1920 Amateur Championship: Cyril Tolley wins at Muirfield (The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers)
Cyril Tolley won the 1920 Amateur Championship at Muirfield (The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers) in Gullane, East Lothian, beating Robert A. Gardner won on 37th hole in the final.
Updated 23 October 2026
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- Edition
- 31st
- Dates
- 11 June 1920
- Course
- Muirfield (The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers), Gullane, East Lothian
- Format
- match play
- Champion
- Cyril Tolley · age 24 · England · Rye
- Champion's title
- 1st Amateur Championship title
- Runner-up
- Robert A. Gardner · age 30 · United States
- Final
- won on 37th hole (36-hole final)
- Losing semifinalists
- Gustav Mellin and Michael Scott
- Defending champion
- James Jenkins · lost in fourth round (round of 32)
What happened at the 1920 Amateur Championship
Final: Gardner, 3 down with 4 to play, won the 33rd/15th and 34th/16th and the 36th to square; at the 37th (the 1st, a c.210-yard one-shotter) Tolley holed a putt of about four yards for a 2 to win
Semi-final: Gardner beat Michael Scott 2 up after winning the first three holes and losing the next three
Quarterfinal, Robert A. Gardner v Gordon Lockhart, 1 up. Gardner holed a twenty-foot putt for a 3 on the home hole to beat one of Britain's best
The draw
Every match is recorded through the final; earlier rounds are partial (semifinal (2 of 2; one score unknown); quarterfinal (2 of 4); round of 16 (2 of 8)).
The final, 1920 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyril Tolley | def. | Robert A. Gardner | won on 37th hole |
Semifinals, 1920 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert A. Gardner | def. | Michael Scott | 2 up |
| Cyril Tolley | def. | Gustav Mellin | unknown |
Quarterfinals, 1920 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Scott | def. | Willie Hunter | 6 & 5 |
| Robert A. Gardner | def. | Gordon Lockhart | 1 up |
Round of 16, 1920 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Scott | def. | Ernest Holderness | 3 & 2 |
| Robert A. Gardner | def. | W. Jobson | 6 & 5 |
Round of 32, 1920 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert A. Gardner | def. | Jack MacIntyre | 4 & 2 |
| Gordon Lockhart | def. | Nelson Whitney | 2 & 1 |
Round of 64, 1920 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert A. Gardner | def. | Edward Blackwell | 3 & 2 |
Round of 128, 1920 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert A. Gardner | def. | M. M. Burrell | 1 up |
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.
Data: the-amateur.json.
Sources
- R&A The Amateur Championship past winners (randa.org)
- The American Golfer 1920-06-19 (vol.23 no.17) pp.8-9, Grantland Rice "Anyway, Here's to Gardner"
- The Age (Melbourne) 1920-06-12 p.15 (cable, London 10 June)
- Sunday Times (Sydney) 1920-06-13 p.2 (cable)
- The Age (Melbourne) 1920-06-11 p.9 (cable, London 9 June)