Tournament information | |
---|---|
Dates | 3 October 1885 |
Location | St Andrews, Scotland |
Course(s) | Old Course at St Andrews |
Statistics | |
Field | 60 players [1] |
Prize fund | £35 |
Winner's share | £10 |
Champion | |
Bob Martin | |
171 | |
The 1885 Open Championship was the 25th Open Championship, held 3 October at the Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Bob Martin won the Championship for the second time, by a stroke from Archie Simpson.
Simpson was one of the early starters. The first six holes took him 32 strokes but he reached the turn in 43 and coming home in 40 had an excellent round of 83. Martin started well and reached the turn in 41, eventually finishing with an 84. These turned out to be the leading scores of the morning play.
In the second round, Simpson again started badly, taking 38 for the first seven holes. He eventually finished with an 89 to a total of 172. Martin started his round better and, reaching the turn in 43, was now a stroke ahead of Simpson. Playing steadily he had 16 strokes for the last three holes to beat Martin. Taking five and six at the next two holes left him needing five at the last to take the lead. He put his third shot close at the last but missed the short putt and took five. David Ayton Sr. had a second round of 84 but was too far behind after the first round.
The Championship is best remembered for an event that never took place. [2] Various sources refer to David Ayton losing the Open by taking 11 at the "Road hole" (the 17th) but a contemporary newspaper report gives his scores there as 6 and 7. [3] His full cards are given as: Round 1: 555565734 = 45, 544764464 = 44, Total 89, Round 2: 554565533 = 41, 435565474 = 43, Total =84. [3]
Amateurs: David Baldie, Leslie Balfour, John Ball, Robert Tod Boothby, W. Burn, Harry Everard, Samuel Mure Fergusson, Bruce Goff, W.H. Goff, T.S. Hendry, James Hunter, Horace Hutchinson, James Kirk, Johnny Laidlay, Arthur Molesworth, L. Ross
Professionals: Jamie Allan, David Anderson Sr., David Anderson Jr., Willie Anderson Sr., David Auchterlonie, Joseph Auchterlonie, Tom Auchterlonie, David Ayton Sr., Willie Brown, Jack Burns, Ben Campbell, Willie Campbell, C. Conacher, David Corstorphine, William Cosgrove, Willie Dunn, George Fernie, J. Fernie, Willie Fernie, Thomas Gourlay, David Grant Sr., William Greig, Sandy Herd, J. Kinsman, Robert Kinsman, Hugh Kirkaldy, Jack Kirkaldy, Bob Martin, George Mason, Douglas McEwan, Jack Morris, James Morris, Tom Morris Sr., Frank Park, Mungo Park, Willie Park Jr., James Paxton, Peter Paxton, James Rennie, Ben Sayers, George Sayers, Archie Simpson, David Simpson, Jack Simpson, Robert Simpson
Source: [4]
Saturday, 3 October 1885
Place | Player | Score | Money |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Bob Martin | 84-87=171 | £10 |
2 | Archie Simpson | 83-89=172 | £7 |
3 | David Ayton Sr. | 89-84=173 | £5 10s |
T4 | Willie Fernie | 89-85=174 | £3 3s 4d |
Willie Park Jr. | 86-88=174 | ||
Robert Simpson | 85-89=174 | ||
7 | Jack Burns | 88-87=175 | £1 10s |
8 | Peter Paxton | 85-91=176 | £1 |
T9 | Willie Campbell | 86-91=177 | 5s |
James Morris | 91-86=177 |
The 1875 Open Championship was the 15th Open Championship, held 10 September at Prestwick Golf Club in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Willie Park Sr. won the Championship by two strokes from runner-up Bob Martin. Willie Park, who had won the first Championship in 1860, equalled Tom Morris Jr.'s record of four Championship wins.
