The 1897 Open Championship was the 37th

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 19–20 May at

Royal Liverpool Golf Club The Royal Liverpool Golf Club is a golf club in Wirral in Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1869 on what was then the racecourse of the Liverpool Hunt Club. It received the "Royal" designation in 1871 due to the patronage of Prince Arth ...

in Hoylake, England.

Harold Hilton Harold Horsfall Hilton (12 January 1869 – 5 May 1942) was an English amateur golfer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He won The Open Championship twice, The Amateur Championship four times, and the U.S. Amateur Championship once. Bi ...

, an amateur, won the Championship for the second time, a stroke ahead of James Braid. This was the second Open to be played in England after the 1894 event staged at

Royal St George's The Royal St George's Golf Club is a golf club located in Sandwich, Kent, England. It is one of the courses on The Open Championship rota, and the only one in South East England. It has hosted 15 Open championships, the first in 1894 when it b ...

. It was also the last Open Championship with no qualifying and no cut. 88 players entered including 20 amateurs. Royal Liverpool was the home club of many of the leading amateurs of the day including John Ball Jr. and Hilton, both of whom had already won the Championship. After the first round Ball and

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 with scores of 78, with David Brown and

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 ...

on 79. There were two outstanding rounds in the afternoon. Braid scored 74 gave him the lead on 154 while Hilton's 75 put him second on 155. Tait was third on 158. J.H. Taylor and

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 ...

were a disappointing 8 and 10 strokes behind the leader. Despite a few withdrawals, 39 pairs started on the final day. Under the new proposed cut rule, to be introduced in 1898, the field would have been reduced to a more comfortable 41. The leaders had poor third rounds which meant for a close position after the morning's play. Braid led by two from Herd, George Pulford and Tait with Hilton a further stroke behind and Brown and

Tom Vardon Thomas Alfred Vardon (11 October 1874 – 13 October 1938) was a professional golfer from Jersey, Channel Islands, and the brother of golfer Harry Vardon, whom he sometimes played against professionally. From 1892 to 1909 he played in 18 Open Ch ...

five behind the leader. Tait was the early leader after a 79 gave him a score of 317 but this was bettered by a round of 75 by Hilton to give him the lead on 314. Hilton had scored just 18 on the opening five holes. Disappointing front nines from Herd and Pulford put them out of contention, leaving only Braid with a chance to match Hilton. After a three at the 15th, Baird reached the 16th tee needing 14 to tie with Hilton. However, with his third shot at the long 16th, he chipped over the green and he took six. He had a long putt at the last to tie but missed and finished a shot behind Hilton. With more withdrawals on the final day only 52 players completed the 72 holes, two players finishing 53 strokes behind the winner.

First day leaderboard

''Wednesday, 19 May 1897''

Final leaderboard

Source: ''Thursday, 20 May 1897'' As an amateur Hinton received "£30 in plate" in addition to the "

Championship Cup The Championship Cup (known as the Northern Rail Cup for sponsorship reasons), previously known as the National League Cup, was a rugby league football competition for clubs in the United Kingdom's Rugby League Championships. Although the Frenc ...

" and "Gold Medal". The prize-money for the professionals was reduced accordingly to £60. This arrangement had been introduced after the 1892 Open Championship which was also won by Hilton.

References

External links

Royal Liverpool 1897 (Official site)
{{coord, 53.385, -3.190, type:event, display=title The Open Championship Golf tournaments in England Sport in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral