LAST MONTHATTHE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
held at historic St. Andrews, nine amateur
golfers made the cut after the second round
and four finished among the leaders at the end
of the tournament. Paul Dunne, from Northern
Ireland, a student at the University of Alabama
Birmingham, finished fifth in the NCAA
Championship last month and was tied for the
54-hole lead at the Open Championship.
The last amateur to win the Open Championship
was Bobby Jones in 1930. Today with the high
level of play on professional tours around the
world, it is exceedingly difficult for amateurs to
compete with professional golfers.
Toledo can lay claim to one of the best amateur
golfers of all time. Frank Stranahan competed
on the world golf stage at a very high level and
finished runner-up at the Open Championship
on two occasions.
Stranahan opened with a 71 at Royal Liverpool
in 1947 and carded 79-72-72 for the final three
rounds to finish tied for runner-up, one shot
behind the winner, Fred Daly.
His score was close to the lead all four days
of the 1953 Open Championship, held at
Carnoustie. Four rounds of 70-74-73-69 left
him at two-under-par for the tournament and he
once again tied for runner-up, four shots behind
Ben Hogan. Hogan won the 1953 Masters
and the U.S. Open prior to winning the Open
Championship.
Toledo’s
Frank Stranahan
Excelled at the Open
Championship