1936 Open Championship

The 1936 Open Championship was the 71st Open Championship, held 25–27 June at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. Alf Padgham won his only major title, one stroke ahead of runner-up Jimmy Adams.

Contents

• Course
• Final leaderboard
• References

Qualifying was originally planned for 22–23 June but heavy rain caused the first day's play to be abandoned. A lightning bolt stunned three spectators and a caddy. Greens on the two qualifying courses were five or six inches deep in water. All the scores were voided and players had to start again the next day. Henry Cotton had completed his round of 67 at Wallasey before play was abandoned. Qualifying eventually took place on 23–24 June. Entries played 18 holes at Royal Liverpool and 18 holes at Wallasey. The top 100 and ties qualified. The qualifying score was 155 and 107 players qualified. Henry Cotton led the qualifiers on 139, having scored 68 at Wallasey on the rearranged day, with Wally Smithers two shots behind on 141. Because of the delay in the qualifying rounds the schedule was pushed back. The first round was played on Thursday, the second on Friday, and the final two rounds on Saturday. The top 60 and ties would make the cut and qualify for the final 36 holes.

After the second round, Bill Cox and Adams were tied for the lead, with five players a shot back, including Padgham and Henry Cotton. Adams and Cotton shared the 54-hole lead, with Padgham and Tom Green a stroke behind. In the final round, Padgham tied Adams for the lead at the turn. He made a 4 on the 17th, then made a 15-footer for a 3 at the 18th to post a 287 total. Adams stood on the 17th knowing that he needed to play the last two holes in eight strokes to tie Padgham. His approach shot found a greenside bunker, and after he failed to get up-and-down he now needed a 3 on the 18th. He found the green in two, but his 12-foot (3.7 m) putt lipped out and he finished a stroke behind Padgham. Cotton and Green were still on the course, but neither could mount a charge, giving Padgham the championship.

Future four-time Open champion Bobby Locke finished tied for 8th in his major championship debut. Jim Ferrier, the winner of the 1947 PGA Championship, also made his debut in a major and finished in 44th.