1911 Open Championship

The 1911 Open Championship was the 51st Open Championship, held 26–30 June at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. Harry Vardon won the Championship for the fifth time in a playoff over Arnaud Massy, the 1907 champion.

1911 Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates26–30 June 1911
LocationSandwich, England
Course(s)Royal St George's Golf Club
Statistics
Length6,587 yards (6,023 m)[1]
Field226 players,[2] 73 after cut
Cut162
Prize fund£125
Winner's share£50
Champion
Jersey Harry Vardon
303, playoff
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Sandwich  is located in England
Sandwich 
Sandwich 
Sandwich is located in Kent
Sandwich
Sandwich
Location in Kent. England

There was no qualifying event and with 226 entries it was not possible for all the players to play 18 holes on the same day. The players were therefore divided into three "sections," with the first 36 holes played over three days. Sections A and B played their first rounds on Monday, while section C played on Tuesday morning. Section A played their second rounds that afternoon, while sections B and C played their second rounds on Wednesday.

By the start of the first round, the number of participants had been reduced to 222, with four withdrawals. On Monday, Michael Moran of Section B had the best round at 72.[3] On Tuesday morning, the players in Section C discovered that a number of the holes had been moved since the first day. Later in the day a letter of protest was drawn up by a group of professionals and presented to the authorities: "To the Committee of the Championship, 1911 - Gentlemen, we the undersigned competitors at this Championship meeting respectfully protest against the alteration of the course during the qualifying (sic) rounds."[1] Play was somewhat easier on the second morning and amateur Edward Blackwell led at 71, with by J.H. Taylor. joining Moran with 72.

At the end of Tuesday, only Section A had completed 36 holes, and Ted Ray led at 148.[1] The Committee replied to the professionals, "The Green Committee consider that in deciding to cut fresh holes each day they had adopted the best course possible under the terms of the competition, which were exceptional owing to the large entry, and though they regret that there was any dissatisfaction amongst the players, they decided that the protest could not be upheld."[4] New holes were again cut on the third morning, so that Sections B and C played their second round to different holes to Section A.

The second round was completed on Wednesday evening, and George Duncan led the field at 144, four ahead of Ray, Taylor, and Vardon. The leading sixty players and ties advanced for the final 36 holes on Thursday; the cut was at 162 and 73 players advanced, with fifteen players on the number.[4]

Duncan had a poor third round of 83 in the morning, which left Vardon with a three-shot lead over Sandy Herd, Taylor, and Massy.

Vardon was among the early starters in the afternoon and scored 80 for 303. Amateur Harold Hilton reached the turn in 33, but took 43 for the last nine and finished a shot behind. Massy needed a four at the difficult final hole to tie; he reached the green with two woods and two-putted to force a 36-hole playoff with Vardon on Friday.[5]

Massy led the playoff after ten holes, but a six at the 14th and a disastrous seven at 17 put Vardon ahead by five after the first round. The lead extended to seven after 27 holes and ten after 34 holes. After Vardon reached the green in two at the 35th and Massy was in thick rough after two shots, Massy picked up his ball and conceded.

Coronation Match

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The Championship was preceded by a "Coronation Match" between teams of amateurs and professionals at Royal St George's on Saturday 24 June 1911. The match was in celebration of the coronation of George V on 22 June 1911. The match consisted of 9 foursomes matches, each over 36 holes. The result was an 8–1 win for the professionals. Only one match went beyond the 33rd hole and resulted in a win for the amateurs at the 38th hole.[6][7]

Course

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Hole Yards     Hole Yards
1 400 10 365
2 312 11 380
3 250 12 370
4 425 13 431
5 390 14 505
6 160 15 433
7 506 16 160
8 220 17 400
9 420 18 460
Out 3,083 In 3,504
Source:[1] Total 6,587

Round summaries

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First round

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Monday, 26 June 1911 (morning, section A; afternoon, section B)
Tuesday, 27 June 1911 (morning, section C)

