1903 Open Championship

1903 Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates	10–11 June 1903
Location	Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland
Course(s)	Prestwick Golf Club
Statistics
Field	124 players, 59 after cut
Cut	169
Prize fund	£115
Winner's share	£50
Champion
	Harry Vardon
	300
	← 1902 1904 →

Prestwick

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Location in Scotland

Prestwick

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Location in South Ayrshire, Scotland

The 1903 Open Championship was the 43rd Open Championship, held 10–11 June at Prestwick Golf Club in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland.^[2] Harry Vardon won the Championship for the fourth time, six strokes ahead of runner-up Tom Vardon, his younger brother.

All entries played 36 holes on the first day with all those within 19 strokes of the leader making the cut and playing 36 holes on the final day, with the additional provision that the final day's field had to contain at least 32 professionals.

After the opening round on Wednesday morning, Harry Vardon and defending champion Sandy Herd co-led at 73, three strokes ahead of the rest of the field. In the afternoon, Herd had a poor 83 and Harry Vardon's 77 gave him a four shot lead on 150 ahead of Andrew Scott, despite a seven at the 17th hole. The cut was at 169 and 59 advanced to the final two rounds. Rowland Jones was initially disqualified but later reinstated.

In the third round on Thursday morning, Harry Vardon scored 72, having reached the turn in 34. This gave him a seven-stroke lead over Jack White, with Herd and Tom Vardon ten shots behind. In the afternoon, White took a seven at the third hole which effectively gave Harry Vardon the title. Playing cautiously, he eventually finished with a 78. Tom Vardon had the best final round score of 74 and moved into second place ahead of White.

Past champions in the field[]

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	Finish
Harry Vardon	Jersey	1896, 1898, 1899	73	77	72	78	300	1
Sandy Herd	Scotland	1902	73	83	76	77	309	4
James Braid	Scotland	1901	77	79	79	75	310	5
J.H. Taylor	England	1894, 1895, 1900	80	82	78	76	316	T9
Willie Park Jr.	Scotland	1887, 1889	78	86	80	75	319	T15
Willie Fernie	Scotland	1883	78	81	76	89	324	T25
Harold Hilton (a)	England	1892, 1897	81	79	83	81	324	T25
William Auchterlonie	Scotland	1893	83	84	79	84	330	T45

Source:^[1]

Did not enter: John Ball (1890), Jack Burns (1888).

Round summaries[]

First round[]

Wednesday, 10 June 1903 (morning)

Place	Player	Country	Score
T1	Sandy Herd	Scotland	73
T1	Harry Vardon	Jersey	73
T3	Tom Vardon	Jersey	76
T3	Tom Williamson	England	76
T5	James Braid	Scotland	77
	Ernest Gray	England
	John Hunter	Scotland
	Andrew Scott	Scotland
	Jack White	Scotland
T10	Robert Andrew (a)	Scotland	78
	Willie Fernie	Scotland
	James Hepburn	Scotland
	James Kinnell	Scotland
	Willie Park Jr.	Scotland

Source:^[1]

Second round[]

Wednesday, 10 June 1903 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Country	Score
1	Harry Vardon	Jersey	73-77=150
2	Andrew Scott	Scotland	77-77=154
T3		Scotland	81-74=155
T3	Jack White	Scotland	77-78=155
T5	James Braid	Scotland	77-79=156
	Sandy Herd	Scotland	73-83=156
	John Hunter	Scotland	77-79=156
	Tom Williamson	England	76-80=156
9	Tom Vardon	Jersey	76-81=157
T10		England	80-78=158
T10		England	79-79=158

Source:^[1]

Third round[]

Thursday, 11 June 1903 (morning)

Place	Player	Country	Score
1	Harry Vardon	Jersey	73-77-72=222
2	Jack White	Scotland	77-78-74=229
T3	Tom Vardon	Jersey	76-81-75=232
T3	Sandy Herd	Scotland	73-83-76=232
T5		England	80-78-76=234
T5		Scotland	81-74-79=234
T7	James Braid	Scotland	77-79-79=235
	Willie Fernie	Scotland	78-81-76=235
		England	79-79-77=235
	Tom Williamson	England	76-80-79=235

Source:^[1]

Final round[]

Thursday, 11 June 1903 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Country	Score	Money (£)
1	Harry Vardon	Jersey	73-77-72-78=300	50
2	Tom Vardon	Jersey	76-81-75-74=306	25
3	Jack White	Scotland	77-78-74-79=308	15
4	Sandy Herd	Scotland	73-83-76-77=309	10
5	James Braid	Scotland	77-79-79-75=310	7 10s
T6	Andrew Scott	Scotland	77-77-83-77=314	3 15s
T6	Robert Thomson	Scotland	83-78-77-76=314	3 15s
8		England	79-79-77-80=315	0
T9		England	80-78-76-82=316
T9	J.H. Taylor	England	80-82-78-76=316

Source:^[3]

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 134. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
^ "The Open Championship". Glasgow Herald. 8 June 1903. p. 13.
^ 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.

External links[]

Coordinates: 55°30′07″N 4°37′08″W / 55.502°N 4.619°W / 55.502; -4.619

[ocmg11-1] "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 134. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2014.

[gherld-2] "The Open Championship". Glasgow Herald. 8 June 1903. p. 13.

[3] 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.

[1]

[2]

[3]

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