Everything has led to this.
The 150th Open, at St Andrews in July 2022, promises to be a magical sporting occasion, as golf’s original Championship reaches a significant milestone.
During the coming months we will celebrate The Open’s rich history with a look back at every decade since the Championship first was played in 1860.
We begin by examining the first 10 editions of The Open, which were all played at Prestwick and dominated by three men.
For a long read on one of those three players, Old Tom Morris, click here.
The first Open was organised by the members of Prestwick Golf Club following the death of Allan Robertson the previous year.
Robertson was widely renowned as the finest player in Scotland and the new Championship was created to find his successor as the Champion Golfer.
Old Tom Morris, Robertson’s long-time partner in challenge matches and the keeper of the greens at Prestwick, was the favourite to claim the Challenge Belt.
However, Morris had to settle for second as Willie Park Snr of Musselburgh prevailed with a total of 174 for three 12-hole rounds.
Park would go on to win The Open again in 1863 and 1866, yet another name proved even more prolific during the decade.
To read more about the 1860s at The Open, visit https://www.theopen.com/latest/decades-of-the-open-1860s.
The R&A