| 1937 British Open | |
The Ryder Cup was played in England in 1937, just prior to the Open Championship, which meant that the 1937 British Open is one of the rare ones from this era with a strong American presence. The U.S. Ryder Cup players made the trek north to Scotland to play the Open.
They had won the Ryder Cup by a score of 8-4. But Englishman Henry Cotton inflicted two of those four losses on the Americans. At the 1937 British Open, he inflicted another loss to the strong American contingent.
It was the second of Cotton's three British Open wins. He finished two strokes in front of Reg Whitcombe, who a year later won the 1938 British Open.
The highest finisher among the U.S. Ryder Cup team members was Byron Nelson in fifth, followed by Ed Dudley in sixth. Nelson and Dudley had teamed in foursomes at the Ryder Cup, and lost to Alf Padgham and ... Henry Cotton.
It was one of just two appearances in the Open by Nelson, who didn't return until 1955. Sam Snead made his Open Championship debut here, tying for 11th. He played this tournament only five times, but won the 1946 British Open.
Another American, the Ryder Cup captain, was at Carnoustie. That was Walter Hagen, the 4-time Open champion. He finished tied for 26th in his final British Open appearance.
1937 British Open Golf Tournament Scores
Results from the 1937 British Open golf tournament played at Carnoustie Golf Links in Carnoustie, Scotland (a-amateur):
| Henry Cotton | 74-72-73-71--290 |
| Reg Whitcombe | 72-70-74-76--292 |
| Charles Lacey | 76-75-70-72--293 |
| Charles Whitcombe | 73-71-74-76--294 |
| Byron Nelson | 75-76-71-74--296 |
| Ed Dudley | 70-74-78-75--297 |
| Arthur Lacey | 75-73-75-75--298 |
| William Laidlaw | 77-72-73-76--298 |
| Alf Padgham | 72-74-76-76--298 |
| Horton Smith | 77-71-79-72--299 |
| Ralph Guldahl | 77-72-74-77--300 |
| Sam Snead | 75-74-75-76--300 |
| William Branch | 72-75-73-81--301 |
| Denny Shute | 73-73-76-80--302 |
| Percy Alliss | 75-76-75-77--303 |
| Henry Picard | 76-77-70-80--303 |
| Jimmy Adams | 74-78-76-76--304 |
| Arthur Havers | 77-75-76-76--304 |
| a-Bobby Locke | 74-74-77-79--304 |
| Fred Robertson | 73-75-78-78--304 |
| Bill Cox | 74-77-81-73--305 |
| Dai Rees | 75-73-78-79--305 |
| John J. Busson | 74-77-79-76--306 |
| Tom Collinge | 75-75-83-74--307 |
| Douglas Cairncross | 73-76-77-82--308 |
| Marcel Dallemagne | 78-75-79-77--309 |
| Walter Hagen | 76-72-80-81--309 |
| Jack McLean | 78-74-81-76--309 |
| John Burton | 76-75-82-77--310 |
| Sam King | 79-74-75-82--310 |
| Eddie Whitcombe | 76-76-81-77--310 |
| Hamish Ballingall | 77-75-79-80--311 |
| Aubrey Boomer | 79-72-77-83--311 |
| Allan Dailey | 76-77-79-79--311 |
| John Fallon | 76-77-78-80--311 |
| Johnny Revolta | 76-76-83-76--311 |
| Laurie Ayton Jr. | 75-78-80-79--312 |
| George Knight | 76-75-78-83--312 |
| Gregor McIntosh | 79-74-81-78--312 |
| William Nolan | 77-76-78-81--312 |
| J.J. Taylor | 73-80-83-76--312 |
| Bobby Cruickshank | 78-74-77-85--314 |
| Tom Dobson | 79-74-79-82--314 |
| William McMinn | 72-81-80-81--314 |
| Bill Shankland | 74-77-82-81--314 |
| Sydney Fairweather | 77-75-82-81--315 |
| Jack Seager | 78-75-83-81--317 |
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