1860 Open Championship
Golf tournament From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1860 Open Championship was a golf competition held at Prestwick Golf Club, in Ayrshire, Scotland. It is now regarded as the first Open Championship. Until his death in 1859, Allan Robertson was regarded as top golfer in the world. The Open Championship was created to determine his successor.[1] Eight golfers contested the event, with Willie Park, Sr. winning the championship by 2 shots from Tom Morris, Sr.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 17 October 1860 |
| Location | Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland |
| Course(s) | Prestwick Golf Club |
| Statistics | |
| Field | 8 players |
| Champion | |
| Willie Park, Sr. | |
| 174 | |
Prestwick
Location in Scotland
.PNG)
James Ogilvie Fairlie, principal organizer of the inaugural 1860 Open Championship, c.ā1847
Willie Park, Sr. wearing the Challenge Belt
Prestwick Golf Club organised the event, "to be played for by professional golfers". Golf clubs in Scotland and England were invited to name and send up to three of their best players to compete. The contest was over three rounds of the twelve-hole links course. The prize for winning was the Challenge Belt; a player winning the belt three successive years would keep it. "Cawdies, i.e. Professional Players, not Keepers of Links" were eligible and had to produce a certificate of respectability from their club.[2] George Daniel Brown was the only Englishman to play in the event.[3]
James Ogilvie Fairlie was the principal organizer of this inaugural Open Championship. In a proposed competition for a "Challenge Belt", Fairlie sent out a series of letters to Aberdeen, Blackheath, Bruntsfield, Carnoustie Panmure, Dirleton Castle, Innerleven, Montrose, North Berwick, Perth, Musselburgh and St. Andrews (as noted in Prestwick Golf Club Archive), inviting a player known as a "respectable caddie" to represent each of the clubs in a tournament to be held on 17 October 1860.[4]
The pairings were Tom Morris, Sr. (Prestwick) and Robert Andrew (Perth), Willie Park Sr. (Musselburgh) and Alexander Smith (Bruntsfield), William Steel (Bruntsfield) and Charlie Hunter (Prestwick St Nicholas), George Daniel Brown (Blackheath) and Andrew Strath (St Andrews).[5]
Course
| Hole | Name | Yards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Back of Cardinal | 578 |
| 2 | Alps | 385 |
| 3 | Tunnel (Red) | 167 |
| 4 | Wall | 448 |
| 5 | Sea Hedrig | 440 |
| 6 | Tunnel (White) | 314 |
| 7 | Green Hollow | 144 |
| 8 | Station | 166 |
| 9 | Burn | 395 |
| 10 | Lunch House | 213 |
| 11 | Short | 132 |
| 12 | Home | 417 |
| Yardage | 3,799 |
Final leaderboard
Source:[6]
| Place | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Willie Park, Sr. | 55-59-60=174 |
| 2 | Tom Morris, Sr. | 58-59-59=176 |
| 3 | Andrew Strath | 180 |
| 4 | Robert Andrew | 191 |
| 5 |  George Daniel Brown | 192 |
| 6 | Charlie Hunter | 195 |
| 7 | Alexander Smith | 196 |
| 8 | William Steel | 232 |
See also
References
External links
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