1872 Open Championship: Tom Morris Jr wins at Prestwick Golf Club (12-hole links)
Tom Morris Jr won the 1872 Open Championship at Prestwick Golf Club (12-hole links), Scotland with 166, by 3 strokes over Davie Strath.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1872 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 13 September 1872
- Course
- Prestwick Golf Club (12-hole links), Scotland
- Edition
- 12th Open Championship
- Format
- 36 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 8
- Trophy
- Gold medal (Claret Jug not ready; later engraved for 1872)
- Champion
- Tom Morris Jr · age 21 · Scotland · born St Andrews, Scotland
- Champion's title
- 4th Open title
- How he got in
- open entry (no qualifying)
- Winning score
- 57-56-53 = 166 · won by 3 strokes
- Runner-up
- Davie Strath (169)
- Leader entering the final round
- Davie Strath (108) · Tom Morris Jr was 5 strokes back
- Deciding hole
- No. 12, round 3
- Low amateur
- William Doleman (177)
Top 8 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Morris Jr | 57 | 56 | 53 | 166 |
| 2 | Davie Strath | 56 | 52 | 61 | 169 |
| 3 | William Doleman (a) | 63 | 60 | 54 | 177 |
| T4 | David Park | 61 | 57 | 61 | 179 |
| T4 | Tom Morris Sr | 62 | 60 | 57 | 179 |
| 6 | Charlie Hunter | 60 | 60 | 69 | 189 |
| 7 | William Hunter (a) | 65 | 63 | 69 | 197 |
| 8 | Hugh Brown | 65 | 73 | 61 | 199 |
What happened at the 1872 Open Championship
Strath led by five after 24 holes, but his drive at the last went into the Goosedubs swamp and he closed with 61.
No new trophy was ready, so Young Tom received a medal; his name was later the first engraved on the Claret Jug.
Davie Strath, five ahead after 24 holes, drove into the Goosedubs swamp at the last (the 12th of the 12-hole course) "and any hope had gone", losing to Young Tom by three.
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).