1884 Open Championship: Jack Simpson wins at Prestwick Golf Club
Jack Simpson won the 1884 Open Championship at Prestwick Golf Club, Scotland with 160, by 4 strokes over Douglas Rolland and Willie Fernie.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1884 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 3 October 1884
- Course
- Prestwick Golf Club, Scotland
- Edition
- 24th Open Championship
- Format
- 36 holes of stroke play
- Purse
- £23
- Trophy
- Claret Jug
- Champion
- Jack Simpson · age 24 · Scotland · born Earlsferry, Scotland
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- How he got in
- open entry (no qualifying)
- Winning score
- 78-82 = 160 · won by 4 strokes
- Runners-up
- Douglas Rolland (164), Willie Fernie (164)
- Final-day weather
- windy: Simpson shot "an 82 in the afternoon gales, again the lowest score of the round"
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Simpson | 78 | 82 | 160 |
| T2 | Douglas Rolland | 81 | 83 | 164 |
| T2 | Willie Fernie | 80 | 84 | 164 |
| T4 | Willie Park Jr | 86 | 83 | 169 |
| T4 | Willie Campbell | 84 | 85 | 169 |
| 6 | Ben Sayers | 83 | 87 | 170 |
| T7 | Tom Dunn | 171 | ||
| T7 | George Fernie | 171 | ||
| T9 | Peter Fernie | 172 | ||
| T9 | Jack Kirkaldy | 172 |
What happened at the 1884 Open Championship
This was the first Open on Prestwick's extended 18-hole course, which dropped the old 578-yard 1st.
Simpson's afternoon 82 in gales was the low score of that round.
Simpson won by four; the narrative names holes (a 7 at the 13th, a 3 at the 18th) but none as 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).