1868 Open Championship: Tom Morris Jr wins at Prestwick Golf Club (12-hole links)
Tom Morris Jr won the 1868 Open Championship at Prestwick Golf Club (12-hole links), Scotland with 154, by 3 strokes over Tom Morris Sr.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1868 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 23 September 1868
- Course
- Prestwick Golf Club (12-hole links), Scotland
- Edition
- 9th Open Championship
- Format
- 36 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 12
- Purse
- £12
- Trophy
- Challenge Belt
- Champion
- Tom Morris Jr · age 17 · Scotland · born St Andrews, Scotland
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- How he got in
- open entry (no qualifying)
- Winning score
- 51-54-49 = 154 · won by 3 strokes
- Runner-up
- Tom Morris Sr (157)
- Leader entering the final round
- Tom Morris Sr (104) · Tom Morris Jr was 1 stroke back
- Low amateur
- William Doleman (181)
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Morris Jr | 51 | 54 | 49 | 154 |
| 2 | Tom Morris Sr | 54 | 50 | 53 | 157 |
| 3 | Robert Andrew | 53 | 54 | 52 | 159 |
| 4 | Willie Park Sr | 58 | 50 | 54 | 162 |
| 5 | Bob Ferguson | 57 | 54 | 54 | 165 |
| 6 | Tom Dunn | 59 | 54 | 54 | 167 |
| 7 | Bob Kirk | 56 | 59 | 56 | 171 |
| T8 | John Allan | 54 | 55 | 63 | 172 |
| T8 | Charlie Hunter | 60 | 54 | 58 | 172 |
| 10 | William Dow | 61 | 58 | 60 | 179 |
What happened at the 1868 Open Championship
At 17 years 156 days, Young Tom became the youngest champion, beating his father by three.
His closing 49 was an Open record, and his 154 broke the 36-hole record by eight strokes.
The Open describes Young Tom's four 3s in five holes from the 7th in the final round, but it does not call that run decisive.
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's The Open data. A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the organizer's own record is used.
Data: the-open.json (The Open room's data), with GNN's Open Championship addendum tables L (top ten by round), H (deciding hole), W (final-day weather).