The 1876 Open Championship was the 16th Open Championship, held on Saturday 30 September at the Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Bob Martin won the Championship. He had tied with Davie Strath but Strath refused to take part in the playoff and Martin took the title. The combination of a large crowd and the fact that a number of Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews members were playing the course caused a number of problems. An objection was made against Strath for hitting a spectator at the 17th. The objection was not decided on the evening of the contest and Strath was informed that he would have to play on the Monday, under protest. Objecting to this arrangement, Strath refused to take part.
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 1879 Open Championship was the 19th Open Championship, held 27 September at the Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Jamie Anderson won the Championship for the third successive time, by three strokes from Jamie Allan and Andrew Kirkaldy.
The 1882 Open Championship was the 22nd Open Championship, held 30 September at the Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Bob Ferguson won the Championship for the third successive time, by three strokes from Willie Fernie.
The 1888 Open Championship was the 28th Open Championship, held 6 October at the Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Jack Burns won the Championship by a stroke from David Anderson Jr. and Ben Sayers.
The 1890 Open Championship was the 30th Open Championship, held 11 September at Prestwick Golf Club in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. John Ball won the Championship, three strokes ahead of Willie Fernie and Archie Simpson. Ball was both the first Englishman to win the Open and the first amateur to win it.
The 1891 Open Championship was the 31st Open Championship, held 6 October at the Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Hugh Kirkaldy won by two strokes from his brother Andrew Kirkaldy and Willie Fernie. This was the last Open Championship contested in a single day over 36 holes. The 1892 Open was contested over 72 holes played on two successive days.
The 1892 Open Championship was the 32nd Open Championship, held 22–23 September at Muirfield in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Harold Hilton, an amateur, won the Championship by three strokes from another amateur John Ball and two professionals: Sandy Herd and Hugh Kirkaldy. This was the second win by an amateur following Ball's victory in 1890.
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.
The 1894 Open Championship was the 34th Open Championship, held 11–12 June at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. J.H. Taylor won the Championship by five strokes from runner-up Douglas Rolland. This was the first Open Championship held outside Scotland.
The 1896 Open Championship was the 36th Open Championship, held 10–11 and 13 June at Muirfield in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Harry Vardon won the Championship after a playoff against J.H. Taylor.
St Andrews Golf Club, originally known as St Andrews Mechanics Golf Club, is a private members’ golf club located in St Andrews, Scotland. The club is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world, having been established in 1843.
John Kirkaldy was a Scottish professional golfer who played in the late 19th century. Kirkaldy tied for third place in the 1882 Open Championship and placed eighth and T9 in the 1879 and 1884 Open Championships, respectively. His younger brothers Andrew and Hugh were also professional golfers.
George James Fitz-Robert Boothby was a Scottish amateur golfer who played in the late 19th century. Boothby tied for third place in the 1882 Open Championship.
James Lutyens Mansfield was a Scottish amateur golfer who played in the late 19th century. Mansfield tied for seventh place in the 1882 Open Championship.
Samuel Mure Fergusson was a Scottish amateur golfer who played in the late 19th and early 20th century. Fergusson placed fourth in the 1891 Open Championship. Fergusson twice came close to winning The Amateur Championship. His best effort came in the 1894 Amateur Championship where he battled the legendary John Ball at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, eventually losing by the score of 1 up.
John Erskine Douglas Stewart Rolland was a Scottish professional golfer who played in the late 19th century. Rolland had a total of three top-10 finishes in the Open Championship, two of which were second-place finishes in the 1884 Open Championship and again in the 1894 Open Championship.
The England–Scotland Professional Match was an annual men's professional golf competition between teams representing England and Scotland. It was played from 1903 to the start of World War I and was then revived in 1932 and played until the start of World War II. The match was played on a single day, generally a few days before the Open Championship. Except on one occasion, there were 12 players in each team who played 12 singles matches and 6 foursomes. Scotland won the inaugural match in 1903 but didn't win another match, although three matches were tied. The event was organised by the PGA and only members of the PGA were eligible to play.