The 1956 Open Championship was the 85th Open Championship, held 4–6 July at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in

Hoylake Hoylake () is a coast, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee, Wales, River Dee meets the Irish Sea. At the 2021 United K ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Two-time defending champion Peter Thomson of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

won his third consecutive Open, three strokes ahead of runner-up Flory Van Donck of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. It was the third of five Open titles for the 26-year-old Thomson. Qualifying took place on 2–3 July. Entries played 18 holes on the Championship course and 18 holes at

Wallasey Wallasey () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the mouth of the River Mersey, on the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic county bou ...

. With a record 360 entries it was decided that, for the first time, qualifying would be in groups of three rather than the usual two. The number of qualifiers was limited to a maximum of 100. Ties for 100th place would not qualify. The qualifying score was 152 and 96 players qualified.

Gary Player Gary James Player (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine ...

and Peter Thomson led the qualifiers on 140. The maximum number of players making the cut after 36 holes was set at 50. Ties for 50th place did not make the cut. Prize money was unchanged with £1,000 for the winner out of a total purse of £3,750.

Round summaries

First round

''Wednesday, 4 July 1956''

Second round

''Thursday, 5 July 1956'' Amateurs: '' Carr (+8)'', Sharp (+12), Jones (+12), Tate (+14), Shepperson (+17), Thirlwell (+18), Fogarty (+21).

Third round

''Friday, 6 July 1956 - (morning)''

Final round

''Friday, 6 July 1956 - (afternoon)'' Amateur: Carr (+22).

References

External links

Royal Liverpool 1956 (Official site)
{{Coord, 53.385, -3.190, type:event, display=title The Open Championship Golf tournaments in England Sport in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Open Championship Open Championship Open Championship