1929 Open Championship

The 1929 Open Championship was the 64th Open Championship, held 8–10 May at Muirfield in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Walter Hagen successfully defended his 1928 title, six strokes ahead of runner-up Johnny Farrell. It was Hagen's fourth win at the Open and his eleventh and final major title.^[4][5]

1929 Open Championship

Tournament information
Dates	8–10 May 1929
Location	Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland
Course(s)	Muirfield
Statistics
Par	70 [1]
Length	6,693 yards (6,120 m)[2]
Field	109 players, 64 after cut [3]
Cut	157 (+17)
Prize fund	£250
Winner's share	£75
Champion
Walter Hagen
292 (+12)
← 1928 1930 →

Muirfield

Location in Scotland

Muirfield

Location in East Lothian, Scotland

Qualifying was held 6–7 May, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes at Muirfield and 18 holes at the number 1 course Gullane,^[6] and the top 100 and ties qualified. Leo Diegel led the field with 144; the qualifying score was 162 and 109 players advanced.^[7][8]

Percy Alliss held the lead after the first round with a 69,^[9][10] while Leo Diegel matched that score in the second round to take the 36-hole lead. After a first-round 75, defending champion Hagen recorded an Open Championship record 67 in the second round on Thursday and was two back of Diegel.^[1][11] There was a change in the cut rule; players needed to be within fourteen strokes of the leader after 36 holes, but there was to be a minimum of sixty left in the field.^[9] The cut was at 157 (+17) and 64 advanced.

Windy conditions on Friday caused scores to soar over the final two rounds. Diegel shot 82 in the morning, with Alliss and Abe Mitchell at 76 and 78, respectively. Hagen finished with two rounds of 75 for 292. Diegel was a shot behind runner-up Farrell in third place, while Alliss and Mitchell shared fourth at 300.^[4][5]

Hagen, age 36, played the tournament just twice more, in 1933 and 1937, both following Ryder Cup matches in England. Six-time champion Harry Vardon, age 59, qualified for the Open for the final time and missed the cut by three strokes. Similar to 1928, this Open was played earlier than usual, in early May.

Course

Main article: Muirfield

Hole	Yards	Par		Hole	Yards	Par
1	450	4		10	459	4
2	353	4		11	359	4
3	380	4		12	380	4
4	180	3		13	128	3
5	510	5		14	450	4
6	450	4		15	393	4
7	153	3		16	193	3
8	455	4		17	507	5
9	483	4		18	410	4
Out	3,414	35		In	3,279	35
Source:[2]		Total			6,693	70

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 8 May 1929

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Percy Alliss	69	−1
T2	Jim Barnes	71	+1
	Leo Diegel
T4	Ed Dudley	72	+2
	Johnny Farrell
	Herbert Jolly
	Abe Mitchell
T8	Michael Bingham	73	+3
	Bobby Cruickshank
	Gene Sarazen
	Macdonald Smith
	Al Watrous
	Tom Williamson

Source:^[9][10]

Second round

Thursday, 9 May 1929

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Leo Diegel	71-69=140	E
2	Walter Hagen	75-67=142	+2
3	Abe Mitchell	72-72=144	+4
4	Percy Alliss	69-76=145	+5
T5	Bobby Cruickshank	73-74=147	+7
	Johnny Farrell	72-75=147
	Johnny Golden	74-73=147
	Gene Sarazen	73-74=147
T9	Tommy Armour	75-73=148	+8
	Aubrey Boomer	74-74=148
	Bill Mehlhorn	74-74=148

Source:^[11]

Third round

Friday, 10 May 1929 (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Walter Hagen	75-67-75=217	+7
2	Percy Alliss	69-76-76=221	+11
T3	Leo Diegel	71-69-82=222	+12
	Abe Mitchell	72-72-78=222
5	Johnny Farrell	72-75-76=223	+13
6	Bobby Cruickshank	73-74-78=225	+15
7	Archie Compston	76-73-77=226	+16
T8	Tommy Armour	75-73-79=227	+17
	Mark Seymour	75-74-78=227
	Al Watrous	73-79-75=227

Source:^[3][4][5]

Final round

Friday, 10 May 1929 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money (£)
1	Walter Hagen	75-67-75-75=292	+12	75
2	Johnny Farrell	72-75-76-75=298	+18	50
3	Leo Diegel	71-69-82-77=299	+19	25
T4	Percy Alliss	69-76-76-79=300	+20	15
	Abe Mitchell	72-72-78-78=300
6	Bobby Cruickshank	73-74-78-76=301	+21	10
7	Jim Barnes	71-80-78-74=303	+23
T8	Gene Sarazen	73-74-81-76=304	+24
	Al Watrous	73-79-75-77=304
10	Tommy Armour	75-73-79-78=305	+25

Source:^{[3][4][5][12]}

Amateurs: Perkins (+32), MacKenzie (+33), Tolley (+33), Von Elm (+38)