The 1901 Open Championship was the 41st

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 5–6 June at

Muirfield Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for The ...

in Gullane, East Lothian,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. James Braid won the Championship, three strokes ahead of runner-up

Harry Vardon Henry William Vardon (9 May 1870 – 20 March 1937) was a professional golfer from Jersey. He was a member of the Great Triumvirate with John Henry Taylor and James Braid. Vardon won The Open Championship a record six times, and also won the ...

. The Championship was a close contest between Braid, Vardon and J.H. Taylor with the leading amateur 11 strokes behind Braid and the next professional 16 strokes behind. All entries played 36 holes on the first day with all those within 19 strokes of the leader making the cut and playing 36 holes on the final day, with the additional provision that the final day's field had to contain at least 32 professionals. In a strong wind, Vardon led after the first round with a 77 and followed this with a 78. At the end of the first day, he was joined on 155 by Braid. Taylor was next, seven shots behind with

James Kinnell James Kinnell (1876 – 22 April 1918) was a Scottish professional golfer who played in the late 19th and early 20th century. Kinnell had five top-10 finishes in the Open Championship. His best performance came in the 1905 Open Championship when ...

and

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

a further two strokes back. Such was the dominance of Braid and Vardon that only 36 players (31 professionals and five amateurs) scored 174 or better and the cut was made at 175 to include 33 professionals. After the third round, Braid was five shots clear of Vardon, with Taylor two further shots behind and the rest of the field a further eight strokes behind. With a clear lead, he played a cautious final round of 80. With Braid having finished his round, Vardon had a chance to tie if he could play the last three holes in level fours. However at the 16th he topped his second shot, put his third into a bunker and took six, ending his chances. Taylor finished third with amateur

Harold Hilton Harold Horsfall Hilton (12 January 1869 – 5 May 1942) was an English amateur golfer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He won The Open Championship twice, The Amateur Championship four times, and the U.S. Amateur Championship once. B ...

a further seven strokes behind. If not for a brutal 89 in the first round, Hilton would have fared much better on the final leaderboard.

First day leaderboard

''Wednesday, 5 June 1901''

Final leaderboard

Source: ''Thursday, 6 June 1901''

References

External links

Muirfield 1901 (Official site)
{{coord, 56.043, -2.823, type:event, display=title The Open Championship Golf tournaments in Scotland