPEN TITLE
OVER OLD COURSE, ST ANDREWS
Murcar club pro Willie Anderson
finishes as the leading Scot
FROM THE PRESS AND JOURNAL
OLD COURSE, ST ANDREWS
British golfing prestige suffered a severe blow here today when Sam Snead, the long-hitting American, won the Open championship with an aggregate of 290.
Two more of the overseas invaders - Johnny Bulla (USA) and Bobby Locke (South Africa) - tied for second place, with Henry Cotton, Dai Rees, Charlie Ward and Norman Von Nida (Australia) another stroke behind.
Virginia-based Snead, who is 34, will fly back to America with the championship trophy on Tuesday.
Willie Anderson of Murcar, the Scottish professional champion, had the satisfaction of finishing the leading Scot with an aggregate of 305.
In the final round, Anderson played beautiful golf and was out in 35. Starting back with a 4 and a 3, he had every chance of returning the best round of the day. However, he ran up a string of six consecutive 5s, due mainly to bad lies off his tee shots.
Anderson picked up a stroke with a birdie at the last hole where he got down from six yards for a 3.
Once again, today, the Old Course gave the top-notchers something to think about. With a stiff westerly wind blowing, scoring was much higher than on the first two days of the championship.
When the last round started, Snead, Bulla and Rees were level in the lead on 215, a stroke ahead of the fourth-placed Cotton.
Hopes were high that Rees and Cotton would resist the overseas onslaught but these were dashed early in the afternoon when the Swilcan Burn, which winds round the front of the first green, took its toll of both British players.
Cotton got off with a 5 but Rees three-putted for a fatal 7 and reached the turn in 42.
Locke had a great chance to put himself in a winning position but threw the championship away with a succession of putting failures from the 13th onwards.
The South African's final disaster was on the home green where he took three putts, missing from less than a yard. His 76 gave him a total of 294.
There was drama in plenty at the 18th hole for the next hour.
Cotton, struggling all the way from the ninth to shake off the effects of a disastrous first six holes which cost him 30 strokes, took three putts at the 18th to finish with a 79 for 295, one behind Locke.
Bulla took four shots from the edge of the green at the 17th (Road Hole) and holed out in 6.
The American, after playing a lovely second shot to the 18th green, then three-putted, missing from less than 2ft, for a 5 and a round of 79 to match Locke's 294 total.
Rees had an eagle 3 at the 17th and hit his second at the home hole to within eight yards of the flagstick. Had the Welshman been able to hole the birdie putt, he would have joined Locke and Bulla in the lead but his effort slipped past and he finished with an 80 for 295.
With all the other leaders faltering, the door was left wide open for Snead.
(Editor's note: In those days there were no on-course scoreboards as we know them and no radio communication from out on the course so that until a player handed in his scorecard, no one could be quite certain who was winning).
All sorts of rumours filled the air round the clubhouse that Snead had cracked and it transpired that the American had taken 40 shots for the outward half, including a 6 at the fifth, where he had to play out of Hell bunker (on the 14th fairway).
The turning point for Snead came at the 10th where he got a 3 and from there onwards he had the Open title in his pocket.
He came back in 35 for a 75 and a total of 290 - four strokes clear of Locke and Bulla.
That won Snead the Claret Jug, a medal and £150 from a total prize fund of £1,000.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72) Where not country is listed, we are not sure what it is.
Sam Snead: "Staying in Britain is like camping out."
COLIN FARQUHARSON'S FOOTNOTE:
Sam Snead, who had made his debut in the 1937 Open, won by Henry Cotton at Carnoustie, did not return to defend the Open title in 1947 after his 1946 St Andrews success.
He was quoted round about that time - remember, World War II had
not long finished and rationing would continue for some years -
that staying in Britain was "like camping out." In other words,
a bit too basic with none of the luxuries he was accustomed to
in the States.
Plus the fact that the £100 first prize in 1946 did not cover the cost of travelling over from America to stay and play in the Open.
