Gilbert Mitchell-Innes (11 September 1823 – 1 November 1900) was a Scottish amateur

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

er. Mitchell-Innes placed seventh in the

1869 Open Championship The 1869 Open Championship was the tenth Open Championship and was held on 16 September at Prestwick Golf Club. Tom Morris, Jr. won the championship for the second successive time, by 11 strokes from Bob Kirk. Just 14 players entered the Cha ...

Early life and marriage

Mitchell-Innes was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 11 September 1823 into a wealthy family. His great uncle was

Gilbert Innes Gilbert Innes of Stow FRSE DL MWS (1751–1832) was a Scottish banker, antiquarian and patron of the arts during the Scottish Enlightenment. He served as Deputy Governor of the Royal Bank of Scotland for 38 years. He was described as “the riche ...

of Stow and it was through him that his father had become enormously wealthy. He was the son of William Mitchell-Innes and Christian Innes (née Shairp). He married Antoinette Amelia MacPherson and the couple would have nine children. One of his sons was the noted barrister

Edward Alfred Mitchell-Innes Edward Alfred Mitchell-Innes, CBE, KC (21 December 1863 – 6 March 1932) was a British barrister. He was Chairman of the General Council of the Bar from 1931 until his death the following year. Born into a prominent Scottish family, he was the so ...

. His ancestors on the Mitchell side of the family had been merchants in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

from the 16th century. His father William had inherited a large fortune from his cousin, James Innes, and later changed his name to Mitchell-Innes, and then proceeded to purchase estates at

Ayton Ayton may refer to: Places * Ayton, Ontario, Canada * Ayton, Scottish Borders, Scotland England * Great Ayton, a village and civil parish, Hambleton district, North Yorkshire * Little Ayton, a village and civil parish, Hambleton district, North Yo ...

and

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament ...

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of ...

Golf career

His playing partners were likely many over the years, but he played often with his good friend Thomas Hodge at

St. Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's four ...

. As a result, the Mitchell-Innes family came to own several of Hodge's paintings.

1869 Open Championship

The

was the tenth

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 ...

and was held on 16 September at

Prestwick Golf Club Prestwick Golf Club is a golf course in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is approximately southwest of Scotland's largest city, Glasgow. Prestwick is a classic links course, built on the rolling sandy land between the beach and the hin ...

Tom Morris, Jr. Thomas Morris (20 April 1851 – 25 December 1875), known as Tom Morris Junior, Young Tom Morris and also Tommy Morris, was a Scottish professional golfer. He is considered one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodig ...

won the championship for the second successive time, by 11 strokes from

Bob Kirk Robert Kirk (9 March 1845 – 1 December 1886) was a Scottish professional golfer. He was born at St Andrews, Scotland, and died there. His golf career was highlighted by second-place finishes in The Open Championship in 1869 and again in 1878. ...

. Just 14 players entered the Championship. Mitchell-Innes had rounds of 64-58-58=180 and finished in seventh place. As an amateur, he was not allowed to accept any prize money.

Details of play

Tom Morris, Jr. dominated the championship, leading by three strokes after the first round, four after second and eventually winning by 11 strokes. After the first round

Davie Strath David Strath (1849 – 28 January 1879) was a Scottish professional golfer. His golf career was highlighted with a trio of second place finishes in the 1870, 1873 and 1876 Open Championships. In 1876, he lost the playoff to fellow countryman Bo ...

and Bob Kirk were both three shots behind Morris. Strath was in second place after two rounds but finished with a 60 to finish third behind Kirk who scored 57. Morris's first round included a hole-in-one at the 8th hole and his total of 50 (6-4-4-6-5-5-3-1-6-3-3-4) was only one behind his record of the previous year. In the second round Kirk took four strokes in one bunker (the "Alps"), scoring 10, while in the last round he took three shots in another (the "Cardinal's Nob"). He had four twos over the three rounds.

Family

Mitchell-Innes's grandson,

Mandy Mitchell-Innes Norman Stewart "Mandy" Mitchell-Innes (7 September 1914 – 28 December 2006) was an amateur cricketer for Somerset, who played in one Test match for England in 1935. Between 1931 and 1949 Mitchell-Innes played 132 first-class matches, appear ...

– when he died on 28 December 2006 – had been the oldest surviving English

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er, having played against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

in 1935, when he was an

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

undergraduate.

Death and legacy

Mitchell-Innes died on 1 November 1900 at Inverleigh Place, Edinburgh, Scotland. He is best remembered for having one top-10 finish (7th) in

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 t ...

1869 Events January–March * January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan. * January 5 – Scotland's oldest professional football team, Kilmarnock F.C., is founded. * January 20 &ndash ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell-Innes, Gilbert Scottish male golfers Amateur golfers Golfers from Edinburgh

Gilbert Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South A ...

1823 births 1900 deaths