The 1903 Open Championship was the 43rd
Open Championship, held 10–11 June 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 ...
.
won the Championship for the fourth time, six strokes ahead of runner-up
Tom Vardon
Thomas Alfred Vardon (11 October 1874 – 13 October 1938) was a professional golfer from Jersey, Channel Islands, and the brother of golfer Harry Vardon, whom he sometimes played against professionally. From 1892 to 1909 he played in 18 Open Cham ...
, his younger brother.
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.
After the opening round on Wednesday morning, Harry Vardon and defending champion
Sandy Herd co-led at 73, three strokes ahead of the rest of the field. In the afternoon, Herd had a poor 83 and Harry Vardon's 77 gave him a four shot lead on 150 ahead of Andrew Scott, despite a seven at the 17th hole. The cut was at 169 and 59 advanced to the final two rounds.
Rowland Jones was initially disqualified but later reinstated.
In the third round on Thursday morning, Harry Vardon scored 72, having reached the turn in 34. This gave him a seven-stroke lead over
Jack White, with Herd and Tom Vardon ten shots behind. In the afternoon, White took a seven at the third hole which effectively gave Harry Vardon the title. Playing cautiously, he eventually finished with a 78. Tom Vardon had the best final round score of 74 and moved into second place ahead of White.
Past champions in the field
Source:[
Did not enter: John Ball (]1890
Events
January–March
* January 1
** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa.
** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River.
* January 2
** The steamship ...
), Jack Burns
John Francis Burns (November 15, 1933 – January 27, 2020) was an American comedian, actor, voice actor, writer, and producer. During the 1960s, he was part of two comedy partnerships, first with George Carlin and later with Avery Schreiber. ...
(1888
In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...
).
Round summaries
First round
''Wednesday, 10 June 1903 (morning)''
Source:[
]
Second round
''Wednesday, 10 June 1903 (afternoon)''
Source:[
]
Third round
''Thursday, 11 June 1903 (morning)''
Source:[
]
Final round
''Thursday, 11 June 1903 (afternoon)''
Source:
References
External links
Prestwick 1903 (Official site)
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The Open Championship
Golf tournaments in Scotland
Open Championship
Open Championship
Open Championship