The 1890 Open Championship was the 30th

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 ...

, held 11 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 ...

in Prestwick, South Ayrshire,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. John Ball won the Championship, three strokes ahead of Willie Fernie and

Archie Simpson Archibald Simpson (14 March 1866 – January 1955) was an American professional golfer. He was also a golf course designer and a golf club maker. He was runner-up in The Open Championship in 1885 (won by Bob Martin), and 1890 (won by John Ball) ...

. Ball was both the first Englishman to win the Open and the first amateur to win it. Andrew Kirkaldy had the lead after the morning round with an 81. He was followed by his brother Hugh Kirkaldy and Ball on 82. These were the only players better than 85. Ball was playing with Willie Campbell who had a disappointing 86 to trail Ball by four strokes. Fernie was one of the early finishers in the afternoon and came back with a total of 167.

Willie Park Jr. William Park Jr. (4 February 1864 – 22 May 1925) was a Scottish professional golfer. He won The Open Championship twice. Park was also a successful golf equipment maker and golf writer. In his later years, Park built a significant career as o ...

had an excellent 80 but was out of contention after a terrible start to his morning round. Hugh Kirkaldy was playing with Simpson. While Kirkaldy faded after a 91, Simpson matched Fernie with his total of 167. Andrew Kirkaldy was in the next group but, like his brother, had a poor second round. Ball and Campbell were the next group, the last of the contenders. Initially Campbell matched Ball in the second round but after taking eight at the 9th he lost another shot to Ball at the 10th and, after topping his drive at the 11th, he tore up his card. Ball continued playing steadily and it became known that he needed 20 for the last four holes to win. Finishing 5-4-5-4 he won eventually by three strokes. He had completed each nine holes in exactly 41.

Final leaderboard

Source: ''Thursday, 11 September 1890''

References

External links

Prestwick 1890 (Official site)
{{coord, 55.502, -4.619, type:event, display=title The Open Championship Golf tournaments in Scotland