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Fred Daly

Northern Ireland · born , Portrush, Northern Ireland · died

1major championship

Summary

  • First major 1947 The Open
  • Ryder Cup 4 Cups · 3-4-1 · 3.5 points (43.8%)
  • Runner-up in majors 1 time

Wins

  1. 1947 The Open Royal Liverpool Golf Club · 293 · by 1 stroke from Frank Stranahan and Reg Horne

Near misses

  1. 1946 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T8 · 298
  2. 1948 The Open Muirfield · runner-up to Henry Cotton · 289
  3. 1950 The Open Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · finished T3 · 282
  4. 1951 The Open Royal Portrush Golf Club · finished T4 · 292
  5. 1952 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · finished 3 · 289

Ryder Cup

4 Cups, 8 matches: 3 won, 4 lost, 1 halved, 3.5 points. Foursomes 2-2-0, four-ball 0-0-0, singles 1-2-1.

  1. 1947 Portland Golf Club GB · USA won 11–1 · 0-2-0, 0 points · automatic (major or match-play champion berth)
  2. 1949 Ganton Golf Club GB · USA won 7–5 · 1-1-0, 1 point
  3. 1951 Pinehurst Resort, Course No. 2 GB · USA won 9.5–2.5 · 0-1-1, 0.5 points
  4. 1953 Wentworth Club (course not named in sources found) GB · USA won 6.5–5.5 · 2-0-0, 2 points

Rivals

Beat him

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Henry Cotton's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1947 Open Daly holed a birdie putt from 12 yards on the 18th to post 293 as the wind strengthened.
  2. 1947 Open Amateur Frank Stranahan, needing an eagle 2 at the par-4 72nd to tie, hit a 9-iron approach that stopped about a foot from the cup; Reg Horne's birdie putt at the last lipped out.

Records and firsts

  1. 1947 Open First Open champion from: Northern Ireland

Results by championship

    Best day

    1947 The Open

    Royal Liverpool Golf Club · 293 · by 1 stroke from Frank Stranahan and Reg Horne

    Daly holed a birdie putt from 12 yards on the 18th to post 293 as the wind strengthened.

    Amateur Frank Stranahan, needing an eagle 2 at the par-4 72nd to tie, hit a 9-iron approach that stopped about a foot from the cup; Reg Horne's birdie putt at the last lipped out.

    Record: Northern Ireland

    Chosen by rule: the major win our record tables single out. Year page: 1947.

    Career line, 1946–1953

    The Open
    1946 The Open: finished T81947 The Open: won1948 The Open: runner-up to Henry Cotton1950 The Open: finished T31951 The Open: finished T41952 The Open: finished 3
    Ryder Cup
    1947 Ryder Cup (GB): 0-2-01949 Ryder Cup (GB): 1-1-01951 Ryder Cup (GB): 0-1-11953 Ryder Cup (GB): 2-0-0
    19461948195019521954

    10 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Runner-up
    • Top 10
    • Ryder Cup, GB / Europe

    Fred Daly was born on October 11, 1911, in Portrush, Northern Ireland. Daly won one major championship: the 1947 Open. Daly played in 4 Ryder Cups for GB (1947, 1949, 1951, 1953), winning 3, losing 4 and halving 1 of 8 matches for 3.5 points.

    See Fred Daly in our rooms: The Open and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (1)

    1. 1947 The Open Royal Liverpool Golf Club · 293 · by 1 stroke from Frank Stranahan and Reg Horne

    Near misses

    Top-10 finishes are listed for The Open, the one championship with a full top 10 every year.

    1. 1946 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T8 · 298
    2. 1948 The Open Muirfield · runner-up to Henry Cotton · 289
    3. 1950 The Open Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · finished T3 · 282
    4. 1951 The Open Royal Portrush Golf Club · finished T4 · 292
    5. 1952 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · finished 3 · 289

    Ryder Cup

    Daly played 4 Ryder Cups for GB: 8 matches, 3 won, 4 lost, 1 halved, 3.5 points (43.8% of those available). By format: foursomes 2-2-0, four-ball 0-0-0, singles 1-2-1 (won-lost-halved).

    1. 1947 Portland Golf Club GB · USA won 11–1 · 0-2-0, 0 points · automatic (major or match-play champion berth)
    2. 1949 Ganton Golf Club GB · USA won 7–5 · 1-1-0, 1 point
    3. 1951 Pinehurst Resort, Course No. 2 GB · USA won 9.5–2.5 · 0-1-1, 0.5 points
    4. 1953 Wentworth Club (course not named in sources found) GB · USA won 6.5–5.5 · 2-0-0, 2 points

    Partners, with matches played together: Ken Bousfield (2), Charlie Ward (1), Harry Bradshaw (1).

    Records and firsts

    Rows from our record tables that name this player, worded as the tables word them.

    1. 1947 Open First Open champion from: Northern Ireland

    Sources

    Elsewhere: Wikipedia.

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. Golf Compendium
    2. pgatour.com
    3. WP: List of European Ryder Cup golfers
    4. WP: Fred Daly
    5. R&A 1947
    6. GC 1947
    7. R&A 1946
    8. R&A 1950
    9. R&A 1951
    10. Golf Compendium 1952
    11. GC: 1947 ryder cup
    12. Wikipedia: 1947 Ryder Cup
    13. GC: 1949 ryder cup
    14. Wikipedia: 1949 Ryder Cup
    15. GC: 1951 ryder cup
    16. Wikipedia: 1951 Ryder Cup
    17. GC: 1953 ryder cup
    18. Wikipedia: 1953 Ryder Cup
    19. Topend Sports