1948 Open Championship: Henry Cotton wins at Muirfield
Henry Cotton won the 1948 Open Championship at Muirfield, Gullane, Scotland with 284, by 5 strokes over Fred Daly.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1948 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 30 June 1948 to 2 July 1948
- Course
- Muirfield, Gullane, Scotland
- Edition
- 77th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 97
- Made the cut
- 36 (cut at 148)
- Purse
- £1,000
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Henry Cotton · age 41 · England · born Holmes Chapel, England
- Champion's title
- 3rd Open title
- Winning score
- 71-66-75-72 = 284 · won by 5 strokes
- Runner-up
- Fred Daly (289)
- 54-hole leader
- Henry Cotton (212)
- Final-day weather
- poor weather (type not stated): In "poor weather on the final day" no one broke 70; Cotton's 75-72 won by five.
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henry Cotton | 71 | 66 | 75 | 72 | 284 |
| 2 | Fred Daly | 72 | 71 | 73 | 73 | 289 |
| T3 | Charlie Ward | 69 | 72 | 75 | 74 | 290 |
| T3 | Roberto De Vicenzo | 70 | 73 | 72 | 75 | 290 |
| T3 | Norman Von Nida | 71 | 72 | 76 | 71 | 290 |
| T3 | Jack Hargreaves | 76 | 68 | 73 | 73 | 290 |
| T7 | Flory Van Donck | 69 | 73 | 73 | 76 | 291 |
| T7 | Sam King | 69 | 72 | 74 | 76 | 291 |
| T7 | Johnny Bulla | 74 | 72 | 73 | 72 | 291 |
| T7 | Alf Padgham | 73 | 70 | 71 | 77 | 291 |
What happened at the 1948 Open Championship
Cotton's second-round 66 (out 33, home 33), a Muirfield record, was watched all the way round by King George VI.
In poor weather on the final day no one broke 70; Cotton's 75-72 kept him clear and he won by five, 11 years after his previous Open title.
No source names a deciding hole; Cotton's second-round 66 "put him in front for good" and he won by five.
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).