1910 Open Championship


The 1910 Open Championship was the 50th Open Championship, held 21–24 June at the Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. James Braid won the championship for the fifth time, four strokes ahead of Sandy Herd, the 1902 champion.
There was no qualifying competition; all 210 entries played 18 holes in pairs on the first two days with the top sixty and ties advancing for the final 36 holes on the third day. Prize money was increased by £10 with the addition of £5 prizes for seventh and eighth places.
Play started on Tuesday, 21 June, but an early afternoon thunderstorm flooded many of the greens and play was cancelled. It was decided that all existing scores would not count and that the Championship would start again on Wednesday and extend to Friday.
After the first round, George Duncan led with 73, a stroke ahead of Willie Watt and Robert Thomson. The leaderboard changed significantly during the second round on Thursday with Duncan shooting 77, while Watt and Thomson took 82 and 85. The midway leader was Willie Smith, then a professional in Mexico City, who shot 71 for 148. Braid was a stroke back on 149 with Duncan third on 150. The cut was at 161 or better and 64 players advanced for the final day.
Duncan's 71 on Friday morning gave him the 54-hole lead, two strokes ahead of Braid with Herd and Ted Ray a further four shots behind. Duncan's 83 in the afternoon dropped him to third place and gave Braid a comfortable victory with Herd second. Smith's second 80 of the day left him in a disappointing tie for fifth place.

Past champions in the field

PlayerCountryYear wonR1R2R3R4TotalFinish
James Braid1901, 1905,
1906, 1908
767374762991
Sandy Herd1902787475763032
J.H. Taylor1894, 1895,
1900, 1909
76807878312T14
Harry Vardon1896, 1898,
1899, 1903
77817580313T16
John Ball 189079757882314T19
Arnaud Massy190778778179315T22
William Auchterlonie189379767983317T28
Willie Park Jr.1887, 188981787884321T38

Source:
Did not enter: Jack White,
Harold Hilton

Round summaries

First round

Tuesday, 21 June 1910

Wednesday, 22 June 1910
A thunderstorm on Tuesday afternoon caused flooding; all scores for the day were thrown out and play was restarted on Wednesday.
PlacePlayerCountryScore
1George Duncan73
T2Willie Watt74
T2Robert Thomson74
T4Fred Robson75
T4Herbert Riseborough75
T6James Braid76
T6Ted Ray76
T6J.H. Taylor76
T9Albert Bellworthy77
T9Fred Collins77
T9George Daniel77
T9Harold Frostick77
T9Willie Hunter Sr.77
T9Michael Moran Ireland77
T9Thomas Renouf77
T9James Sherlock77
T9Willie Smith77
T9Harry Vardon77
T9Tom Vardon77

Source:

Second round

Thursday, 23 June 1910
PlacePlayerCountryScore
1Willie Smith77-71=148
2James Braid76-73=149
3George Duncan73-77=150
T4Ernest Gaudin78-74=152
T4Sandy Herd78-74=152
T4Michael Moran Ireland77-75=152
T4Willie Ritchie78-74=152
T8James Kinnell79-74=153
T8Ted Ray76-77=153
T8Thomas Renouf77-76=153

Source:

Third round

Friday, 24 June 1910
PlacePlayerCountryScore
1George Duncan73-77-71=221
2James Braid76-73-74=223
T3Sandy Herd78-74-75=227
T3Ted Ray76-77-74=227
T5Ernest Gaudin78-74-76=228
T5Thomas Renouf77-76-75=228
T5Willie Smith77-71-80=228
8Laurie Ayton, Snr78-76-75=229
9James Kinnell79-74-77=230
10Michael Moran Ireland77-75-79=231

Source:

Final round

Friday, 24 June 1910
PlacePlayerCountryScoreMoney
1James Braid76-73-74-76=29950
2Sandy Herd78-74-75-76=30325
3George Duncan73-77-71-83=30415
4Laurie Ayton, Snr78-76-75-77=30610
T5Ted Ray76-77-74-81=3086
13s 4d
T5Fred Robson75-80-77-76=3086
13s 4d
T5Willie Smith77-71-80-80=3086
13s 4d
T8Ernest Gaudin78-74-76-81=3091
5s
T8James Kinnell79-74-77-79=3091
5s
T8Thomas Renouf77-76-75-81=3091
5s
T8Donald Ross78-79-75-77=3091
5s

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