Fred Daly (golfer)
Professional golfer

Fred Daly (golfer)

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Professional golfer
Gender:
Male
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Birth:
11 October 1911
Death:
18 November 1990
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Introduction Tournament wins (24) Major championships Team appearances
The details
Biography

Introduction

Frederick J. Daly, MBE (11 October 1911 – 18 November 1990) was a Northern Irish professional golfer, best known for winning The Open Championship in 1947 at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake.
Born in Portrush, County Antrim, Daly was the only Irishman from either side of the border to have won The Open until Pádraig Harrington won it in 2007 and the only Northern Irish major winner until Graeme McDowell won the U.S. Open in 2010. Daly won the Open in 1947 while professional to the Balmoral Club in Belfast. He won with a score of 293, a single stroke ahead of runners-up Reg Horne and amateur Frank Stranahan.
During his acceptance speech at Royal Liverpool, Daly said he was very honoured to receive the Claret Jug and take it back to Northern Ireland. He went on to say that the trophy had never been to Ireland and that he was hoping that the change of air would help it. There was much applause and laughter at his humorous comments.
In addition, he added the News of the World Match Play tournament which was the main British Match Play Championship, becoming the first since James Braid (1905) to win both the Open and the Match Play title in the same year.
Daly was the only Ulsterman to win the Irish Open until 2016, when Rory McIlroy won at The K Club. Daly won in 1946 at Portmarnock, and played on four Ryder Cup teams, in 1947, 1949, 1951, and 1953. He died in Belfast of a heart attack at age 79.
Daly was awarded the MBE in the 1984 New Year Honours "for services to golf".

Tournament wins (24)

this list is incomplete

  • 1936 Irish International
  • 1937 Irish International
  • 1938 Irish International
  • 1940 Irish PGA Championship
  • 1946 Irish Open, Irish PGA Championship
  • 1947 Open Championship, News of the World Match Play
  • 1948 Penfold Tournament, News of the World Match Play, Dunlop-Southport Tournament
  • 1949 Manchester Evening Chronicle Tournament
  • 1950 Lotus Tournament
  • 1952 Daks Tournament, News of the World Match Play, Irish PGA Championship
  • Ulster Professional Championship – 8 times. He first won this championship on his first attempt in 1936.

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runners-up
1947 The Open Championship Tied for lead +5 (73-70-78-72=293) 1 stroke England Reg Horne, United States Frank Stranahan

Results timeline

Of the four majors, Daly only played The Open Championship.

1946 1947 1948 1949
T8 1 2 DNP
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
T3 T4 3 11 T35 T12 CUT CUT T20 DNP
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976
CUT DNP CUT CUT CUT DNP CUT

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Team appearances

  • Ryder Cup (representing Great Britain): 1947, 1949, 1951, 1953
  • Canada Cup (representing Ireland): 1954, 1955
  • Ireland–Scotland Professional Match (representing Ireland): 1936
  • Triangular Professional Tournament (representing Ireland): 1937
  • Llandudno International Golf Trophy (representing Ireland): 1938
  • Joy Cup (representing the British Isles): 1954 (winners), 1955 (winners)