James Anderson (27 June 1842 – 16 August 1905) was a nineteenth-century professional

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

er who won

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 ...

three consecutive times, from 1877 to 1879.

Early life

Anderson was born in

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ 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 fourth-largest settleme ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, the son of David "Da" Anderson, greenskeeper at the Old Course. Da also sold tea and lemonade on the Old Course from a portable cart. James Anderson began caddying over the Old Course from a young age, while

Allan Robertson Allan Robertson (11 September 1815 – 1 September 1859) was considered to be one of the first professional golfers. Early years In the mid-19th century golf was played mainly by well-off gentlemen, as hand-crafted clubs and balls were expens ...

was still alive, and took up golf around the same time. It took James many years to reach his top championship form (age 35), in contrast to the nine-years-younger Young Tom Morris, who won his first Open at age 17 in 1868.

Golf career

Anderson's Open Championships victories were at

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 ...

in 1877;

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 hi ...

in 1878; and

in 1879. He is one of only four golfers who have won three consecutive Opens, alongside

Young Tom Morris Thomas Morris (20 April 1851 – 25 December 1875), better known as Young Tom Morris, was a Scottish professional golfer. He is considered one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history. He won four co ...

(1868–1870), Bob Ferguson (1880–82) and Peter Thomson (1954–56). Anderson did not compete in 1880 because the date of the tournament was set so late that he missed entry. He was runner-up the next year 1881. His nephew David was runner-up in 1888, and all of his sons were golf professionals.

Death and legacy

Anderson died in a poorhouse in

Thornton, Fife Thornton () is a village in Fife, Scotland. It is between Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes, and stands between the River Ore and Lochty Burn, which are at opposite ends of the main street. The Church of Scotland parish church was built in 1835 and is lo ...

, Scotland. He won the Open Championship three consecutive times: 1877, 1878, and 1879.

Major championships

Wins (3)

Results timeline

*''Note: Anderson played only in

.'' NT = No tournament
"T" indicates a tie for a place

References

External links

The Principal's Nose
*Antique Golf Clubs from Scotland
The Anderson Family
Scottish male golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Golfers from St Andrews 1842 births 1905 deaths {{Scotland-golf-bio-stub