The 1925 Open Championship was the 60th
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 25–26 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 ...
. In the final Open at Prestwick,
Jim Barnes
James Martin Barnes (April 8, 1886 – May 24, 1966) was an English golfer and a leading figure in the early years of professional golf in the United States. He is one of three native Britons (with Tommy Armour and Rory McIlroy) to win three di ...
captured his only Open title, one stroke ahead of runners-up
Ted Ray and
Archie Compston
Archibald Edward Wones Compston (1893 – 8 August 1962) was an English professional golfer. Through the 1920s he built a reputation as a formidable match play golfer, in an era when many professionals made more money from "challenge" matches ag ...
.
It was Barnes' fourth and final
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
title; he won the first two
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
s in
1916
Events
Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled.
* ...
and
1919
Events
January
* January 1
** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.
** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...
, and the
U.S. Open in
1921
Events
January
* January 2
** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil.
** The Spanish lin ...
.
Qualifying took place on 22–23 June 1925. Qualification took place at
Troon
Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport.
Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O Ferrie ...
with 18 holes on the Old Course and 18 holes the Portland Course. The top 80 and ties qualified. The qualifying score was 158 and 83 players qualified. Irishman
Moses O'Neill
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
led the qualifiers on 146.
Born and raised in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, Barnes opened with a course record 70 to take a four stroke lead as the course was dry and fast. In the second round,
Macdonald Smith
Macdonald "Mac" Smith (March 18, 1890 – August 31, 1949) was one of the top professional golfers in the world from about 1910 into the mid-1930s. He was a member of a famous Scottish golfing family. Smith is regarded, based on his results, as on ...
carded a new course record 69 for the lead at 145, two shots ahead of Barnes, who only managed a 77.
Smith followed with a 76 in the third round on Friday morning and took a five-shot lead over Barnes and Compston into the final round. Barnes finished his round early and posted a 74 for a 300 total. Beginning his round after Barnes had already finished his, Smith knew that a round of 78 would win him the championship. But after starting with a 4-3 on the first two holes, he dropped three shots on the next three holes. Smith took a 6 at the 7th and 8th and went out in 42. He found a bunker on the 11th and took a 5, and shot another 6 on the 15th. Smith finished the round with an 82 and a 303 total, good enough only for fourth place. Ted Ray, the
1912
Events January
* January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established.
* January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens.
* January 6 ...
champion, finished tied for second with Compston at 301.
Smith's problems in the final round were possibly due to the huge gallery that followed him. Anticipating that he would easily win, 10,000 spectators crowded around Smith, more than the course layout or tournament stewards could handle. Ray's runner-up finish was his final top-ten in a major, as was
John Henry Taylor
John Henry "J.H." Taylor (19 March 1871 – 10 February 1963) was an English professional golfer and one of the pioneers of the modern game of golf. Taylor is considered to be one of the best golfers of all time. He was a significant golf ...
's sixth place showing. Smith never won a major, but was runner-up on three occasions.
This was the last of the 24 Opens played at Prestwick, which hosted the first twelve. It was replaced by adjacent
Troon Golf Club
Royal Troon Golf Club is a links golf course in Scotland, located in Troon, South Ayrshire, southwest of Glasgow.
Founding and early years
The club, which now has a total of 45 holes, was founded in 1878, initially with five holes. It lies adj ...
("Royal Troon" since 1978) as the Open venue for southwestern Scotland.
Turnberry was added to the rota in
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
, southwest of Prestwick.
It was the last Open scheduled for just two days, at 36 holes each. In
1926
Events January
* January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece.
* January 8
**Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz.
** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...
, the first two rounds were on Wednesday and Thursday, and following a 36-hole cut, the final two rounds were played on Friday. This format was continued through
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
.
First day leaderboard
''Thursday, 25 June 1925''
Final leaderboard
Source:
''Friday, 26 June 1925''
Amateurs:
Harris
Harris may refer to:
Places Canada
* Harris, Ontario
* Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine)
* Harris, Saskatchewan
* Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan
Scotland
* Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle o ...
(311), Cruickshank (315),
Tolley (320), Hayward (337)
References
External links
Prestwick 1925 (Official site)
{{coord, 55.502, -4.619, type:event, display=title
The Open Championship
Golf tournaments in Scotland
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...