| 1888 Open Championship | |
| Dates: | 6, 8 October 1888 |
| Location: | St Andrews, Scotland |
| Course: | Old Course at St Andrews |
| Field: | 52 players[1] |
| Purse: | £20 |
| Winners Share: | £8 |
| Champion: | Jack Burns |
| Score: | 171 |
| Previous: | 1887 |
| Next: | 1889 |
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.
Willie Campbell led after 18 holes for the third successive year and was the leader on 84 with Sayers on 85 and a group of four players on 86.
In the afternoon Sayers, in the first group, scored 87 and took an early lead on 172. Campbell made a number of mistakes and scored 90 for a total of 174. Sayers was then joined on 172 by David Anderson. Playing a few groups behind, Burns scored an 85 and took the lead on 171, a score none of the later players could match.
Burns's score for his first round had originally been added up to 87 but a Royal and Ancient Golf Club member noticed that it was added up incorrectly and the total wr&as adjusted to 86, making Burns the champion.[2]
Source:[3]
Saturday, 6 October 1888
| Place | Player | Score | Money | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Burns | 86-85=171 | £8 | |
| T2 | 86-86=172 | Playoff | ||
| 85-87=172 | ||||
| 4 | 84-90=174 | £2 | ||
| 5 | Leslie Balfour (a) | 86-89=175 | − | |
| T6 | 88-88=176 | 10s | ||
| 87-89=176 | ||||
| 8 | 93-84=177 | − | ||
| 9 | 87-91=178 | − | ||
| 10 | Johnny Laidlay (a) | 93-87=180 | − |
Monday, 8 October 1888
Anderson and Sayers played an 18-hole play-off two days later. Sayers won and took the second prize of £6, Anderson taking the third prize of £3.[3] [4]