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Challenge Belt
The Challenge Belt was awarded to the winner of The Open Championship in golf from 1860 until 1870. It was replaced by the Claret Jug for the 1872 Open Championship which is still being used to the present day. The winner of the first Open Championship, Willie Park Sr., in 1860 at the Prestwick Golf Club received no prize money; instead, he was allowed to keep the Belt until the following Open Championship. History When the Prestwick Golf Club hosted the first Open Championship in 1860, the Earl of Eglinton suggested a special belt be commissioned for the event. The Belt is made from red Moroccan leather with a large silver buckle and featuring silver panels of golfing scenes with additional medallions denoting the winners and their scores. Members of the Prestwick Golf Club purchased it from Edinburgh silversmiths James & Walter Marshall for the sum of £25 (worth approximately £3,118 in 2021). There were specific rules to govern the management of the Belt: In the 1870 Op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 golfers, Park started out as a caddie. He later ran a golf equipment manufacturing business. On the course, he made his money from "challenge matches" against rivals such as Old Tom Morris, Willie Dunn and Allan Robertson, which were the most popular form of spectator golf in his era. Playing style Park, a tall, strong man, was a very long hitter and an excellent putter, but sometimes got into trouble through overly aggressive play. He had surpassed the older Willie Dunn by age 20, and travelled to St Andrews Links to play and learn that course. He issued a public challenge in 1853 to Robertson, generally recognised as the best player, which was, however, not taken up. Custom of the time allowed the best player to refuse a challenge of this so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 there as well. Young Tom Morris (died 1875), also a golfer, was his son. Early golf career The house where Morris was born no longer exists, but it is thought to be close to 121 North Street, St Andrews. He was the son of a weaver, and was educated at Madras College in his home town. He began golf by age ten, by knocking wine-bottle corks pierced with nails (to serve as balls) around the streets of the town using a homemade club, in informal matches against other youths; this was known as 'sollybodkins'. He started caddying and playing golf from a young age, and formally was hired as an apprentice at age 14 to Allan Robertson, generally regarded as the world's first professional golfer; Robertson ran the St Andrews Links and an equipment-m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1869 Open Championship
The 1869 Open Championship was the tenth Open Championship and was held on 16 September at Prestwick Golf Club. Tom Morris, Jr. won the championship for the second successive time, by 11 strokes from Bob Kirk. Just 14 players entered the Championship. Tom Morris, Jr. dominated the championship, leading by three strokes after the first round, four after second and eventually winning by 11 strokes. After the first round Davie Strath and Bob Kirk were both three shots behind Morris. Strath was in second place after two rounds but finished with a 60 to finish third behind Kirk who scored 57. Morris's first round included a hole-in-one at the 8th hole and his total of 50 (6-4-4-6-5-5-3-1-6-3-3-4) was only one behind his record of the previous year. In the second round Kirk took four strokes in one bunker (the "Alps"), scoring 10, while in the last round he took three shots in another (the "Cardinal's Nob"). He had four twos over the three rounds. Final leaderboard Source: ''Thursd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1868 Open Championship
The 1868 Open Championship was the ninth Open Championship and was held on 23 September at Prestwick Golf Club. Tom Morris, Jr. won the championship for the first time, by three shots from his father Tom Morris, Sr. Tom Morris, Jr. was just 17 years old and remains the youngest Open Championship winner. Tom Morris, Jr. lead after the first round with a score of 51. Robert Andrew was in second place on 53 with John Allan and Tom Morris, Sr. tied for third on 54. Tom Morris, Sr. and Willie Park, Sr. both scored 50 in their second rounds. This gave Tom Morris, Sr. a one stroke lead over his son. Tom Morris, Jr. then scored 49 in his final round for a total of 154. His father finished second, three shots behind with Robert Andrew third, a further two strokes behind. 154 was a new record for the Open Championship, the old record having been 162, set by Andrew Strath in 1865. Final leaderboard Source: ''Wednesday, 23 September 1868'' Other sources give Tom Morris, Sr. a total of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1867 Open Championship
The 1867 Open Championship was the eighth Open Championship and was held on 26 September at Prestwick Golf Club. Tom Morris, Sr. won the championship for the fourth time, by two shots from Willie Park, Sr. Tom Morris, Sr. was 46 years old and remains the oldest Open Championship winner. For the first time, an amateur, William Doleman, led after a first round of 55, a stroke ahead of Robert Andrew. Doleman had a second round 66 and dropped out of contention. Tom Morris, after a round of 54, went into the lead with Willie Park and Robert Andrew two shots behind. Andrew had a final round of 65 to drop him out of the prize money. Andrew Strath had the best final round of 56 to finish third, while young Tom Morris finished with prize money for the first time. Final leaderboard Source: ''Thursday, 26 September 1867'' References External linksPrestwick 1867 (Official site) {{The Open Championships The Open Championship Golf tournaments in Scotland Open Championship Open Champ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1875 Open Championship
The 1875 Open Championship was the 15th Open Championship, held 10 September at Prestwick Golf Club in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Willie Park, Sr. won the Championship by two strokes from runner-up Bob Martin. Willie Park, who had won the first Championship in 1860, equalled Tom Morris, Jr.'s record of four Championship wins. Tom Morris, Jr. and his father, Tom Morris, Sr., were both absent following the death, six days earlier, of Young Tom Morris's wife during child-birth. Young Tom Morris himself died later the same year. Play started at 11:30 a.m. and just 18 players contested the Championship. All the leading players were in the early pairings. Willie Park, in the first group, and Bob Martin, in the third group, led after the first round with scores of 60. After the second round Bob Martin and Bob Ferguson led in 114 but a number of players were close behind with Willie Park on 115 and Mungo Park on 116. In the final round Willie Park "played a fine gam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1866 Open Championship
The 1866 Open Championship was the seventh Open Championship and was held on 13 September at Prestwick Golf Club. Willie Park, Sr. won the championship for the third time, by two shots from his brother Davie Park. There were 16 competitors. Played in a strong wind Willie Park was in the first group out and set the pace with a score of 54. Defending champion, Andrew Strath and Davie Park were four behind, scoring 58. Willie Park extended his lead to five stokes after the second round. Despite a final round of 59 Willie Park set a useful target of 169. Davie Park's final round of 56 gave him a total of 171 and second place. Robert Andrew was third, a further five strokes behind. Final leaderboard Source: ''Thursday, 13 September 1866'' References External linksPrestwick 1866 (Official site) {{The Open Championships The Open Championship Golf tournaments in Scotland Open Championship Open Championship Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Strath
Andrew Anderson Strath (1 March 1837 – 23 February 1868) was a Scottish professional golfer who played in the mid-19th century. He won the 1865 Open Championship. In total, he accumulated six top-10 finishes in The Open Championship. Early life Strath was born in St Andrews, Scotland, on 1 March 1837, the son of Alexander Strath and Susan Strath (née Reid). On 19 March 1858 he married Euphemia Johnston and the couple had six children. Strath had two brothers, Davie Strath, Davie and George Strath, George, who also became professional golfers. Golf career Like most professionals of his era Strath did not make his living from tournaments. He began his working life as an apprentice to a clubmaker and sometimes partnered Old Tom Morris in the challenge matches which were a feature of golf at the time. He was famous for the amount of backspin he could get on his iron shots. Golf matches at this time in history were generally contested on an alternate shot basis. For example, if Ol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
