The 1896 Open Championship was the 36th

Open Championship 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. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

, held 10–11 and 13 June at

Muirfield Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for T ...

in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland.

Harry Vardon Henry William Vardon (9 May 1870 – 20 March 1937) was a professional golfer from Jersey. He was a member of the Great Triumvirate with John Henry Taylor and James Braid. Vardon won The Open Championship a record six times, and also won the ...

won the Championship after a playoff against J.H. Taylor.

Sandy Herd Alexander Herd (24 April 1868 – 18 February 1944) was a Scottish professional golfer from St Andrews. He won The Open Championship in 1902 at Hoylake. Early life Born in St Andrews, Scotland, on 24 April 1868, to a golfing family, Herd had br ...

led by five shots after a first round of 72. Taylor and James Kay were second after scoring 77. Taylor had reached turn in 35 but came back in a poor 42. The amateur

Freddie Tait Frederick Guthrie Tait (11 January 1870 – 7 February 1900) was an amateur golfer and Scotland, Scottish soldier. He won the Amateur Championship twice, in 1896 and again in 1898, by convincing margins. Over his short golf career, Tait recor ...

had the best round of the afternoon with a 75 while Herd had a disappointing 84 and Kay an even worse 88. At the end of the day, Taylor led on 155, with Herd on 156, Willie Fernie and David Brown on 157 and Tait on 158. In the third round, the leading professionals had similar scores but the amateur Tait dropped down the field after an 84. Herd led on 235 with Taylor on 236, Brown and

Ben Sayers Bernard "Ben" Sayers (23 June 1856 – 9 March 1924) was a Scottish professional golfer, who later became a distinguished golf teacher, golf course designer and manufacturer of golf clubs and equipment. Sayers had a reputation for making good ...

on 238 and Fernie and Vardon on 239. Taylor the first starter of those in contention and played steadily for an 80 and a total of 316. Fernie started well but took seven at the 7th and also finished with an 80 and a total of 319. Vardon played the best golf of the leading six and came to the last needing a four to win. However he played safely to avoid the bunkers around the green and settled for a five to finish with a 77 and a tie with Taylor. Herd, who had led Vardon by 11 shots after the first round, had another bad afternoon round of 85 after his 84 the previous day. In the 36-hole playoff, Taylor started badly and was six strokes behind after eight holes, taking 40 to Vardon's 34. However he gained a shot on five of the next six holes and, although he took six at the 16th, ended the morning golf only two strokes behind. The scores were level after the 1st hole in the afternoon when Vardon took 5 while Taylor scored 3. However, Vardon gained shots at the next three holes. After gaining a stroke at the 12th Taylor was only two behind. They then halved the next five holes, both taking six at the long 16th. The championship was decided at the 17th where Vardon holed a 12-yard putt to take a three shot lead to the last. Playing boldly Taylor got into a difficult position in a greenside bunker and took six, while Vardon played safely for a five to win by four shots. Just five days before his 73rd birthday,

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 ...

played in his last Open Championship, 36 years after finishing second in the

first Championship The FIRST Championship is a four-day robotics championship held annually in April at which FIRST student robotics teams compete. For several years, the event was held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, but moved to the Edward Jones Dome ...

. At he remains the oldest known competitor in the Open Championship.

First day leaderboard

''Wednesday, 10 June 1896''

Final leaderboard

Source: ''Thursday, 11 June 1896''

Playoff

Source: Taylor and Vardon were engaged in a 36-hole tournament at

North Berwick North Berwick (; ) is a seaside resort, seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holi ...

on Friday 12 June and so the playoff was delayed until the following day. Taylor finished joint winner of the North Berwick tournament, with Ben Sayers and Willie Fernie, winning £8. "After the championship there seemed to a complete collapse of interest in the game, both in the players and spectators." ''Saturday, 13 June 1896''

Scorecards

''Morning round'' ''Afternoon round''

References

External links

Muirfield 1896 (Official site)
{{coord, 56.043, -2.823, type:event, display=title The Open Championship Golf tournaments in Scotland