1886 Open Championship: David Brown wins at Musselburgh Links (9-hole)
David Brown won the 1886 Open Championship at Musselburgh Links (9-hole), Scotland with 157, by 2 strokes over Willie Campbell.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1886 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 5 November 1886
- Course
- Musselburgh Links (9-hole), Scotland
- Edition
- 26th Open Championship
- Format
- 36 holes of stroke play
- Purse
- £20
- Trophy
- Claret Jug
- Champion
- David Brown · age 25 · Scotland · born Musselburgh, Scotland
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- How he got in
- open entry (no qualifying)
- Winning score
- 79-78 = 157 · won by 2 strokes
- Runner-up
- Willie Campbell (159)
- Low amateur
- John E. Laidlay (162)
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Brown | 79 | 78 | 157 |
| 2 | Willie Campbell | 78 | 81 | 159 |
| 3 | Ben Campbell | 79 | 81 | 160 |
| T4 | Archie Simpson | 82 | 79 | 161 |
| T4 | Bob Ferguson | 82 | 79 | 161 |
| T4 | Thomas Grossert | 80 | 81 | 161 |
| T4 | Willie Park Jr | 84 | 77 | 161 |
| T8 | David Grant | 86 | 76 | 162 |
| T8 | Willie Fernie | 79 | 83 | 162 |
| T8 | John E. Laidlay (a) | 80 | 82 | 162 |
What happened at the 1886 Open Championship
The champion was a little-known Musselburgh slater by trade.
Brown later emigrated to America and lost the 1903 US Open play-off to Willie Anderson.
The Open's narrative refers to stretches of holes only, not to a specific 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).