1869 Open Championship Explained

1869 Open Championship
Dates:16 September 1869
Location:Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland
Course:Prestwick Golf Club
Field:14 players
Purse:£12
Winners Share:£6
Champion: Young Tom Morris
Score:157
Previous:1868
Next:1870

The 1869 Open Championship was the tenth Open Championship and was held on 16 September at Prestwick Golf Club. Young Tom Morris won the championship for the second successive time, by 11 strokes from Bob Kirk. Just 14 players entered the Championship.[1]

Young Tom Morris dominated the championship, leading by three strokes after the first round, four after second and eventually winning by 11 strokes. After the first round Davie Strath and Bob Kirk were both three shots behind Morris. Strath was in second place after two rounds but finished with a 60 to finish third behind Kirk who scored 57.[1]

Morris's first round included a hole-in-one at the 8th hole and his total of 50 (6-4-4-6-5-5-3-1-6-3-3-4) was only one behind his record of the previous year. In the second round Kirk took four strokes in one bunker (the "Alps"), scoring 10, while in the last round he took three shots in another (the "Cardinal's Nob"). He had four twos over the three rounds.[1]

Final leaderboard

Source:[1]

Thursday, 16 September 1869

PlacePlayerScoreMoney
1 Young Tom Morris 50-55-52=157 £6
2 53-58-57=168 £4
3 53-56-60=169 £2
4 60-56-57=173
5 William Doleman (a) 60-56-59=175
6 56-62-58=176
7 Gilbert Mitchell-Innes (a) 64-58-58=180
8 62-61-59=182
9 62-61-64=187

The remaining five players withdrew and did not complete the 36 holes.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Autumn Meeting of the Prestwick Golf Club - The match for the Championship . Fife Herald . 23 September 1869 . 21 December 2014 . . subscription .