1870 Open Championship

1870 Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates 15 September 1870
Location Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland
Course(s) Prestwick Golf Club
Statistics
Field 20 players
Prize fund £12
Winner's share £6
Champion
Scotland Tom Morris, Jr.
149
«1869
1872»
Tom Morris, Jr. wearing the Challenge Belt.

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 contest took place the day after the autumn meeting of the club. A published notice for the benefit of prospective entrants to the tournament read, "On Thurs the 15th Sept. the CHAMPION BELT, given by the Prestwick Golf Club, and open to all Members of Established Golf Clubs and Professionals, will be competed for".[1]

Tommy Morris's first round of 47 (3-5-3-5-6-3-3-3-4-3-4-5) was two shots better than his previous record round in 1868. This gave him a five shot lead over Bob Kirk. After a second round 51 he held a five shot lead over Davie Strath. A final 51 extended his lead to 12 shots. His final score of 149 was 5 shots better than the previous record set in 1868.[2] There were 20 starters but only 17 returned scores.[3]

Morris returned to St Andrews by train, late on Saturday evening. A "great multitude" were there to meet him and he was carried, shoulder high, to Mr. Leslie's Golf Hotel, where his health was drunk.[4][5]

Final leaderboard

Source:[3]

Thursday, 15 September 1870

PlacePlayerCountryScoreMoney
1 Tom Morris, Jr.  Scotland 47-51-51=149 £6
T2 Bob Kirk  Scotland 52-52-57=161 Playoff
Davie Strath  Scotland 54-49-58=161
4 Tom Morris, Sr.  Scotland 56-52-54=162
5 William Doleman (a)  Scotland 57-54-58=169
6 Willie Park, Sr.  Scotland 60-55-58=173
7 Jamie Anderson  Scotland 59-57-58=174
8 John Allan  Scotland 61-58-57=176
T9 Charlie Hunter  Scotland 58-56-64=178
Alexander Doleman (a)  Scotland 61-59-58=178

Playoff

Source:[3]

Kirk beat Strath in a 12 hole playoff, Kirk winning by 56 to 60 and taking the £4 second prize while Strath took £2 for third place. This was the first time that there had been a tie for prize money since it was introduced in 1863.

External links

References

  1. "Prestwick Golf Club". Fife Herald. 18 August 1870. Retrieved 21 December 2014 via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  2. "Prestwick 1870 Tommy Morris Wins the Belt Outright". Retrieved 2012-07-18.
  3. 1 2 3 "Golf - Prestwick Club Autumn Meeting - Contest for the Challenge Belt". Glasgow Herald. 16 September 1870. Retrieved 21 December 2014 via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  4. "The Golf Championship - Welcome home to Tom Morris, Jr.". Fife Herald. 20 September 1870. Retrieved 21 December 2014 via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  5. "Young Tom Morris, Without Rivalry and Without Envy by John Moreton" (PDF). British Golf Collectors’ Society. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/23/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.