1873 Open Championship: Tom Kidd wins at Old Course, St Andrews
Tom Kidd won the 1873 Open Championship at Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland with 179, by 1 stroke over Jamie Anderson.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1873 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 4 October 1873
- Course
- Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland
- Edition
- 13th Open Championship
- Format
- 36 holes of stroke play
- Winner's share
- £11
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (first presentation)
- Champion
- Tom Kidd · Scotland · born St Andrews, Scotland
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- How he got in
- open entry (no qualifying)
- Winning score
- 91-88 = 179 · won by 1 stroke
- Runner-up
- Jamie Anderson (180)
- Deciding hole
- No. 18, round 2
- Final-day weather
- wet: After days of torrential rain the Old Course was "almost unplayable", with standing water everywhere
- Low amateur
- Henry Lamb (192)
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Kidd | 91 | 88 | 179 |
| 2 | Jamie Anderson | 91 | 89 | 180 |
| T3 | Bob Kirk | 91 | 92 | 183 |
| T3 | Tom Morris Jr | 94 | 89 | 183 |
| 5 | Davie Strath | 97 | 90 | 187 |
| 6 | Walter Gourlay | 92 | 96 | 188 |
| 7 | Tom Morris Sr | 93 | 96 | 189 |
| 8 | Henry Lamb (a) | 96 | 96 | 192 |
| T9 | Bob Martin | 97 | 97 | 194 |
| T9 | Willie Fernie | 101 | 93 | 194 |
What happened at the 1873 Open Championship
Torrential rain left standing water, and a new rule let a submerged ball be moved, no nearer the hole, for a one-stroke penalty.
Kidd, a St Andrews caddie, was the first champion presented with the Claret Jug.
"Kidd had a putt on the last to win and holed it", beating Jamie Anderson's 180 by one.
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).