James Ogilvie Fairlie (Portrait by John E

James Ogilvie Fairlie (10 October 1809 – 5 December 1870) was a Scottish amateur

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

er and landowner. Fairlie placed eighth in the 1861 Open Championship. He was a mentor to

Old Tom Morris Thomas Mitchell Morris (16 June 1821 – 24 May 1908), otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, and The Grand Old Man of Golf, was a Scottish golfer. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links, and died t ...

who named his son, James Ogilvie Fairlie Morris, after him. Fairlie was a founding member of

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 1851. Playing on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Fairlie won the Silver Cross Medal in 1849, 1854, and 1860. He won the Gold Medal (

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

's Medal) in 1857 and 1862. Fairlie served as the captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and was the principal organiser of the first

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 at

Prestwick Prestwick ( gd, Preastabhaig) is a town in South Ayrshire on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland about southwest of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr to the south on the Firth of Clyde coast, the centre of which is about south, an ...

in 1860. Fairlie was a friend and frequent playing partner of the Earl of Eglinton, Archibald Montgomerie, who donated the "Challenge Belt" that was awarded to the Open Championship winner.

Early life

James Ogilvie Fairlie (left) and Old Tom Morris (right)

Fairlie was born in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, West Bengal,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, on 10 October 1809. He was the son of William Fairlie and Margaret Fairlie (née Ogilvie) of Coodham, Symington, Ayrshire. He took to the links as a youngster and quickly became an accomplished golfer. His father was a partner in the banking firm of Fairlie, Bonner & Co. which was subsequently renamed Hartwell, Innes, Clerk, Brazier & Co. In William Fairlie's last will and testament dated 9 October 1823, he bequeathed to his son the sum of £19,000 which was his share of the residuary estate, money that would not be his to spend until reaching the age of 25. In later life, as a result of his great wealth and social status, his name was often printed with the suffix "

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

". Fairlie enjoyed participating in

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

and maintained a stable with several horses. At age 30 he was a participant in the

Eglinton Tournament of 1839 Eglinton can refer to: People * Earl of Eglinton, a title in the Peerage of Scotland * Geoffrey Eglinton (1927–2016), British chemist *Timothy Eglinton, a British biogeoscientist * William Eglinton (1857–1933), a British spiritualist medium a ...

which was a re-enactment of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

joust Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying to strike the opponent w ...

and revel held in

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 ...

between 28 and 30 August. It was funded and organised by Archibald, Earl of Eglinton, and took place at

Eglinton Castle Eglinton Castle was a large Gothic castellated mansion in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland. History The castle The ancient seat of the Earls of Eglinton, it is located just south of the town of Kilwinning. The original Eglinton Castle w ...

in Ayrshire. He was educated at

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey London ...

, Harrow, and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

Golf career

Open Championship organiser

Fairlie was the principal organiser of the first

held at

1860 Events January–March * January 2 – The discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France. * January 10 – The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusett ...

. With the untimely death of

Allan Robertson Allan Robertson (11 September 1815 – 1 September 1859) was considered to be one of the first professional golfers. Early years In the mid-19th century golf was played mainly by well-off gentlemen, as hand-crafted clubs and balls were e ...

, aged 42 in 1859, Prestwick members decided to conduct a challenge the following year that would determine the land's greatest golfer. In a proposed competition for a "challenge belt", Fairlie sent out a series of invitations to Aberdeen, Blackheath, Bruntsfield, Carnoustie Panmure, Dirleton Castle, Leven, Montrose, Musselburgh, North Berwick, Perth and St Andrews. These clubs were invited to send "their two best professional players", who were to be "known and respectable caddies" to play in a tournament to be held on 17 October 1860.

1861 Open Championship

After first organising the inaugural 1860 Open Championship, Fairlie became an entrant to actually play in the second Open Championship in

1861 Statistically, this year is considered the end of the whale oil industry and (in replacement) the beginning of the petroleum oil industry. Events January–March * January 1 ** Benito Juárez captures Mexico City. ** The first steam-p ...

. The tournament was held at

, Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the first that allowed amateurs, as well as professionals, to enter. Ten professionals and eight amateurs contested the event, with

Tom Morris, Sr. Thomas Mitchell Morris (16 June 1821 – 24 May 1908), otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, and The Grand Old Man of Golf, was a Scottish golfer. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links, and died t ...

winning the championship by 4 shots from

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 ...

Fairlie's total was 184, giving him an eighth-place finish in the tournament. He won no prize money due to his amateur status.

Competitions at St. Andrews

Playing on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Fairlie won the Silver Cross Medal in 1849, 1854, and 1860. He won the Gold Medal (

's Medal) in 1857 and 1862. The two medals have been competed for since 1836 and 1837, respectively. While at St. Andrews, the illustrator and painter Thomas Hodge produced a pen and monochrome watercolour depicting Fairlie on the links in the 1860s. The painting sold on 8 July 1999 at a

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

auction in London, South Kensington, fetching £8,050.

Military service

Fairlie served in the British military, achieving the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. He sometimes played golf with his friend and fellow veteran Vice Admiral William H. Heriot-Maitland-Dougall.

Death and legacy

Fairlie died on 5 December 1870 and is buried in the churchyard of Symington Parish Church, Symington, South Ayrshire, Scotland. He is best remembered as the principal organiser of the inaugural 1860 Open Championship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairlie, James Ogilvie Scottish male golfers Amateur golfers Golf administrators People educated at Charterhouse School People educated at Harrow School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge People from South Ayrshire 1809 births 1870 deaths British people in colonial India Sportspeople from Kolkata