Ben Hogan

Ben Hogan came back to win his fourth Open Championship and match the record of Willie Anderson and Bob Jones. He won in convincing fashion too, over the testing course of the Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pa., by leading at the end of every round. His scores were 67-72-73-71-283. A 3-3-3 finish, a par and two birdies, put him five strokes under par and gave him a margin of six strokes over Sam Snead, who was runner up for the forth time. Hogan was the first to hold the lead throughout the Championship since 1921, and the margin was the widest since 1938.

A revised form was tested in this Championship and subsequently abandoned. After the sectional qualifying rounds, 299 qualifiers and exempt players competed in a second qualifying round over two courses to determine the 150 starters in the Championship proper. Jimmy Clark led these rounds with 72 at Pittsburgh Field Club and a 66 at Oakmont for 138, and the low 150 ties, actually 157, thereby became eligible to join Julius Boros in the championship proper. Prize money was increased by approximately $5,000 to $20,400. The winner received $5,000.