The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later the venue rotated between a select group of coastal links golf courses in the United Kingdom. It is organised by The R&A.
The following is a partial timeline of the history of golf:
Allan Robertson was considered to be one of the first professional golfers.
Thomas Mitchell Morris, otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, and The Grand Old Man of Golf, was a Scottish golfer. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links, and died there as well. Young Tom Morris, also a golfer, was his son.
Thomas Morris, known as Tom Morris Junior, Young Tom Morris and also Tommy Morris, was a Scottish professional golfer. He is considered one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history. He won four consecutive titles in the Open Championship, and did this by the age of 21.
The Golf Champion Trophy, commonly known as the Claret Jug, is the trophy presented to the winner of The Open Championship, one of the four major championships in golf.
Andrew Anderson Strath was a Scottish professional golfer who played in the mid-19th century. He won the 1865 Open Championship. In total, he accumulated six top-10 finishes in The Open Championship.
The 1861 Open Championship was a golf competition held at Prestwick Golf Club, Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the second Open Championship and the first to open to amateurs as well as professionals. Ten professionals and eight amateurs contested the event, with Tom Morris, Sr. winning the championship by 4 shots from Willie Park, Sr.
The 1862 Open Championship was the third Open Championship and was again held at Prestwick Golf Club, Ayrshire, Scotland. Four professionals and four amateurs contested the event, with Tom Morris, Sr. winning the championship for the second time, by 13 shots from Willie Park, Sr.
The 1863 Open Championship was the fourth Open Championship and was again held at Prestwick Golf Club. Eight professionals and six amateurs contested the event in wet and windy weather, with Willie Park, Sr. winning the championship for the second time, by two shots from Tom Morris, Sr.
Golf in Scotland was first recorded in the Scottish late Middle Ages, and the modern game of golf was first developed and established in the country. The game plays a key role in the national sporting consciousness.
George Daniel Brown (1836–1902) was an English professional golfer. He also specialized as a ball and club maker. Brown finished fifth in the 1860 Open Championship and repeated the feat in the 1863 Open Championship. In total, Brown had three top-10 finishes in The Open Championship.
William Dow was a Scottish professional golfer. He had six top-10 finishes in the Open Championship. Dow placed third in both the 1861 and 1865 Open Championships.
Peter McEwan Sr. was a Scottish professional golfer and club maker. McEwan placed sixth in the 1861 Open Championship.
Willie Dunn Sr. was a Scottish professional golfer who played during the mid-to-late 19th century. He was born in Musselburgh, Scotland, in 1821 and died there. Dunn had three top-10 finishes in the Open Championship, with his best result being seventh in the 1861 Open Championship.
James Ogilvie Fairlie was a Scottish amateur golfer and landowner. He is best remembered as the principal organiser of the first Open Championship in 1860. Fairlie was a founding member of Prestwick Golf Club in 1851.
Robert Chambers was a Scottish publisher, editor of Chambers' Journal, amateur golfer and encyclopaedist, the son of Robert Chambers, the co-founder of the W & R Chambers publishing house in Edinburgh.
William Doleman was a Scottish amateur golfer. Doleman placed sixth in the 1865 Open Championship. He placed fifth in the 1869 Open Championship and was third in the 1872 Open Championship. He is reputed to have been the first person to have played golf in Canada when he visited as a sailor in 1854.
Alexander Hamilton Doleman was a Scottish amateur golfer. Doleman tied for ninth place in the 1870 Open Championship. His brothers John, William, and Frank were also golfers.
The Challenge Belt was awarded to the winner of The Open Championship in golf from 1860 until 1870. It was replaced by the Claret Jug for the 1872 Open Championship which is still being used to the present day. The winner of the first Open Championship, Willie Park Sr., in 1860 at the Prestwick Golf Club received no prize money; instead, he was allowed to keep the Belt until the following Open Championship.
Willie Park, Sr. 