Snead, who died four days short of his 90th birthday in May 2002, did play in the 1962 Open at Royal Troon where Arnold Palmer retained the title and sparked off the increasing participation of Americans in the only Major played outwith the USA.
Snead also returned to the UK to play in several Ryder Cup matches. He played in seven between 1937 and 1959. And also captain the USA team in 1951, 1959 and 1969.
Bobby Locke went on to win the Open in 1949, 1950, 1952 and 1957.
The P and J report of the 1946 Open remarks on the "tremendous crowd .... must have been 10,000" for the last day when two rounds were played. The Open, of course, draws many more golf fans these days. The St Andrews' attendance for the Open was more than 200,000 in recent years.
SNEAD WAS RELUCTANT TO COME OVER
FOR 1946 OPEN AT ST ANDREWS
From Aboutgolf.com website
Sam Snead didn't even want to play in the 1946 Open at St Andrews. But obligations to a sponsor required his presence. As he rode a train into St. Andrews - yes, you could take a train IN to St Andrews in those days - he looked out a window and spotted something.
"Say," Snead said, "that looks like an old, abandoned golf course."
In fact, it was The Old Course, and several days later Snead won his only Open Championship on it.
Snead played the Open only five times in his long career. Prior to 1946, his only appearance had been in 1937, when he was already in Britain as part of the American Ryder Cup team.
After 1946, he didn't return until 1962. That wasn't unusual, given the very high travel costs of the era. A golfer travelling from America to Britain for the Open could win the tournament yet lose money on the trip, as happened to Snead in 1946.
Snead was past his 50th birthday when he finished sixth behind Palmer, winner by six shots of the 1962 Open at Troon.
The 1946 British Open was the first one played since 1939 due to World War II. That meant that Dick Burton, the 1939 winner, held the trophy for seven years. He gave it back here, though, finishing 12th.
For Snead, the 1946 Open was his second win in a major. He previously won the 1942 US PGA Championship, and went onto win another five majors.
E-mail from Bob Thomson
St Andrews
+Thanks to Bob, I was able to correct the early statement that Snead did not return to play in another Open after winning in 1946. Funny how the mind can play tricks on.
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Deeside Golf Club professional FRANK COUTTS has loaned me a scrapbook of newspaper cuttings from the post World War II golf scene.
Over the next few weeks, I'll be reproducing some of the articles for Scottishgolfview.com readers.
Here is the first one - from The Press and Journal of Saturday, July 6, 1946, the day AFTER the last day of the first Open to be held since 1939, and at the same venue - the Old Course, Andrews.
In those days and for a few years later, the Open was played over three days, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday with the last two rounds on the Friday.
This was a throwback to the days when club professionals had to get back to their club shops for Saturday members' competitions which made it their busiest day of the week.
In the Open championships of yesteryear, all the entrants played a qualifying round to produce a field of around 100 for the championship proper.
Unfortunately, the P and report does not mention the qualifying competition so we don't know if any big names missed out of the championship proper.
SAM SNEAD WINS 1946 OPEN TITLE
OVER OLD COURSE, ST ANDREWS
Murcar club pro Willie Anderson
finishes as the leading Scot
FROM THE PRESS AND JOURNAL
OLD COURSE, ST ANDREWS
British golfing prestige suffered a severe blow here today when Sam Snead, the long-hitting American, won the Open championship with an aggregate of 290.
Two more of the overseas invaders - Johnny Bulla (USA) and Bobby Locke (South Africa) - tied for second place, with Henry Cotton, Dai Rees, Charlie Ward and Norman Von Nida (Australia) another stroke behind.
Virginia-based Snead, who is 34, will fly back to America with the championship trophy on Tuesday.
Willie Anderson of Murcar, the Scottish professional champion, had the satisfaction of finishing the leading Scot with an aggregate of 305.
In the final round, Anderson played beautiful golf and was out in 35. Starting back with a 4 and a 3, he had every chance of returning the best round of the day. However, he ran up a string of six consecutive 5s, due mainly to bad lies off his tee shots.
