1869 Open Championship: Tom Morris Jr wins at Prestwick Golf Club (12-hole links)
Tom Morris Jr won the 1869 Open Championship at Prestwick Golf Club (12-hole links), Scotland with 157, by 11 strokes over Bob Kirk.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1869 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 16 September 1869
- Course
- Prestwick Golf Club (12-hole links), Scotland
- Edition
- 10th Open Championship
- Format
- 36 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 14
- Purse
- £12
- Trophy
- Challenge Belt
- Champion
- Tom Morris Jr · age 18 · Scotland · born St Andrews, Scotland
- Champion's title
- 2nd Open title
- How he got in
- open entry (no qualifying)
- Winning score
- 50-55-52 = 157 · won by 11 strokes
- Runner-up
- Bob Kirk (168)
- Leader entering the final round
- Tom Morris Jr (105)
- Final-day weather
- windy: "A day of strong wind explained the high scoring, for everyone but the Champion"
- Low amateur
- William Doleman (175)
Top 9 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Morris Jr | 50 | 55 | 52 | 157 |
| 2 | Bob Kirk | 53 | 58 | 57 | 168 |
| 3 | Davie Strath | 53 | 56 | 60 | 169 |
| 4 | Jamie Anderson | 60 | 56 | 57 | 173 |
| 5 | William Doleman (a) | 60 | 56 | 59 | 175 |
| 6 | Tom Morris Sr | 56 | 62 | 58 | 176 |
| 7 | G.M. Innes (a) | 64 | 58 | 58 | 180 |
| 8 | Tom Dunn | 62 | 61 | 59 | 182 |
| 9 | Charlie Hunter | 62 | 61 | 64 | 187 |
What happened at the 1869 Open Championship
Young Tom made the Championship's first hole-in-one, at the 166-yard 8th (Station) hole.
He won by 11 strokes on a day of strong wind.
Young Tom's ace at the 8th (Station) hole is famous, but he won by 11 and no source calls it 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).