1883 Open Championship: Willie Fernie wins at Musselburgh Links (9-hole)
Willie Fernie won the 1883 Open Championship at Musselburgh Links (9-hole), Scotland with 158, beating Bob Ferguson in a playoff.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1883 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 16 November 1883 to 17 November 1883
- Course
- Musselburgh Links (9-hole), Scotland
- Edition
- 23rd Open Championship
- Format
- 36 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 34
- Purse
- £20
- Trophy
- Claret Jug
- Champion
- Willie Fernie · age 28 · Scotland · born St Andrews, Scotland
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- How he got in
- open entry (no qualifying)
- Winning score
- 75-83 = 158
- Runner-up
- Bob Ferguson (158)
- Playoff
- 36-hole stroke play (next day); beat Bob Ferguson; Fernie 158 (81-77); Ferguson 159 (82-77)
- Deciding hole
- No. 9, round playoff, playoff hole 36
- Final-day weather
- wet: Play-off: "light rain falling during the first and last rounds"
- Low amateur
- George Millar (low confidence) (172)
Top 13 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Willie Fernie | 75 | 83 | 158 |
| 2 | Bob Ferguson | 78 | 80 | 158 |
| 3 | Willie Brown | 83 | 77 | 160 |
| 4 | Bob Pringle | 79 | 82 | 161 |
| T5 | George Paxton | 80 | 83 | 163 |
| T5 | Willie Campbell | 80 | 83 | 163 |
| 7 | Ben Sayers | 81 | 83 | 164 |
| 8 | Willie Park Jr | 77 | 88 | 165 |
| 9 | Willie Dunn Jr | 85 | 81 | 166 |
| T10 | Tom Morris Sr | 86 | 81 | 167 |
| T10 | Douglas Rolland | 82 | 85 | 167 |
| T10 | Ben Campbell | 81 | 86 | 167 |
| T10 | Peter Paxton | 85 | 82 | 167 |
What happened at the 1883 Open Championship
Fernie took 10 at the 2nd in his final loop (long grass, a sand hole, a bunker and a whin bush) and still won.
In the first play-off actually contested, Fernie made 2 at the last hole to Ferguson's 4 and won by one, ending Ferguson's bid for four in a row.
One behind coming to the 9th for the last time, Fernie found the green and "rolled in a long putt for a 2" while Ferguson missed the green and took 4, so Fernie won the play-off 158–159.
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).