1949 Amateur Championship: Max McCready wins at Portmarnock Golf Club

Max McCready won the 1949 Amateur Championship at Portmarnock Golf Club in Portmarnock, County Dublin, beating Willie Turnesa 2 & 1 in the final.

Updated 23 October 2026

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Edition: 54th
Dates: 28 May 1949
Course: Portmarnock Golf Club, Portmarnock, County Dublin
Format: match play
Champion: Max McCready · age 31 · Northern Ireland
Champion's title: 1st Amateur Championship title
Runner-up: Willie Turnesa · age 35 · United States
Final: 2 & 1 (36-hole final)
Losing semifinalists: Ken Thom and Bunny Millward
Defending champion: Frank Stranahan · lost in quarterfinals

What happened at the 1949 Amateur Championship

Quarterfinal upset: McCready beat the holder Frank Stranahan 4 & 3, then won his semifinal against Ken Thom with a birdie 3 at the 20th hole the same afternoon.

Final: McCready went to lunch 4 up (70 in the morning) but Turnesa won five straight holes (23rd-27th) and led 1 up after 30; McCready squared at the 33rd and won 2 & 1.

The draw

Every match is recorded through the semifinal; earlier rounds are partial (quarterfinal (3 of 4 matches); round of 16 (3 of 8 matches); round of 32 (2 of 16 matches)).

The final, 1949 Amateur Championship

Winner		Beaten	Result
Max McCready	def.	Willie Turnesa	2 & 1

Semifinals, 1949 Amateur Championship

Winner		Beaten	Result
Max McCready	def.	Ken Thom	won on 20th hole
Willie Turnesa	def.	Bunny Millward	1 up

Quarterfinals, 1949 Amateur Championship

Winner		Beaten	Result
Max McCready	def.	Frank Stranahan	4 & 3
Willie Turnesa	def.	Michael Power	won on 19th hole
Bunny Millward	def.	Ian Considine	4 & 3

Round of 16, 1949 Amateur Championship

Winner		Beaten	Result
Frank Stranahan	def.	David Blair	unknown
Willie Turnesa	def.	Brendan Scannell	1 up
Bunny Millward	def.	Ronnie White	unknown

Round of 32, 1949 Amateur Championship

Winner		Beaten	Result
Frank Stranahan	def.	G. A. Loveday	unknown
Willie Turnesa	def.	Robert Walker	unknown

How this was built

Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's Amateur Championship data set (research collected through 20 October 2026). "unknown" means no source confirmed it; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the R&A's own record is used.

Values found only on Wikipedia, kept and flagged: champion_age, champion_birth_year, champion_birthplace, runner_up_age.

Data: the-amateur.json.