George Paxton (born ) was a Scottish

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who played during the late 19th century. Paxton took third place in the

1874 Open Championship The 1874 Open Championship was the 14th Open Championship, held 10 April at Musselburgh Links, Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. Mungo Park won the Championship, by two strokes from runner-up Tom Morris, Jr. This was the first Open Champion ...

. In total, Paxton had five top-10 performances in the Open Championship between 1874 and 1883.

Early life

Paxton was born in

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of . History The name Musselburgh is Ol ...

, Scotland, circa 1851. He had a younger brother, Peter, who was also a professional golfer.

Golf career

The 1874 Open Championship

The

was the 14th Open Championship, held 10 April at

Musselburgh Links Musselburgh Links, The Old Golf Course in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, is generally accepted as being one of the oldest golf courses in the world. The course is not to be confused with The Royal Musselburgh Golf Club or the Levenhall Li ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

, Scotland. The winner of the Championship was Mungo Park, by two strokes from runner-up Tom Morris, Jr. This was the first Open Championship played at Musselburgh. Paxton—who finished third—played very consistently, carding rounds of 40-40-42-40=162 and won £3 (£ today).

Details of play

Play started at about 12 noon in dull and showery weather but later in the day the weather improved. The course, especially the greens, "were rather heavy". Many of the spectators followed Tom Morris, Jr. and

Willie Park, Sr. William Park Sr. (30 June 1833 – 25 July 1903) was a Scottish professional golfer. He was a 4-time winner of the Open Championship. Early life Park was born in Wallyford, East Lothian, Scotland. Like some of the other early professional gol ...

who were paired together. Morris—who got off to a rough start—experienced difficulties in extricating his ball from a number of bunkers. Park scored 40 in the first round to Morris's 42. However, as the day progressed, Morris began to find fairways and improved while Park fell away. The best player in the first two rounds was Mungo Park with scores of 37 and 38. At this stage he led by 4 from G. McCachnie, 5 from George Paxton with Tom Morris, Jr., and Willie Park had fallen a full 8 shots behind. Mungo Park carded a third round 43 with G. McCachnie, George Paxton, Jamie Anderson and Tom Morris, Jr. each four behind at that stage. Bob Martin was a further shot behind after a third round 38. Mungo Park scored 41 in his final round and although Morris again played a useful round he still finished two behind. McCachnie fell away with a closing 47. A staff writer for the '' Glasgow Herald'' wrote, "During the last round the utmost excitement prevailed, and as each couple came in a knot of spectators gathered round them to ascertain what luck had attended them."

Death and legacy

The date of death of Paxton is unknown. Paxton is best remembered for having five top-10 finishes (four of which were top-5) in the Open Championship.

Results in The Open Championship

*''Note: Paxton played only in The Open Championship.'' DNP = Did not play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paxton, George Scottish male golfers 1850s births Year of death missing