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.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 10 September 1875 |
| Location | Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland |
| Course(s) | Prestwick Golf Club |
| Statistics | |
| Field | 18 players[1] |
| Prize fund | £21 |
| Winner's share | £8 |
| Champion | |
 Willie Park, Sr. | |
| 166 | |
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 game"[2] and scored 51, the best round of the day. Bob Martin came second with defending champion Mungo Park third and Bob Ferguson fourth after a 58.
Final leaderboard
Friday, 10 September 1875
| Place | Player | Score | Money |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Willie Park, Sr. | 56-59-51=166 | £8 |
| 2 | Bob Martin | 56-58-54=168 | £5 |
| 3 | Mungo Park | 59-57-55=171 | £3 |
| 4 | Bob Ferguson | 58-56-58=172 | £1 |
| 5 | James Rennie | 61-59-57=177 | £1 |
| 6 | Davie Strath | 59-61-58=178 | £1 |
| T7 | Tom Carson | 181 | £1 |
| Bob Pringle | 62-58-61=181 | ||
| T9 | William Doleman (a) | 65-59-59=183 | |
| Hugh Morrison | 62-59-62=183 |
References
- "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 154. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- "Golf - Annual Competition for the Championship". The Glasgow Herald. 11 September 1875. p. 5.
- Brenner, Morgan G. (2009). The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of the Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008. Vol. 1. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3360-5.