1876 Open Championship: Bob Martin wins at Old Course, St Andrews
Bob Martin won the 1876 Open Championship at Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland with 176, beating Davie Strath in a playoff.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1876 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 30 September 1876 to 2 October 1876
- Course
- Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland
- Edition
- 16th Open Championship
- Format
- 36 holes of stroke play
- Purse
- £27 · winner's share £10
- Trophy
- Claret Jug
- Champion
- Bob Martin · Scotland · born Cupar, Scotland
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- How he got in
- open entry (no qualifying)
- Winning score
- 86-90 = 176
- Runner-up
- Davie Strath (176)
- Playoff
- walkover (play-off ordered for Monday; Strath refused to play); beat Davie Strath; walkover: Martin walked the course alone
- Low amateur
- Henry Lamb (186)
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Martin | 86 | 90 | 176 |
| 2 | Davie Strath | 86 | 90 | 176 |
| 3 | Willie Park Sr | 94 | 89 | 183 |
| T4 | W. Thomson | 90 | 95 | 185 |
| T4 | Mungo Park | 95 | 90 | 185 |
| T4 | Tom Morris Sr | 90 | 95 | 185 |
| 7 | Henry Lamb (a) | 94 | 92 | 186 |
| T8 | Bob Kirk | 95 | 92 | 187 |
| T8 | George Paxton | 95 | 92 | 187 |
| T8 | Walter Gourlay | 98 | 89 | 187 |
What happened at the 1876 Open Championship
At the 14th, Strath's shot struck an upholsterer named Hutton on the head, and at the 17th his approach hit a player putting on the green.
Martin was declared champion after walking the course alone, because Strath would not play until the protest was decided.
Walkover: Martin and Strath tied on 176 after Strath's approach at the 17th hit a player putting out and drew a disqualification protest, and Strath refused the Monday play-off, so Martin walked the course alone to take the title.
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).