Anderson picked up a stroke with a birdie at the last hole where he got down from six yards for a 3.
Once again, today, the Old Course gave the top-notchers something to think about. With a stiff westerly wind blowing, scoring was much higher than on the first two days of the championship.
When the last round started, Snead, Bulla and Rees were level in the lead on 215, a stroke ahead of the fourth-placed Cotton.
Hopes were high that Rees and Cotton would resist the overseas onslaught but these were dashed early in the afternoon when the Swilcan Burn, which winds round the front of the first green, took its toll of both British players.
Cotton got off with a 5 but Rees three-putted for a fatal 7 and reached the turn in 42.
Locke had a great chance to put himself in a winning position but threw the championship away with a succession of putting failures from the 13th onwards.
The South African's final disaster was on the home green where he took three putts, missing from less than a yard. His 76 gave him a total of 294.
There was drama in plenty at the 18th hole for the next hour.
Cotton, struggling all the way from the ninth to shake off the effects of a disastrous first six holes which cost him 30 strokes, took three putts at the 18th to finish with a 79 for 295, one behind Locke.
Bulla took four shots from the edge of the green at the 17th (Road Hole) and holed out in 6.
The American, after playing a lovely second shot to the 18th green, then three-putted, missing from less than 2ft, for a 5 and a round of 79 to match Locke's 294 total.
Rees had an eagle 3 at the 17th and hit his second at the home hole to within eight yards of the flagstick. Had the Welshman been able to hole the birdie putt, he would have joined Locke and Bulla in the lead but his effort slipped past and he finished with an 80 for 295.
With all the other leaders faltering, the door was left wide open for Snead.
(Editor's note: In those days there were no on-course scoreboards as we know them and no radio communication from out on the course so that until a player handed in his scorecard, no one could be quite certain who was winning).
All sorts of rumours filled the air round the clubhouse that Snead had cracked and it transpired that the American had taken 40 shots for the outward half, including a 6 at the fifth, where he had to play out of Hell bunker (on the 14th fairway).
The turning point for Snead came at the 10th where he got a 3 and from there onwards he had the Open title in his pocket.
He came back in 35 for a 75 and a total of 290 - four strokes clear of Locke and Bulla.
That won Snead the Claret Jug, a medal and £150 from a total prize fund of £1,000.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72) Where not country is listed, we are not sure what it is.
1 Sam Snead (USA) | 71-70-74-75--290 | ||||
T2 Johnny Bulla (USA) | 71-72-72-79--294 | ||||
T2 Bobby Locke (S Africa) | 69-74-75-76--294 | ||||
T4 Henry Cotton (England) | 70-70-76-79--295 | ||||
T4 Dai Rees (Wales) | 75-67-73-80--295 | ||||
T4 Norman Von Nida (Australia) | 70-76-74-75--295 | ||||
T4 Charlie Ward (England) | 73-73-73-76--295 | ||||
T8 Fred Daly (N Ireland) | 77-71-76-74--298 | ||||
T8 Joe Kirkwood (USA) | 71-75-78-74--298 | ||||
10 Lawson Little (USA) | 78-75-72-74--299 | ||||
11 Harry Bradshaw (Ireland) | 76-75-76-73--300 | ||||
12 Dick Burton (England) | 74-76-76-76--302 | ||||
13 Bill Shankland (England) | 76-76-77-75--304 | ||||
T14 Willie Anderson (Scotland) | 76-76-78-75--305 | ||||
T14 Reg Whitcombe (England) | 71-76-82-76--305 | ||||
16 Laurie Ayton Jun (England) | 77-74-80-75--306 | ||||
17 Percy Alliss (England) | 74-72-82-79--307 | ||||
T18 Archie Compston (England) | 77-74-77-80--308 | ||||
T18 Frank Jowle (England) | 78-74-76-80--308 | ||||
T18 Arthur Lees (England) | 77-71-78-82--308 | ||||
T21 George Knight (England) | 77-75-82-76--310 | ||||
T21 Eddie Whitcombe (England) | 75-79-77-79--310 | ||||
