Before this the only financial incentive was scheduling Prestwick's own domestic tournament the same week, this allowed professionals to earn a few days' work caddying for the wealthier gentlemen. From 1864 onwards a cash prize was also paid to the winner. A prize fund (£10) was introduced in 1863 split between 2nd, 3rd and 4th (the winner only received the Challenge Belt). Ten professionals and eight amateurs contested the event, with Old Tom Morris winning the championship by 4 shots from Willie Park, Sr. Ī year later, it became "open" to amateurs as well as professionals. winning the championship by 2 shots from Old Tom Morris, and he was declared "The Champion Golfer of the Year". Eight golfers contested the event, with Willie Park, Sr. The first rule of the new golf competition was "The party winning the belt shall always leave the belt with the treasurer of the club until he produces a guarantee to the satisfaction of the above committee that the belt shall be safely kept and laid on the table at the next meeting to compete for it until it becomes the property of the winner by being won three times in succession". The winner received the Challenge Belt, made from red leather with a silver buckle and worth £25, which came about thanks to being donated by the Earl of Eglinton, a man with a keen interest in medieval pageantry (belts were the type of trophy that might have been competed for in archery or jousting). Blackheath (England), Perth, Bruntsfield (Edinburgh), Musselburgh and St Andrews golf clubs were invited to send up to three of their best players known as a "respectable caddie" to represent each of the clubs. James Ogilvie Fairlie of Prestwick Golf Club decided to form a competition in 1860, "to be played for by professional golfers", and to decide who would succeed Robertson as the "Champion Golfer". Allan Robertson was the most famous of these pros, and was regarded as the undisputed best golfer between 1843 and his death in 1859. Professionals made a living from playing for bets, caddying, ball and club making, and instruction. In the mid-19th century golf was played mainly by well-off gentlemen, as hand-crafted clubs and balls were expensive. The first Open Championship was played on 17 October 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland, over three rounds of the twelve-hole links course. History Early tournament years (1860–1870) Willie Park Sr., the first "Champion Golfer of the Year", wearing the Challenge Belt, the winner's prize at The Open until 1870 Since 1995, the United States has dominated the competition, winning 17 out of the last 29 Opens. The reigning champion is American Brian Harman, who won the 2023 Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club with a score of 271. The success of the tournament has led to many other open golf tournaments to be introduced around the world. In practice, the current event is a professional tournament in which a small number of the world's leading amateurs also play, by invitation or qualification. It is called The Open because it is in theory "open" to all, i.e. Since the PGA Championship moved to May in 2019, the Open has been chronologically the fourth and final major tournament of the year. The Open is one of the four men's major golf championships, the others being the Masters Tournament, the PGA Championship and the U.S. Later the venue rotated between a select group of coastal links golf courses in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. 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. Location in Merseyside Show map of Merseyside
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |