The 1887 Open Championship was the 27th

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 16 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 ...

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 ...

won the Championship, a stroke ahead of Bob Martin. The Open was played in almost incessant rain and a cross wind. Willie Campbell was the warm favourite amongst the local crowd and was followed by the majority of the spectators. Willie Park, Jr. and Willie Fernie were paired together in the preceding group. Campbell made a good start reaching the turn in 35 and eventually finishing with a 77. This was enough for a four stroke lead over Bob Martin 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) ...

with David Brown and Willie Park Jr. a further shot behind.

Ben Sayers Bernard "Ben" Sayers (23 June 1856 – 9 March 1924) was a Scottish professional golfer, who later became a distinguished golf teacher, golf course designer and manufacturer of golf clubs and equipment. Sayers had a reputation for making good q ...

took 83 and they were the only six players to score better than 85. In the second round Campbell reached the turn in 39. Park had reached the same hole in 37 but was still three behind. Playing a few groups behind Martin reached the turn in 38 and was level with Park at that point. The other contenders had faded away. Reaching the 16th hole Campbell was still two ahead of Park. Park had an excellent three at the hole. Campbell tried to carry the fairway bunker but his ball landed in the thick grass at the top of it. "He made a desperate effort to force it onto the green, but it proved futile, and five strokes were lost in the bunker". He eventually took nine and his chances of winning were gone. Park finished with two fives for a total of 161. In the second round he didn't have a score worse than five and wasn't in a single bunker in either round. Campbell finished one better than Park on the final two holes but was still three behind on 164. Martin couldn't quite match Park's good finish and ended a stroke behind on 162. The bunker at the 16th became known as “Willie Campbell’s Grave”.

Final leaderboard

Source: ''Friday, 16 September 1887''

References

External links

Prestwick 1887 (Official site)
{{coord, 55.502, -4.619, type:event, display=title The Open Championship Golf tournaments in Scotland