The history of The Open
The Open is the oldest tournament in golf, with a history dating back more than 170 years. As the 152nd edition begins at Royal Troon, we take a look back at the origins of this iconic championship.
Eight pros, 36 holes. The first-ever Open took place in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire, with three rounds of the 12 hole-course seeing Willie Park Snr defeat Old Tom Morris by two shots. Set up to determine who was the best golfer in the world, the prize was the Challenge Belt – made of red Moroccan leather, a suggestion from the Earl of Eglinton and specially commissioned for the event. The winner of The Challenge Belt – which was also the name often given to the tournament – would keep it until the following event. For the first year, however, it wasn’t ‘open’, with only professionals invited to compete.
The Open era. Eight amateurs joined ten professionals, as it was declared ‘open to all members of established golf clubs and professionals’. This time, the tables were turned as Old Tom Morris defeated Wille Park Snr. The even would stay at Prestwick until 1870, when Tom Morris Jr, following in his father’s footsteps, secured his third consecutive title and claiming the The Challenge Belt outright..
A cancelled Open. Only twice has The Open been cancelled outside of war-time, most recently in 2020 due to the pandemic. The first came in 1871 , when Tom Morris Jr success meant the tournament’s future was under discussion, including the need for a new trophy. The discussions led to bigger ideas, including the addition of other golf clubs, and such was the upheaval, the 1871 Open never happened.
Three’s company. In 1872, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers at Musselburgh, joined Prestwick as organisers. The Open venue would be rotated, starting with Prestwick, and Tom Morris Jr picked up where he left off, winning once again. He was still only 21. Sadly, however, his legacy would come to an end, as he died in 1875 of a lung haemorrhage, aged just 24.
The Claret Jug. Golf’s oldest prize was first presented in 1873, to winner Tom Kidd, but it was the name Tom Morris Jr that was first engraved, as it hadn’t arrived in time for him to receive it following his victory the year before. Funded with a contribution of £10 each from the three clubs, the original Claret Jug was taken out of circulation in 1927 – and put on display in the R&A Museum – with a replica presented since then.
Enter St Andrews. After a dozen Opens at Prestwick, number 13 fell to St Andrews for its maiden championship in 1873. It would go on to become the spiritual home of the Open, hosting on 30 occasions, including the 150th Open in 2022, set to become the biggest-ever with 290,000 spectators.
A full 18. After more than 20 years of 12 holes at Prestwick, Old Tom Morris is brought in to extend the course to a full 18 in 1882 and when the rotation brought the Open back in 1884, it was still played over 36 holes, but across two rounds, rather than three.
The first non-Scottish winner. Competing in a field almost entirely of Scottish golfers, in 1890 at Prestwick, John Ball – one of the two English golfers making up the rest – became not only the first non-Scot to win the Open but also the first amateur. That same year he won the British Amateur Championship – one of eight wins – but he never won the Open again.
End of the Prestwick era. After holding 24 Open Championships, the sheer size of the competition became too much for Prestwick, as it hosted its final competition in 1925, when 15,000 fans saw Cornish-born American Jim Barnes defeat Macdonald Smith. The tight layout of the course meant it became hugely overcrowded and balls would regularly deflect off spectators. So, while its place in history was confirmed, Prestwick came off the rotation.
French connection. Arnaud Massey became the first international player to win the Open, at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in 1907. The Frenchman saw off the challenge of Englishman John Henry Taylor by two strokes, with another English golfer and one from Jersey completing the top four places.
R&A takes over. When the Open resumed after World War One in 1920 at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, it did so with the Royal & Ancient Golf Club in sole charge. History continued to be made at the event, including when iconic amateur/lawyer Bobby Jones won the 1930 Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, part of a haul that year which included both US and British amateur opens and the US Open. He would later go on to help found Augusta and The Masters.
Hogan’s heroics. The feat of South African Bobby Locke in securing three Opens in four years [1949 and 1952, he won a fourth in 1957] is hard to compete with, but the story of Ben Hogan remains one forever retold. Considered one of the greatest golfers of his time, the American had almost died in a car crash in 1949, and limited his golf to majors. A remarkable year had seen him win both the Masters and US Open in 1953, before arriving at Carnoustie where he completed a legendary triple crown. It would take almost half a century to be repeated (by Tiger Woods).
Player, Palmer & Nicklaus. With eight Open wins between them, the rivalry between the South African Gary Player (three Opens, 1959, 1968 and 1974) and Americans Arnold Palmer (two, 1961 & 1962) and Jack Nicklaus (1966, 1970, 1978) dominated the era, with the success of the latter two playing a big role in the tournament’s growth Stateside.
High fives. While Jersey golfer Harry Vardon won six Open titles from 1896 to 1914, and Scot James Braid and Englishman John Henry both took five around the turn of the 19th century, in the post-war era only two have managed to win five Claret Jugs. Australian Peter Thomson (1954 to 1965) and American Tom Watson, who took just eight years to win five, the first in 1975, the last in 1983. His 1977 win at Turnberry, the ‘Duel in the Sun’ against Jack Nicklaus, remains one of the most famed golf battles of all time. Watson famously came within a shot of taking the 2009 Open, losing a play-off to Stewart Cink. At 59, he’d have been the oldest-ever winner.
Spanish resistance. From 1975 to 1983, America won eight opens. Just as South African Player had broken their dominance in the early-70s, it fell to Spaniard Seve Ballesteros to do the same, something he managed twice – 1979 and 1984. The latter was celebrated with his famous ‘jig’ at St Andrews after defeated the world conquering Tom Watson and Bernhard Langer by two strokes.
Faldo’s hat-trick. Not since Henry Cotton completed his trio of Open titles in 1948, had a home-grown player achieved the feat managed by Nick Faldo at Muirfield in 1992, following on from his wins in 1987 (also Muirfield) and 1990 at St Andrews. He’d finish his career with six Major wins, the last coming in the 1996 Master (which he also won three times).
Tiger time. A then-record Open crowd of 238,787 (set to be beaten this year) at St Andrews in 2000, saw Tiger Woods win the first of his three Opens to date [the others following in 2005 and 2006]. That same remarkable year he won nine tournaments, including the US Open and PGA Championship. In 2001, he won The Masters to complete the ‘Tiger Slam’ and hold all four majors.
Northern soul. Northern Ireland is the only country to host an Open beyond England and Scotland, with Royal Portrush welcoming the world’s best golfers in 1951 and in 2019, when Irishman Shane Lowry kept the Claret Jug on the emerald isle. Lowry finished four shots clear of second-placed Tommy Fleetwood.
150 not out. The Open is not only the most historic of all Majors but its popularity continues to increase, with an astonishing 1.1m people entering the ticket ballot for the 150th Open at St Andrews on the legendary Old Course.
