1956 Open Championship: Peter Thomson wins at Royal Liverpool Golf Club
Peter Thomson won the 1956 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, England with 286, by 3 strokes over Flory Van Donck.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1956 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 4 July 1956 to 6 July 1956
- Course
- Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, England
- Edition
- 85th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 97
- Made the cut
- 49
- Purse
- £3,750
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Peter Thomson · age 26 · Australia · born Brunswick (Melbourne), Australia
- Champion's title
- 3rd Open title
- Winning score
- 70-70-72-74 = 286 · won by 3 strokes
- Runner-up
- Flory Van Donck (289)
- 54-hole leader
- Peter Thomson (212)
- Low amateur
- Joe Carr
Top 11 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Thomson | 70 | 70 | 72 | 74 | 286 |
| 2 | Flory Van Donck | 71 | 74 | 70 | 74 | 289 |
| 3 | Roberto De Vicenzo | 71 | 70 | 79 | 70 | 290 |
| 4 | Gary Player | 71 | 76 | 73 | 71 | 291 |
| 5 | John Panton | 74 | 76 | 72 | 70 | 292 |
| T6 | Enrique Bertolino | 69 | 72 | 76 | 76 | 293 |
| T6 | Henry Cotton | 72 | 76 | 71 | 74 | 293 |
| T8 | Antonio Cerda | 72 | 81 | 68 | 73 | 294 |
| T8 | Mike Souchak | 74 | 74 | 74 | 72 | 294 |
| T10 | Harry Weetman | 72 | 76 | 75 | 72 | 295 |
| T10 | Christy O'Connor Snr | 73 | 78 | 74 | 70 | 295 |
What happened at the 1956 Open Championship
Dennis Smalldon opened with a 68 to lead, then shot 79 in the second-round morning when, per the R&A, 'the conditions were at their worst'.
Thomson and Van Donck both closed with 74s as Thomson became the first player to win three Opens in a row since the event went to 72 holes; Gary Player was fourth on his debut.
No source names a deciding hole; Thomson won by three for a third straight title.
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).