1897 Amateur Championship: Jack Allan wins at Muirfield
Jack Allan won the 1897 Amateur Championship at Muirfield in Gullane, East Lothian, beating James Robb 4 & 2 in the final.
Updated 23 October 2026
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- Edition
- 13th
- Dates
- 27 April 1897 to 30 April 1897
- Course
- Muirfield, Gullane, East Lothian
- Format
- match play
- Champion
- Jack Allan · Scotland · Edinburgh
- Champion's title
- 1st Amateur Championship title
- Runner-up
- James Robb · Scotland
- Final
- 4 & 2 (36-hole final)
- Match-play field
- 74
- Losing semifinalists
- John L. Low and Leslie Balfour-Melville
- Defending champion
- Freddie Tait · lost in round of 32
- Entries
- 74
What happened at the 1897 Amateur Championship
Third round: W. Greig beat the holder Freddie Tait by one hole, winning the 17th when Tait missed his putt
Semi-final: James Robb beat John L. Low at the 21st hole; final: A. J. T. (Jack) Allan beat Robb 4 & 2 in the first championship at Muirfield
The draw
Every match is recorded through the round of 16.
The final, 1897 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Allan | def. | James Robb | 4 & 2 |
Semifinals, 1897 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Robb | def. | John L. Low | won on 21st hole |
| Jack Allan | def. | Leslie Balfour-Melville | 3 & 1 |
Quarterfinals, 1897 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John L. Low | def. | E. Spencer | 3 & 2 |
| James Robb | def. | Robert Maxwell | 1 up |
| Jack Allan | def. | Laurie Auchterlonie | 2 up |
| Leslie Balfour-Melville | def. | A. Lawson | 5 & 4 |
Round of 16, 1897 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| E. Spencer | def. | W. C. Glover | 1 up |
| John L. Low | def. | W. A. Henderson | 5 & 4 |
| Robert Maxwell | def. | Harold Hilton | 6 & 4 |
| James Robb | def. | H. G. B. Ellis | 7 & 6 |
| Laurie Auchterlonie | def. | P. Walker | 3 & 2 |
| Jack Allan | def. | A. W. Smith | 3 & 2 |
| A. Lawson | def. | W. Greig | 1 up |
| Leslie Balfour-Melville | def. | Harry Colt | 6 & 4 |
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.