T23 R.K. Bell (amateur) | 81-73-81-77--312 | ||||
T23 John Jacobs (England) | 76-77-80-79--312 | ||||
T25 Alf Perry (England) | 78-77-78-80--313 | ||||
T25 James Wilson (amateur) | 78-76-81-78--313 | ||||
T27 Andrew Dowie (amateur) | 81-71-80-83--315 | ||||
T27 Alex Robertson | 79-75-80-81--315 | ||||
T27 Flory Van Donck (Belgium) | 76-78-83-78--315 | ||||
T30 Tom Haliburton (Scotland) | 78-76-81-81--316 | ||||
T30 Alf Padgham (England) | 79-74-76-87--316 | ||||
T30 Ronald White (England) (am) | 76-79-84-77--316 | ||||
33 Norman Sutton | 76-77-80-84--317 | ||||
T34 Fred Bullock (Scotland) | 80-75-87-76--318 | ||||
T34 W H. Green | 76-76-83-83--318 | ||||
36 Albert Isherwood | 77-78-83-81--319 | ||||
37 John Urry (amateur) | 79-75-87-85--326 |
COLIN FARQUHARSON'S FOOTNOTE:
Sam Snead, who had made his debut in the 1937 Open, won by Henry Cotton at Carnoustie, did not return to defend the Open title in 1947 after his 1946 St Andrews success.
He was quoted round about that time - remember, World War II had
not long finished and rationing would continue for some years -
that staying in Britain was "like camping out." In other words,
a bit too basic with none of the luxuries he was accustomed to
in the States.
Plus the fact that the £100 first prize in 1946 did not cover the cost of travelling over from America to stay and play in the Open.
Snead, who died four days short of his 90th birthday in May 2002, did play in the 1962 Open at Royal Troon where Arnold Palmer retained the title and sparked off the increasing participation of Americans in the only Major played outwith the USA.
Snead also returned to the UK to play in several Ryder Cup matches. He played in seven between 1937 and 1959. And also captain the USA team in 1951, 1959 and 1969.
Bobby Locke went on to win the Open in 1949, 1950, 1952 and 1957.
The P and J report of the 1946 Open remarks on the "tremendous crowd .... must have been 10,000" for the last day when two rounds were played. The Open, of course, draws many more golf fans these days. The St Andrews' attendance for the Open was more than 200,000 in recent years.
SNEAD WAS RELUCTANT TO COME OVER
FOR 1946 OPEN AT ST ANDREWS
From Aboutgolf.com website
Sam Snead didn't even want to play in the 1946 Open at St Andrews. But obligations to a sponsor required his presence. As he rode a train into St. Andrews - yes, you could take a train IN to St Andrews in those days - he looked out a window and spotted something.
"Say," Snead said, "that looks like an old, abandoned golf course."
In fact, it was The Old Course, and several days later Snead won his only Open Championship on it.
Snead played the Open only five times in his long career. Prior to 1946, his only appearance had been in 1937, when he was already in Britain as part of the American Ryder Cup team.
After 1946, he didn't return until 1962. That wasn't unusual, given the very high travel costs of the era. A golfer travelling from America to Britain for the Open could win the tournament yet lose money on the trip, as happened to Snead in 1946.
Snead was past his 50th birthday when he finished sixth behind Palmer, winner by six shots of the 1962 Open at Troon.
The 1946 British Open was the first one played since 1939 due to World War II. That meant that Dick Burton, the 1939 winner, held the trophy for seven years. He gave it back here, though, finishing 12th.
For Snead, the 1946 Open was his second win in a major. He previously won the 1942 US PGA Championship, and went onto win another five majors.
E-mail from Bob Thomson
St Andrews
In your (earlier) footnote re Sam Snead, you stated 1946 at St Andrews,
was his only Open appearance. Snead played in the 1937 Open at Carnoustie
and the 1962 Open at Troon where he finished approx 5th at 50 years of
age. I remember watching him on television at Troon despite the
meagre coverage of the time.
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