| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8–10 July 1953 |
| Location | Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland |
| Course(s) | Carnoustie Golf Links Championship Course |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 7,200 yards (6,584 m)[1][2] |
| Field | 91 players, 49 after cut[3] |
| Cut | 154 (+10) |
| Prize fund | £2,500 $7,000 |
| Winner's share | £500 $1,400 |
| Champion | |
 Ben Hogan | |
| 282 (−6) | |
The 1953 Open Championship was the 82nd Open Championship, held 8–10 July at the Carnoustie Golf Links in Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland. In his only Open Championship appearance, Ben Hogan prevailed by four strokes over four runners-up to win his third major championship of the year.[4][5][6]
The total prize money was increased by nearly fifty per cent, from £1,700 to £2,500. The winner received £500, with £300 for second, £200 for third, £100 for fourth, £75 for fifth, £30 for next 20, and then £25 each for the remaining players. There was also a £15 prize for winning the qualification event and four £15 prizes for the lowest score in each round.[7] The purse of £2,500 ($7,000) and the winner's share of £500 ($1,400), were less than one-third that of the U.S. Open or PGA Championship in 1953.
Qualifying took place on 6–7 July, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes each on the Championship and Burnside courses.[8] The number of qualifiers was limited to a maximum of 100, and ties for 100th place would not qualify. On Monday, John Panton led the qualifiers on the Championship course after a 69 while Bobby Locke scored 65 on the Burnside course. Locke's scored 71 on the second day and a total of 136 put him five shots ahead of the rest. Panton and Christy O'Connor were next on 141, and Hogan qualified comfortably on 145.[8][9] Peter Thomson, the 1952 runner-up, only just qualified on 154 after taking 80 on the Championship course.[10] The qualifying score was 154 and 91 players advanced.[8]
Hogan, with the Masters and U.S. Open titles, made the trip across the Atlantic for the Open Championship for the only time in his career. He arrived at Carnoustie two weeks early to practice with the smaller British golf ball.
The policy of requiring all players to qualify, the small purse, the lengthy ocean voyage, and the conflict of schedule with the PGA Championship kept all but a few Americans at home; only four qualified for the first round on Wednesday,[8][9] and three made the 36-hole cut to play the final two rounds on Friday.[11][12][13] A maximum of 50 players could make the cut after 36 holes, and ties for 50th place were not included; it was at 154 (+10) and 49 advanced to the final two rounds.
Although the field of 91 that qualified was mostly British, a strong international contingent stood ready to challenge Hogan, including fellow Americans Lloyd Mangrum and Frank Stranahan, Thomson of Australia, Antonio Cerdá and Roberto De Vicenzo of Argentina, and Locke of South Africa, the defending champion.[8][9]
The Open Championship was Hogan's third major title of the year, but the modern Grand Slam was not possible, as the PGA Championship conflicted with the Open in 1953; the final match (36 holes) of the seven-day PGA Championship was played near Detroit on Tuesday, 7 July. After his automobile accident in 1949, Hogan did not enter the PGA Championship until 1960, after it became a stroke play event. He had won the PGA Championship in 1946 and 1948 before the accident.
Hogan did not play in another Open Championship, although he did make a lasting impression on Carnoustie. The par-5 6th hole features a split fairway, with the right side being safer but the left offering a better angle to the green. Hogan found the narrow left side in each of the four rounds, and that hole is now known as "Hogan's Alley."
Hogan remains the only player to win the Masters, U.S. Open, and Open Championship in the same calendar year. After winning the first two majors of the year, Arnold Palmer (1960) and Jack Nicklaus (1972) were runners-up by a stroke. Tiger Woods won the Masters and U.S. Open in 2002, but shot 81-65 on the weekend to finish six strokes back at Muirfield, tied for 28th place. At St. Andrews in 2015, Jordan Spieth bogeyed the 71st hole (Road) and missed a three-man playoff by one stroke.
After the win, Hogan and his wife Valerie were passengers on the SS United States westbound to New York City, where he received a ticker tape parade down Broadway on July 21.[14][15]
