1950 Open Championship: Bobby Locke wins at Troon Golf Club (Old Course)
Bobby Locke won the 1950 Open Championship at Troon Golf Club (Old Course), Scotland with 279, by 2 strokes over Roberto De Vicenzo.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1950 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 5 July 1950 to 7 July 1950
- Course
- Troon Golf Club (Old Course), Scotland
- Edition
- 79th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 93
- Made the cut
- 35 (cut at 148)
- Purse
- £1,500
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Bobby Locke · age 32 · South Africa · born Germiston, South Africa
- Champion's title
- 2nd Open title
- Winning score
- 69-72-70-68 = 279 · won by 2 strokes
- Runner-up
- Roberto De Vicenzo (281)
- 54-hole leaders
- Bobby Locke, Roberto De Vicenzo, Dai Rees (211)
- Final-day weather
- calm: With "hardly any wind all week", Locke set an Open record 279.
- Low amateur
- Frank Stranahan (286)
Top 11 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Locke | 69 | 72 | 70 | 68 | 279 |
| 2 | Roberto De Vicenzo | 72 | 71 | 68 | 70 | 281 |
| T3 | Fred Daly | 75 | 72 | 69 | 66 | 282 |
| T3 | Dai Rees | 71 | 68 | 72 | 71 | 282 |
| T5 | Eric Moore | 74 | 68 | 73 | 68 | 283 |
| T5 | Max Faulkner | 72 | 70 | 70 | 71 | 283 |
| T7 | Arthur Lees | 68 | 76 | 68 | 72 | 284 |
| T7 | Fred Bullock | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 284 |
| T9 | Frank Stranahan (a) | 77 | 70 | 73 | 66 | 286 |
| T9 | Sam King | 70 | 75 | 68 | 73 | 286 |
| T9 | Flory Van Donck | 73 | 71 | 72 | 70 | 286 |
What happened at the 1950 Open Championship
German amateur Herman Tissies took 15 at the 123-yard 8th, the 'Postage Stamp', ricocheting between bunkers.
With hardly any wind all week, Locke missed only two fairways in four rounds and set an Open record 279, the first successful title defence since Walter Hagen in 1929.
No source names a deciding hole; Locke won by two with a record 279.
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).