Walter Gourlay ( – September 1882) 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 ...

. Gourlay placed sixth in the

1873 Open Championship The 1873 Open Championship was the 13th Open Championship, held 4 October at the Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Tom Kidd won the Championship by a stroke from Jamie Anderson. This was the first Open Championship not held at Pres ...

and finished tied for eight place in the

1876 Open Championship The 1876 Open Championship was the 16th Open Championship, held on Saturday 30 September at the Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Bob Martin won the Championship. He had tied with Davie Strath but Strath refused to take part in the p ...

Early life

Gourlay was born in

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

, Scotland, circa 1853. The Gourlay family was well known for their club- and ball-making skills.

Golf career

The 1873 Open Championship

The 1873 Open Championship was the 13th Open Championship, held 4 October at the Old Course at St Andrews,

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, Scotland. Gourlay had rounds of 92-96=188 and finished in sixth place. Tom Kidd won the Championship by a stroke from Jamie Anderson. This was the first Open Championship not held at Prestwick.

Details of playing conditions

In the days before the Championship heavy rains had soaked the course. However, when the first round got underway it was sunny with light winds—ideal conditions except for the wet turf. Under these adverse wet ground conditions Gourlay was still able to post good scores. At the time there wasn't a specific rule in place to take free drops from casual water. The only option, other than playing the ball as it lay, was to drop (or tee up) a ball behind the hazard with a 1-stroke penalty. The winning score of 179 was the highest recorded while the Championship was over 36 holes. This was partly due to the fact that St Andrews was the toughest of the three courses used at that time for the Open and partly due to the difficult conditions. When the Open was next contested at St Andrews in 1876 the winning score was 176.

The 1876 Open Championship

In the

, Gourlay finished tied for eighth place. He carded rounds of 98-89=187 tying with

Bob Kirk Robert Kirk (9 March 1845 – 1 December 1886) was a Scottish professional golfer. He was born at St Andrews, Scotland, and died there. His golf career was highlighted by second-place finishes in The Open Championship in 1869 and again in 1878. ...

and

George Paxton George Paxton (March 24, 1914 – April 19, 1989) was an American big band leader, saxophonist, arranger, and publisher during the 1930s and 1940s. He was president of Coed Records and a producer for the label. Early career He was born in Jacks ...

Results in major championships

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

Death

A body was found on the beach at

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

between 9 and 10 am on 13 September 1882, having been left behind by the receding tide. Later in the day the body was identified as Walter Gourlay, " a caddie belonging to St Andrews".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gourlay, Walter Scottish male golfers Golf equipment manufacturers Golfers from St Andrews Deaths by drowning in the United Kingdom 1850s births 1882 deaths 19th-century Scottish people