1961 Open Championship


The 1961 Open Championship was the 90th Open Championship, played 12–15 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Arnold Palmer won the first of two consecutive Open Championships, one stroke ahead of Dai Rees. It was the second Open for Palmer, the runner-up in his first in 1960, and the fourth of his seven major titles. He was the first American to win the Claret Jug since Ben Hogan in 1953. This was the second Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, which hosted in 1954.
Qualifying took place on 10–11 July. Entries played 18 holes on the Championship course and 18 holes at Hillside Golf Club. The number of qualifiers was limited to a maximum of 120. Ties for 120th place would not qualify. The qualifying score was 151 and 108 players qualified. There were 22 players on 152. Bob Charles led the qualifiers on 136, two ahead of Gary Player. A maximum of 50 players could make the cut after 36 holes. Ties for 50th place did not make the cut.
Gale-force winds caused scores to soar during the second round on Thursday,
followed by heavy rains which washed out both rounds on Friday. Cancellation was a possibility, but the weather cooperated enough to play the third and fourth rounds in showers on Saturday.
1959 Open champion and reigning Masters champion Gary Player withdrew early in the third round due to a stomach ailment.

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Missed the cut

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 12 July 1961
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Harold Henning68−4
T1Kel Nagle68−4
T1Dai Rees68−4
T4Jean Garaïalde69−3
T4Norman Johnson69−3
T4David Miller69−3
T7Alan Brookes70−2
T7Neil Coles70−2
T7Sam King70−2
T7John MacDonald70−2
T7Arnold Palmer70−2
T7Lionel Platts70−2

Second round

Thursday, 13 July 1961
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Harold Henning68-74=142−2
T1Dai Rees68-74=142−2
T3Kel Nagle68-75=143−1
T3Arnold Palmer70-73=143−1
T5Neil Coles70-77=147+3
T5Sam King70-77=147+3
T5Ramón Sota71-76=147+3
T5Peter Thomson75-72=147+3
T9Peter Alliss73-75=148+4
T9Ken Bousfield71-77=148+4
T9Harry Bradshaw73-75=148+4
T9Peter Butler72-76=148+4
T9Eric Lester71-77=148+4
T9David Miller69-79=148+4
T9Christy O'Connor Snr71-77=148+4
T9Dave Thomas71-77=148+4
T9Brian Wilkes72-76=148+4

Amateurs: Christmas, White , Chapman, Bonallack, Carr, Reece, Pearson

Third round

Saturday, 15 July 1961 -
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Arnold Palmer70-73-69=212−4
2Dai Rees68-74-71=213−3
3Christy O'Connor Snr71-77-67=215−1
4Neil Coles70-77-69=216E
T5Harold Henning68-74-75=217+1
T5Peter Thomson75-72-70=217+1
7Kel Nagle68-75-75=218+2
T8Eric Brown73-76-70=219+3
T8Norman Johnson69-80-70=219+3
T8Ramón Sota71-76-72=219+3

Final round

Saturday, 15 July 1961 -
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Arnold Palmer70-73-69-72=284−41,400
2Dai Rees68-74-71-72=285−31,000
T3Neil Coles70-77-69-72=288E710
T3Christy O'Connor Snr71-77-67-73=288E710
T5Eric Brown73-76-70-70=289+1400
T5Kel Nagle68-75-75-71=289+1400
7Peter Thomson75-72-70-73=290+2275
T8Peter Alliss73-75-72-71=291+3190
T8Ken Bousfield71-77-75-68=291+3190
T10Harold Henning68-74-75-76=293+5140
T10Syd Scott76-75-71-71=293+5140

Amateurs: White, Christmas