1910 Open Championship
The 1910 Open Championship was the 50th Open Championship, held 21–24 June at the Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. James Braid won the championship for the fifth time, four strokes ahead of Sandy Herd, the 1902 champion.[2]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21–24 June 1910 |
| Location | St Andrews, Scotland |
| Course(s) | Old Course at St Andrews |
| Statistics | |
| Length | 6,489 yards (5,934 m) |
| Field | 210 players,[1] 64 after cut |
| Cut | 161 |
| Prize fund | £125 |
| Winner's share | £50 |
| Champion | |
 James Braid | |
| 299 | |
There was no qualifying competition; all 210 entries played 18 holes in pairs on the first two days with the top sixty and ties advancing for the final 36 holes on the third day.[3] Prize money was increased by £10 with the addition of £5 prizes for seventh and eighth places.
Play started on Tuesday, 21 June, but an early afternoon thunderstorm flooded many of the greens and play was cancelled. It was decided that all existing scores would not count and that the Championship would start again on Wednesday and extend to Friday.[4]
After the first round, George Duncan led with 73, a stroke ahead of Willie Watt and Robert Thomson.[5] The leaderboard changed significantly during the second round on Thursday with Duncan shooting 77, while Watt and Thomson took 82 and 85. The midway leader was Willie Smith, then a professional in Mexico City, who shot 71 for 148. Braid was a stroke back on 149 with Duncan third on 150. The cut was at 161 or better and 64 players advanced for the final day.[6]
Duncan's 71 on Friday morning gave him the 54-hole lead, two strokes ahead of Braid with Herd and Ted Ray a further four shots behind. Duncan's 83 in the afternoon dropped him to third place and gave Braid a comfortable victory with Herd second. Smith's second 80 of the day left him in a disappointing tie for fifth place.[2]
Round summaries
First round
Tuesday, 21 June 1910
Wednesday, 22 June 1910
A thunderstorm on Tuesday afternoon caused flooding; all scores for the day were thrown out and play was restarted on Wednesday.
| Place | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Duncan | 73 |
| T2 | Willie Watt | 74 |
| Robert Thomson | ||
| T4 |  Fred Robson | 75 |
| Herbert Riseborough | ||
| T6 | James Braid | 76 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Ted Ray | ||
| J.H. Taylor | ||
| T9 | Albert Bellworthy | 77 |
| Fred Collins | ||
| George Daniel | ||
| Harold Frostick | ||
| Willie Hunter Sr. | ||
 Michael Moran | ||
| Thomas Renouf | ||
| James Sherlock | ||
| Willie Smith | ||
| Harry Vardon | ||
| Tom Vardon |
Second round
Thursday, 23 June 1910
| Place | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Willie Smith | 77-71=148 |
| 2 | James Braid | 76-73=149 |
| 3 | George Duncan | 73-77=150 |
| T4 | Ernest Gaudin | 78-74=152 |
| Sandy Herd | 78-74=152 | |
| Michael Moran | 77-75=152 | |
| Willie Ritchie | 78-74=152 | |
| T8 | James Kinnell | 79-74=153 |
| Ted Ray | 76-77=153 | |
| Thomas Renouf | 77-76=153 |
Third round
Friday, 24 June 1910 (morning)
| Place | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Duncan | 73-77-71=221 |
| 2 | James Braid | 76-73-74=223 |
| T3 | Sandy Herd | 78-74-75=227 |
| Ted Ray | 76-77-74=227 | |
| T5 | Ernest Gaudin | 78-74-76=228 |
| Thomas Renouf | 77-76-75=228 | |
| Willie Smith | 77-71-80=228 | |
| 8 | Laurie Ayton, Snr | 78-76-75=229 |
| 9 | James Kinnell | 79-74-77=230 |
| 10 | Michael Moran | 77-75-79=231 |
Final round
Friday, 24 June 1910 (afternoon)
| Place | Player | Score | Money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Braid | 76-73-74-76=299 | 50 |
| 2 | Sandy Herd | 78-74-75-76=303 | 25 |
| 3 | George Duncan | 73-77-71-83=304 | 15 |
| 4 | Laurie Ayton, Snr | 78-76-75-77=306 | 10 |
| T5 | Ted Ray | 76-77-74-81=308 | 6 13s 4d |
| Fred Robson | 75-80-77-76=308 | ||
| Willie Smith | 77-71-80-80=308 | ||
| T8 | Ernest Gaudin | 78-74-76-81=309 | 1 5s |
| James Kinnell | 79-74-77-79=309 | ||
| Thomas Renouf | 77-76-75-81=309 | ||
| Donald Ross | 78-79-75-77=309 |
References
- "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 126. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- "Great achievement in golf - Braid wins his fifth championship". Glasgow Herald. 25 June 1910. pp. 9, 10.
- "The Open Championship". Glasgow Herald. 21 June 1910. p. 15.
- "The jubilee golf championship - unprecedented situation - thunderstorm and a deluge - first day's play cancelled". Glasgow Herald. 22 June 1910. p. 9.
- "The jubilee golf championship - another record for St. Andrews - George Duncan leading first round". Glasgow Herald. 23 June 1910. pp. 7, 8.
- "The jubilee golf championship - another record for St. Andrews - Willie Smith of Mexico leading". Glasgow Herald. 24 June 1910. pp. 9, 10.
- 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.