| 1956 Open Championship | |
| Dates: | 4–6 July 1956 |
| Location: | Hoylake, England |
| Course: | Royal Liverpool Golf Club |
| Par: | 71[1] |
| Yardage: | 6960yd[2] |
| Field: | 96 players, 49 after cut[3] |
| Cut: | 153 (+11) |
| Purse: | £3,750 $10,500 |
| Winners Share: | £1,000 $2,800 |
| Champion: |  Peter Thomson |
| Score: | 286 (+2) |
| Previous: | 1955 |
| Next: | 1957 |
The 1956 Open Championship was the 85th Open Championship, held 4–6 July at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. Two-time defending champion Peter Thomson of Australia won his third consecutive Open, three strokes ahead of runner-up Flory Van Donck of Belgium. It was the third of five Open titles for the 26-year-old Thomson.[1]
Qualifying took place on 2–3 July. Entries played 18 holes on the Championship course and 18 holes at Wallasey. 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.[4] 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 and Peter Thomson led the qualifiers on 140.[5] 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.
Wednesday, 4 July 1956
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dennis Smalldon | 68 | −3 |
| 2 |  Enrique Bertolino | 69 | −2 |
| T3 |  Al Balding | 70 | −1 |
| Eric Lester | |||
| Dave Thomas | |||
| Peter Thomson | |||
| T7 |  Carlos Celles | 71 | E |
| Roberto De Vicenzo | |||
| Ángel Miguel | |||
 Gary Player | |||
 Flory Van Donck |
Thursday, 5 July 1956
| Place | Player | Score | To par | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Thomson | align=center | 70-70=140 | −2 |
| T2 | Enrique Bertolino | align=center | 69-72=141 | −1 |
| Roberto De Vicenzo | align=center | 71-70=141 | ||
| T4 | Ángel Miguel | align=center | 71-74=145 | +3 |
| Flory Van Donck | align=center | 71-74=145 | ||
| 6 | Eric Lester | align=center | 70-76=146 | +4 |
| T7 | Gary Player | align=center | 71-76=147 | +5 |
| Dennis Smalldon | align=center | 68-79=147 | ||
| T9 | Henry Cotton | align=center | 72-76=148 | +6 |
| Bernard Hunt | align=center | 75-73=148 | ||
 Mike Souchak | align=center | 74-74=148 | ||
| Frank Stranahan | align=center | 72-76=148 | ||
| Dave Thomas | align=center | 70-78=148 | ||
| Charlie Ward | align=center | 73-75=148 | ||
| Harry Weetman | align=center | 72-76=148 |
Amateurs: Carr (+8), Sharp (+12), Jones (+12), Tate (+14), Shepperson (+17), Thirlwell (+18), Fogarty (+21).
Friday, 6 July 1956 - (morning)
| Place | Player | Score | To par | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Thomson | align=center | 70-70-72=212 | −1 |
| 2 | Flory Van Donck | align=center | 71-74-70=215 | +2 |
| 3 | Enrique Bertolino | align=center | 69-72-76=217 | +4 |
| 4 | Henry Cotton | align=center | 72-76-71=219 | +6 |
| T5 | Roberto De Vicenzo | align=center | 71-70-79=220 | +7 |
| Ángel Miguel | align=center | 71-74-75=220 | ||
| Gary Player | align=center | 71-76-73=220 | ||
| Frank Stranahan | align=center | 72-76-72=220 | ||
| 9 | Antonio Cerdá | align=center | 72-81-68=221 | +8 |
| T10 | John Panton | align=center | 74-76-72=222 | +9 |
| Mike Souchak | 74-74-74=222 |
Friday, 6 July 1956 - (afternoon)
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Thomson | 70-70-72-74=286 | +2 | 1,000 |
| 2 | 71-74-70-74=289 | +5 | 500 | |
| 3 | 71-70-79-70=290 | +6 | 350 | |
| 4 | 71-76-73-71=291 | +7 | 200 | |
| 5 | 74-76-72-70=292 | +8 | 150 | |
| T6 | 69-72-76-76=293 | +9 | 87 | |
| 72-76-71-74=293 | ||||
| T8 | 72-81-68-73=294 | +10 | 62 | |
| 74-74-74-72=294 | ||||
| T10 | 73-78-74-70=295 | +11 | 40 | |
| 72-76-75-72=295 |
Amateur: Carr (+22).