David "Deacon" Brown (9 May 1861 – 8 July 1936) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

professional golfer who played in the late 19th and early 20th century. He won the 1886 Open Championship and finished second in the 1903 U.S. Open. In total, he had twelve top-10 finishes in major championship tournaments.

Early life and career

Brown was born on 9 May 1861 in

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

, Scotland. He was a roofing slater by trade and a keen golfer. In 1886, he was working in Musselburgh when

The 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 ...

was about to be played. John Anderson, who was secretary of the Musselburgh Club at the time, invited him to play and provided him with a pair of striped trousers, a

frock coat A frock coat is a formal wear, formal men's coat (clothing), coat characterised by a knee-length skirt cut all around the base just above the knee, popular during the Victorian era, Victorian and Edwardian era, Edwardian periods (1830s–1910s). ...

and a lum hat to wear. He shocked the professionals by winning the tournament by two shots from Willie Campbell, carding rounds of 38-41-37-41=157, and then turned professional himself.

Later life

Brown was hired by Hayling Island Golfing Club (now Hayling Golf Club) in early 1885 as greenkeeper following the departure of Joseph Lloyd as Professional/Greenkeeper where ''The Field'' reported in an April report of the Spring Meeting of that year that 'great satisfaction was expressed at the improvement made in the state of the green since the charge of it was undertaken by David Brown of Musselburgh'. Brown moved permanently to England to become club professional at Newbiggin by the Sea Golf Club in about 1888, and later worked at Malvern Club. He played in the Open Championship regularly and featured prominently. At the turn of the century he moved to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in the United States. In 1903 he tied with Willie Anderson for first place in the U.S. Open after 72 holes, but he lost the playoff. Brown enjoyed playing the stock market but lost most of his wealth during the Wall Street crash of 1929 and returned to Musselburgh, where he died in 1936.

Death and legacy

Brown died on 8 July 1936 in

Inveresk Inveresk (Gaelic: ''Inbhir Easg'') is a village in East Lothian, Scotland situated to the south of Musselburgh. It has been designated a conservation area since 1969. It is situated on slightly elevated ground on the north bank of a loop ...

, Scotland. He is best remembered for winning the 1886 Open Championship and finishing second in the 1903 U.S. Open.

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

''Note: Brown played in only the two Opens.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, David Scottish male golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Golfers from Musselburgh 19th-century Scottish sportsmen 1861 births 1936 deaths