1951 Open Championship: Max Faulkner wins at Royal Portrush Golf Club
Max Faulkner won the 1951 Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland with 285, by 2 strokes over Antonio Cerda.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1951 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 4 July 1951 to 6 July 1951
- Course
- Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland
- Edition
- 80th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 98
- Made the cut
- 46 (cut at 154)
- Purse
- £1,700
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Max Faulkner · age 34 · England · born Bexhill-on-Sea, England
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- Winning score
- 71-70-70-74 = 285 · won by 2 strokes
- Runner-up
- Antonio Cerda (287)
- 54-hole leader
- Max Faulkner (211)
- Caddie
- "Mad Mac" (nickname only)
- Low amateur
- Frank Stranahan (295)
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Faulkner | 71 | 70 | 70 | 74 | 285 |
| 2 | Antonio Cerda | 74 | 72 | 71 | 70 | 287 |
| 3 | Charlie Ward | 75 | 73 | 74 | 68 | 290 |
| T4 | Fred Daly | 74 | 70 | 75 | 73 | 292 |
| T4 | Jimmy Adams | 68 | 77 | 75 | 72 | 292 |
| T6 | Bill Shankland | 73 | 76 | 72 | 72 | 293 |
| T6 | Harry Weetman | 73 | 71 | 75 | 74 | 293 |
| T6 | Norman Sutton | 73 | 70 | 74 | 76 | 293 |
| T6 | Bobby Locke | 71 | 74 | 74 | 74 | 293 |
| T6 | Peter Thomson | 70 | 75 | 73 | 75 | 293 |
What happened at the 1951 Open Championship
Faulkner, six strokes clear after 54 holes, famously signed an autograph 'Open Champion 1951' before the final round (the R&A says a boy's father asked him to add the words).
Faulkner closed with a 74 and had to wait for Cerda to finish two shots back; he flew home that night and played in a fathers-v-sons cricket match at his son's school the next day.
No source names a deciding hole; Faulkner led by six after 54 holes and won by two.
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).