1861 Open Championship

Last updated

1861 Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates26 September 1861
Location Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland
Course(s) Prestwick Golf Club
Statistics
Field18 players
Champion
Flag of Scotland.svg Tom Morris, Sr.
163
←  1860
1862  →
Tom Morris, Sr. winner of the Challenge Belt in 1861 Old Tom Morris 1860.png
Tom Morris, Sr. winner of the Challenge Belt in 1861

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.

Contents

As in 1860 the contest was held over three rounds of the twelve-hole links course. There was no prize money, the winner receiving the Challenge Belt for the next year. Whereas the 1860 event was only open to professionals, from 1861 it was "open to all members of established golf clubs and professionals". [1]

Following the success of the first event there was a large entry of 18. The Dunn brothers travelled from London for the event while a number of gentlemen entered. The professionals played in five pairs. [2]

Park led by two at the start of the final round. However, at the 2nd hole Park attempted to "cross the Alps" in two but he landed in a hazard and lost three strokes, who later played the same hole more conservatively. Morris increased his lead to two at the 4th hole but by the 6th they were level. Morris picked up shots on Park at the 8th, 9th and 10th holes to go three ahead and further increased the lead to four when he holed the short 11th in two strokes. Park had finished on 167 but at the last Morris's tee shot landed in some long grass at the edge of a pool of water. Rather than take a penalty drop he elected to play the ball and kept his four shot lead. [2] [3]

Final leaderboard

Source: [4]

PlacePlayerScore
1 Flag of Scotland.svg Tom Morris, Sr. 54-56-53=163
2 Flag of Scotland.svg Willie Park, Sr. 54-54-59=167
3 Flag of Scotland.svg Willie Dow 59-58-54=171
4 Flag of Scotland.svg Davie Park 58-57-57=172
5 Flag of Scotland.svg Robert Andrew 58-61-56=175
6 Flag of Scotland.svg Peter McEwan, Sr. 56-60-62=178
7 Flag of Scotland.svg Willie Dunn, Sr. 61-59-60=180
8 Flag of Scotland.svg James Ogilvie Fairlie (a)184
9 Flag of England.svg George Daniel Brown 60-65-60=185
10 Flag of Scotland.svg Robert Chambers, Jr. (a)187

Individual round scores are only known for the professionals.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Open Championship</span> Golf tournament held in the UK

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young Tom Morris</span> Scottish professional golfer (1851–1875)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prestwick Golf Club</span> Golf course in South Ayrshire, Scotland

Prestwick Golf Club is a golf course in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is approximately 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Scotland's largest city, Glasgow. Prestwick is a classic links course, built on the rolling sandy land between the beach and the hinterland. The course is near the Prestwick airport, and some holes run along railway tracks on the eastern side of the course.

The 1868 Open Championship was the ninth Open Championship and was held on 23 September at Prestwick Golf Club. Tom Morris, Jr. won the championship for the first time, by three shots from his father Tom Morris, Sr. Tom Morris, Jr. was just 17 years old and remains the youngest Open Championship winner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1870 Open Championship</span> Golf tournament

The 1870 Open Championship was a golf competition held at Prestwick Golf Club, Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the 11th Open Championship and the last to be contested for the Challenge Belt. Tom Morris, Jr. won the championship by 12 shots from Bob Kirk and Davie Strath. By winning for a third successive time Tom Morris, Jr. gained permanent possession of the Challenge Belt.

The 1872 Open Championship was the 12th Open Championship, held 13 September at Prestwick Golf Club in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Tom Morris, Jr. won the Championship for the fourth successive time, by three strokes from runner-up Davie Strath, having been five shots behind Strath before the final round. He was just 21 years and 146 days old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1860 Open Championship</span> Golf tournament

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. Eight golfers contested the event, with Willie Park, Sr. winning the championship by 2 shots from Tom Morris, Sr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1862 Open Championship</span> Golf tournament

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1863 Open Championship</span> Golf tournament

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1864 Open Championship</span> Golf tournament

The 1864 Open Championship was the fifth Open Championship and was held on 16 September at Prestwick Golf Club. Tom Morris, Sr. won the championship for the third time, by two shots from Andrew Strath. There were sixteen competitors.

The 1878 Open Championship was the 18th Open Championship, held 4 October at Prestwick Golf Club in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Jamie Anderson won the Championship for the second successive year, by two strokes from runner-up Bob Kirk.

The 1893 Open Championship was the 33rd Open Championship, held 31 August–1 September at Prestwick Golf Club in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. William Auchterlonie won the Championship, two strokes ahead of the amateur Johnny Laidlay.

Robert Andrew was a Scottish professional golfer. He had seven top-10 finishes in The Open Championship.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Ogilvie Fairlie</span> Scottish golfer and landowner

James Ogilvie Fairlie was a Scottish amateur golfer and landowner. Fairlie placed eighth in the 1861 Open Championship. He was a mentor to Old Tom Morris who named his son, James Ogilvie Fairlie Morris, after him. Fairlie was a founding member of Prestwick Golf Club in 1851.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Kirk</span> Scottish golfer

Robert Kirk was a Scottish professional golfer. He was born at St Andrews, Scotland, and died there. His golf career was highlighted by second-place finishes in The Open Championship in 1869 and again in 1878. Kirk also had a second-place finish in the 1870 Open Championship after winning a playoff against Davie Strath. Kirk played consistently well with nine top-10 finishes in The Open Championship beginning with a fourth-place finish in 1865 and ending with a second-place finish in 1878.

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.

James Ogilvy Fairlie Morris was a Scottish professional golfer. Morris had multiple top-10 finishes in The Open Championship, including a third-place finish in the 1878 event held at Prestwick Golf Club in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. He was the son of Tom Morris, Sr., also known as Old Tom Morris, and was named after James Ogilvie Fairlie, a mentor and patron of his father. He died in 1906 aged 50 of heart failure, unmarried.

References

  1. ↑ "Prestwick Golf Club" . Fife Herald. 19 September 1861. Retrieved 21 December 2014– via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. 1 2 "The Prestwick Golf meet. - The Challenge Belt" . Fife Herald. 3 October 1861. Retrieved 21 December 2014– via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ↑ "The Open - 2nd Open - Prestwick 1861". Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  4. ↑ Brenner, Morgan G. (2009). The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of the Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008. Vol. 1. McFarland. ISBN   978-0-7864-3360-5.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.