1891 Amateur Championship: Johnny Laidlay wins at St Andrews Links (Old Course)
Johnny Laidlay won the 1891 Amateur Championship at St Andrews Links (Old Course) in St Andrews, Fife, beating Harold Hilton won on 20th hole in the final.
Updated 23 October 2026
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- Edition
- 7th
- Dates
- 7 May 1891 to 9 May 1891
- Course
- St Andrews Links (Old Course), St Andrews, Fife
- Format
- match play
- Champion
- Johnny Laidlay · age 30 · Scotland · Muirfield
- Champion's title
- 2nd Amateur Championship title
- Runner-up
- Harold Hilton · age 22 · England
- Final
- won on 20th hole (18-hole final)
- Match-play field
- 50
- Losing semifinalists
- W. Ballingall and Thomas Gilroy
- Defending champion
- John Ball · lost in round of 32
- Entries
- 50
What happened at the 1891 Amateur Championship
Second round: the holder John Ball went out to R. B. Sharp by one hole
Final: Johnny Laidlay beat Harold Hilton at the second extra hole (20th) of an 18-hole final
The draw
Every match is recorded through the round of 16.
The final, 1891 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Laidlay | def. | Harold Hilton | won on 20th hole |
Semifinals, 1891 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harold Hilton | def. | W. Ballingall | 6 & 4 |
| Johnny Laidlay | def. | Thomas Gilroy | 5 & 4 |
Quarterfinals, 1891 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harold Hilton | def. | R. H. Johnston | 6 & 5 |
| W. Ballingall | def. | W. H. Burn | 6 & 5 |
| Thomas Gilroy | def. | W. Doleman | 7 & 6 |
| Johnny Laidlay | def. | B. E. Goff | 7 & 6 |
Round of 16, 1891 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R. H. Johnston | def. | David I. Lamb | 7 & 5 |
| Harold Hilton | def. | A. Morison | 1 up |
| W. Ballingall | def. | J. W. Tod | 2 up |
| W. H. Burn | def. | Henry Lamb | 4 & 2 |
| Thomas Gilroy | def. | R. T. Boothby Jr. | 3 & 1 |
| W. Doleman | def. | R. B. Sharp | 2 & 1 |
| B. E. Goff | def. | J. Forrest | 2 & 1 |
| Johnny Laidlay | def. | H. S. C. Everard | 3 & 2 |
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's Amateur Championship data set (research collected through 20 October 2026). "unknown" means no source confirmed it; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the R&A's own record is used.
Values found only on Wikipedia, kept and flagged: champion_nationality, runner_up_nationality.
Data: the-amateur.json.