1933 Open Championship: Denny Shute wins at Old Course, St Andrews
Denny Shute won the 1933 Open Championship at Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland with 292 (E), beating Craig Wood in a playoff.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1933 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 5 July 1933 to 8 July 1933
- Course
- Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland
- Edition
- 68th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Par
- 73
- Field
- 117
- Made the cut
- 58 (cut at 152)
- Purse
- £500 · winner's share £100
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Denny Shute · age 28 · USA · born Cleveland, USA
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- Winning score
- 73-73-73-73 = 292 (E)
- Runner-up
- Craig Wood (292)
- 54-hole leaders
- Henry Cotton, Leo Diegel, Syd Easterbrook, Joe Kirkwood Sr, Abe Mitchell (216) · Denny Shute was 3 strokes back
- Playoff
- 36-hole stroke play; beat Craig Wood; Shute 149 (75-74); Wood 154 (78-76)
- Low amateur
- Jack McLean; Cyril Tolley (tie) (298)
Top 11 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denny Shute | 73 | 73 | 73 | 73 | 292 | E |
| 2 | Craig Wood | 77 | 72 | 68 | 75 | 292 | E |
| T3 | Leo Diegel | 75 | 70 | 71 | 77 | 293 | +1 |
| T3 | Gene Sarazen | 72 | 73 | 73 | 75 | 293 | +1 |
| T3 | Syd Easterbrook | 73 | 72 | 71 | 77 | 293 | +1 |
| 6 | Olin Dutra | 76 | 76 | 70 | 72 | 294 | +2 |
| T7 | Alf Padgham | 74 | 73 | 74 | 74 | 295 | +3 |
| T7 | Ed Dudley | 70 | 71 | 76 | 78 | 295 | +3 |
| T7 | Reg Whitcombe | 76 | 75 | 72 | 72 | 295 | +3 |
| T7 | Henry Cotton | 73 | 71 | 72 | 79 | 295 | +3 |
| T7 | Abe Mitchell | 74 | 68 | 74 | 79 | 295 | +3 |
What happened at the 1933 Open Championship
Needing to two-putt the 72nd to join the playoff, Leo Diegel missed the ball entirely with his second putt and finished one short.
Shute won with four straight 73s, then won the playoff by five strokes.
Shute beat Craig Wood 149 to 154 over 36 holes; no source names a playoff hole (Leo Diegel missed the playoff by one after missing a tap-in on the 72nd green).
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's The Open data. A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the organizer's own record is used.
Data: the-open.json (The Open room's data), with GNN's Open Championship addendum tables L (top ten by round), H (deciding hole), W (final-day weather).