1893 Open Championship: Willie Auchterlonie wins at Prestwick Golf Club
Willie Auchterlonie won the 1893 Open Championship at Prestwick Golf Club, Scotland with 322, by 2 strokes over Johnny Laidlay (a).
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1893 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 31 August 1893 to 1 September 1893
- Course
- Prestwick Golf Club, Scotland
- Edition
- 33rd Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 72
- Purse
- £100 · winner's share £30
- Trophy
- Claret Jug
- Champion
- Willie Auchterlonie · age 21 · Scotland · born St Andrews, Scotland
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- How he got in
- open entry (no qualifying)
- Winning score
- 78-81-81-82 = 322 · won by 2 strokes
- Runner-up
- Johnny Laidlay (a) (324)
- 54-hole leader
- Willie Auchterlonie (240)
- Deciding hole
- No. 3, round 4
- Low amateur
- Johnny Laidlay (324)
Top 11 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Willie Auchterlonie | 78 | 81 | 81 | 82 | 322 |
| 2 | John E. Laidlay (a) | 80 | 83 | 80 | 81 | 324 |
| 3 | Sandy Herd | 82 | 81 | 78 | 84 | 325 |
| T4 | Hugh Kirkaldy | 83 | 79 | 82 | 82 | 326 |
| T4 | Andrew Kirkaldy | 85 | 82 | 82 | 77 | 326 |
| T6 | James Kay | 81 | 81 | 80 | 85 | 327 |
| T6 | Bob Simpson | 81 | 81 | 80 | 85 | 327 |
| T8 | Harold Hilton (a) | 88 | 81 | 82 | 81 | 332 |
| T8 | John Ball Jr (a) | 83 | 79 | 84 | 86 | 332 |
| T10 | Jack White | 81 | 86 | 80 | 86 | 333 |
| T10 | J.H. Taylor | 75 | 89 | 86 | 83 | 333 |
What happened at the 1893 Open Championship
Auchterlonie went onto the railway line in the second round and took an 8, yet still won at age 21.
The first day at Prestwick was played in rain that The Field said fell "in the most pitiless fashion from morn to eve".
Amateur John Laidlay took 7 at the 3rd, which "effectively halted his hopes of winning", and finished two behind Auchterlonie.
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).