1887 Open Championship: Willie Park Jr wins at Prestwick Golf Club
Willie Park Jr won the 1887 Open Championship at Prestwick Golf Club, Scotland with 161, by 1 stroke over Bob Martin.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1887 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 16 September 1887
- Course
- Prestwick Golf Club, Scotland
- Edition
- 27th Open Championship
- Format
- 36 holes of stroke play
- Purse
- £20
- Trophy
- Claret Jug
- Champion
- Willie Park Jr · age 23 · Scotland · born Musselburgh, Scotland
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- How he got in
- open entry (no qualifying)
- Winning score
- 82-79 = 161 · won by 1 stroke
- Runner-up
- Bob Martin (162)
- Deciding hole
- No. 16, round 2
- Final-day weather
- windy and wet: "Played almost entirely in storms and clouds"; heavy rain fell "incessantly", with heavy crosswinds
- Low amateur
- John E. Laidlay (166)
Top 11 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Willie Park Jr | 82 | 79 | 161 |
| 2 | Bob Martin | 81 | 81 | 162 |
| 3 | Willie Campbell | 77 | 87 | 164 |
| 4 | John E. Laidlay (a) | 86 | 80 | 166 |
| T5 | Ben Sayers | 83 | 85 | 168 |
| T5 | Archie Simpson | 81 | 87 | 168 |
| T7 | Willie Fernie | 86 | 87 | 173 |
| T7 | Davie Grant | 89 | 84 | 173 |
| 9 | David Brown | 82 | 92 | 174 |
| T10 | Horace Hutchinson (a) | 87 | 88 | 175 |
| T10 | Ben Campbell | 88 | 87 | 175 |
What happened at the 1887 Open Championship
Leader Willie Campbell topped his drive at the 16th into a fairway bunker and took four to escape; the bunker became "Willie Campbell's Grave".
Park Jr never found a bunker in 36 holes, and the Parks joined the Morrises as father-and-son champions.
Leader Willie Campbell topped his drive at the 16th into a fairway bunker and took four to escape ("Willie Campbell's Grave"), while Park Jr played the hole "serenely for a 3" and won 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).