Place Player Score Section
1   Edward Blackwell (a) 71 C
T2   Michael Moran 72 B
  J.H. Taylor C
T4   George Duncan 73 C
  James Sherlock B
T6   James Hepburn 74 C
  William Horne C
  Jack Rowe C
  Harry Vardon C
T10   Harold Beveridge (a) 75 B
  Horace Fulford C
  Fred Leach C
  James Ockenden A
  Thomas Renouf C

Source:[1][2][3]

Second round

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Tuesday, 27 June 1911 (afternoon, section A)
Wednesday, 28 June 1911 (morning, section B; afternoon, section C)

Place Player Score Section
1   George Duncan 73-71=144 C
T2   Ted Ray 76-72=148 A
  J.H. Taylor 72-76=148 C
  Harry Vardon 74-74=148 C
T5   Sandy Herd 77-73=150 B
  Harold Hilton (a) 76-74=150 A
  William Horne 74-76=150 C
  Michael Moran 72-78=150 B
T9   James Hepburn 74-77=151 C
  Thomas Renouf 75-76=151 C

Source:[2][4]

Third round

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Thursday, 29 June 1911 (morning)

Place Player Score
1   Harry Vardon 74-74-75=223
T2   Sandy Herd 77-73-76=226
  J.H. Taylor 72-76-78=226
T4   James Braid 78-75-74=227
  George Duncan 73-71-83=227
  Arnaud Massy 75-78-74=227
  Ted Ray 76-72-79=227
8   Harold Hilton (a) 76-74-78=228
T9   Laurie Ayton, Snr 75-77-77=229
  James Sherlock 73-80-76=229

Source:[2][5]

Final round

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Thursday, 29 June 1911 (afternoon)

Place Player Score Money (£)
T1   Arnaud Massy 75-78-74-76=303 Playoff
  Harry Vardon 74-74-75-80=303
T3   Sandy Herd 77-73-76-78=304 15
  Harold Hilton (a) 76-74-78-76=304 0
T5   James Braid 78-75-74-78=305 8
6s 8d
  Ted Ray 76-72-79-78=305
  J.H. Taylor 72-76-78-79=305
8   George Duncan 73-71-83-79=306 5
9   Laurie Ayton, Snr 75-77-77-78=307
T10   James Hepburn 74-77-83-75=309 0
  Fred Robson 78-74-79-78=309

Source:[2][5]

Playoff

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Friday, 30 June 1911

Ten shots behind after 34 holes, Massy was in trouble on the 35th hole and conceded the match. Scores in the table below are after 34 holes.

Place Player Score Money (£)
1   Harry Vardon 74-64=138
34 holes
50
2   Arnaud Massy 79-69=148
Conceded
25

Scorecards

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Morning round

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Back Total
  Vardon 4 4 3 4 5 4 5 3 4 36 5 4 5 4 4 4 3 4 5 38 74
  Massy 4 4 4 4 5 4 4 3 4 36 4 5 5 4 6 4 3 7 5 43 79

Afternoon round

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Back Total
  Vardon 4 5 4 3 4 3 5 3 5 36 4 4 4 5 4 5 2 28 64
  Massy 5 4 3 5 5 3 5 4 4 38 4 6 4 5 5 4 3 31 69

Source:[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Golf Championship - Alteration of the holes - Players' protest overruled". Glasgow Herald. 28 June 1911. p. 9.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 125. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Golf Championship - First day's play - An Irishman leads". Glasgow Herald. 27 June 1911. pp. 9, 10.
  4. ^ a b c "Golf Championship - George Duncan leading - The players' protest". Glasgow Herald. 29 June 1911. p. 9.
  5. ^ a b c "Golf Championship - Exciting final round - Vardon and Massy tie". Glasgow Herald. 30 June 1911. p. 9.
  6. ^ "Golf – Teams for Coronation match". Glasgow Herald. 24 June 1911. p. 10.
  7. ^ "Golf at Sandwich – Coronation match – Rout of the amateurs". Glasgow Herald. 26 June 1911. pp. 9, 10.
  8. ^ Brenner, Morgan G. (2009). The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of the Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008. Vol. 1. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3360-5.
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