1924 Open Championship


The 1924 Open Championship was the 59th Open Championship, held 26–27 June at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. Walter Hagen won the second of his four Open Championships, one stroke ahead of runner-up Ernest Whitcombe. It was the fifth of Hagen's eleven major championships. Two years earlier in 1922, he became the Open's first winner born in the United States.
Qualifying took place on 23–24 June, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes at Royal Liverpool and 18 holes at Formby, and the top 80 and ties qualified. J.H. Taylor led the field on 142; Hagen took 83 on the first day at Hoylake and was in some danger of not but after a 73 at Formby for 156 he made it safely through. The qualifying score was 158 and 86 players Six-time champion Harry Vardon had 159 and missed by one stroke. Wednesday was an idle day.
In the opening round on Thursday morning, Cyril Tolley, the 1920 British Amateur champion, took the lead with 73, but his 82 in the second round dropped him out of contention. After opening with 77, Whitcombe carded a 70 for 147 for a two-stroke lead over five-time champion J.H. Taylor; Hagen and Macdonald Smith were a stroke back in third In the two-day format, there was not a cut after 36 holes.
In the third round on Friday morning, Hagen had 74 and Whitcombe 77, and they shared the 54-hole lead at 224. Three strokes back in a tie for third were George Duncan, Frank Ball, and Smith. In the afternoon, Duncan had 81 for 308 while Ball and Smith both finished on 304, which left Hagen and Whitcombe to battle for the title. Whitcombe shot 43 on the front-nine but responded with a 35 on the back to post 302. Hagen also shot 43 on the front but played his trademark brand of golf on the back. He sliced his second shot on the 12th and his approach shot found a bunker on the 13th, but both times recovered with a pitch and a putt. Hagen sank a downhill 6-footer on the final hole to win on 301, a one-stroke victory margin. Had the putt not dropped, a 36-hole playoff was in order for Saturday.
Smith was three strokes back in a tie for third place, one of twelve times he finished in the top-five of a major championship without a victory. Taylor finished in fifth at the age of 53, thirty years after his first Open title. Gene Sarazen, age 22, played in his first British Open this year and was 41st. He won the championship in 1932 and played in the Open as late as 1976.

Past champions in the field

Source:
Did not advance past qualifying rounds :
Did not enter:

First round

Thursday, 26 June 1924
PlacePlayerCountryScore
1Cyril Tolley 73
T2George Duncan74
T2Len Holland74
T2Mark Seymour74
T5Aubrey Boomer75
T5J.H. Taylor75
T5Gilbert Nicholls
75
T8Albert Hallam76
T8Sandy Herd76
T8Macdonald Smith
76
T8Bert Weastell76
T8Frank Weston76

Source:

Second round

Thursday, 26 June 1924
PlacePlayerCountryScore
1Ernest Whitcombe77-70=147
2J.H. Taylor75-74=149
T3Walter Hagen77-73=150
T3Macdonald Smith
76-74=150
5James Sherlock76-75=151
T6Len Holland74-78=152
T6Fred Leach78-74=152
T8Frank Ball78-75=153
T8Aubrey Boomer75-78=153
T8George Duncan74-79=153
T8Rowland Jones80-73=153
T8Gilbert Nicholls
75-78=153
T8Frank Weston76-77=153

Source:

Third round

Friday, 27 June 1924
PlacePlayerCountryScore
T1Walter Hagen77-73-74=224
T1Ernest Whitcombe77-70-77=224
T3Frank Ball78-75-74=227
T3George Duncan74-79-74=227
T3Macdonald Smith
76-74-77=227
6J.H. Taylor75-74-79=228
T7Aubrey Boomer75-78-76=229
T7James Sherlock76-75-78=229
T9Len Holland74-78-78=230
T9Frank Weston76-77-77=230

Source:

Final round

Friday, 27 June 1924
PlacePlayerCountryScoreMoney
1Walter Hagen77-73-74-77=30175
2Ernest Whitcombe77-70-77-78=30240
T3Frank Ball78-75-74-77=30420
T3Macdonald Smith
76-74-77-77=30420
5J.H. Taylor75-74-79-79=30710
T6Aubrey Boomer75-78-76-79=3088
6s 8d
T6George Duncan74-79-74-81=3088
6s 8d
T6Len Holland74-78-78-78=3088
6s 8d
T9Jim Barnes78-77-79-75=3092
10s
T9George Gadd79-75-78-77=3092
10s
T9James Sherlock76-75-78-80=3092
10s
T9Frank Weston76-77-77-79=3092
10s

Source:
Amateurs: Tolley, Sutton, Hassall, Hope, Robinson, Walker