The 1868 Open Championship was the ninth

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

and was held on 23 September at

Prestwick Golf Club Prestwick Golf Club is a golf course in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is approximately southwest of Scotland's largest city, Glasgow. Prestwick is a classic links course, built on the rolling sandy land between the beach and the hin ...

Tom Morris, Jr. Thomas Morris (20 April 1851 – 25 December 1875), known as Tom Morris Junior, Young Tom Morris and also Tommy Morris, was a Scottish professional golfer. He is considered one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodig ...

won the championship for the first time, by three shots from his father

Tom Morris, Sr. Thomas Mitchell Morris (16 June 1821 – 24 May 1908), otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, and The Grand Old Man of Golf, was a Scottish golfer. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links, and died t ...

Tom Morris, Jr. was just 17 years old and remains the youngest Open Championship winner. Tom Morris, Jr. lead after the first round with a score of 51. Robert Andrew was in second place on 53 with John Allan and Tom Morris, Sr. tied for third on 54. Tom Morris, Sr. and

Willie Park, Sr. William Park Sr. (30 June 1833 – 25 July 1903) was a Scottish professional golfer. He was a 4-time winner of the Open Championship. Early life Park was born in Wallyford, East Lothian, Scotland. Like some of the other early professional gol ...

both scored 50 in their second rounds. This gave Tom Morris, Sr. a one stroke lead over his son. Tom Morris, Jr. then scored 49 in his final round for a total of 154. His father finished second, three shots behind with Robert Andrew third, a further two strokes behind. 154 was a new record for the Open Championship, the old record having been 162, set by

Andrew Strath Andrew Anderson Strath (1 March 1837 – 23 February 1868) was a Scottish professional golfer who played in the mid-19th century. He won the 1865 Open Championship. In total, he accumulated six top-10 finishes in The Open Championship. Early l ...

in 1865.

Final leaderboard

Source: ''Wednesday, 23 September 1868'' Other sources give Tom Morris, Sr. a total of 155 and Willie Dow a score of 180.

References

External links

Prestwick 1868 (Official site)
{{Old and Young Tom Morris, state=collapsed The Open Championship Golf tournaments in Scotland