Everything has led to this.
The Open.com’s Decades of The Open series is celebrating the remarkable journey of golf’s original championship in the build-up to the 150th Open at St Andrews in 2022.
The latest article focuses on the 1900s, when James Braid firmly established himself among the dominant players of the era along with Harry Vardon and JH Taylor.
History was also made as The Open was won by an overseas player for the first time, with France’s Arnaud Massy claiming a hugely significant victory at Royal Liverpool.
Braid was a distant third in the first Open of the new century at St Andrews, finishing five behind Vardon – who was chasing a third title in succession – and a whopping 13 strokes adrift of the dominant Taylor.
Victory for Taylor meant he and Vardon had combined for six wins in seven years, but Braid was about to make his own indelible mark on golf’s original championship.
The big-hitting Scot broke through at Muirfield in 1901 and was victorious again at the same venue five years later as the defending Open champion, having triumphed in the meantime at St Andrews in 1905.
Braid then thundered to another success at Prestwick in 1908, finishing eight clear of his nearest rival as he secured a fourth win in the space of seven years.
By the end of the decade, each member of the Great Triumvirate – Braid, Taylor and Vardon – had four Open titles to his name, tying the record held by Old Tom Morris, Young Tom Morris and Willie Park Snr.
What is more, neither Braid, Taylor nor Vardon were finished, with all three adding to their tally of Open wins in the 1910s.
Find out more about the fifth decade of Open Championships by reading the rest of this article at https://www.theopen.com/latest/decades-of-the-open-1900s.
The R&A