1897 Open Championship: Harold Hilton wins at Royal Liverpool Golf Club
Harold Hilton (an amateur) won the 1897 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, England with 314, by 1 stroke over James Braid.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1897 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 19 May 1897 to 20 May 1897
- Course
- Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, England
- Edition
- 37th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 88
- Purse
- £100
- Trophy
- Claret Jug
- Champion
- Harold Hilton · age 28 · England · amateur · born West Kirby, England
- Champion's title
- 2nd Open title
- How he got in
- open entry (no qualifying)
- Winning score
- 80-75-84-75 = 314 · won by 1 stroke
- Runner-up
- James Braid (315)
- 54-hole leader
- James Braid (236) · Harold Hilton was 3 strokes back
- Deciding hole
- No. 18, round 4
- Final-day weather
- fine: "Conditions remained good for play, if not as perfect as the previous day"
- Low amateur
- Harold Hilton (winner) (314)
Top 11 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harold Hilton (a) | 80 | 75 | 84 | 75 | 314 |
| 2 | James Braid | 80 | 74 | 82 | 79 | 315 |
| T3 | George Pulford | 80 | 79 | 79 | 79 | 317 |
| T3 | Freddie Tait (a) | 79 | 79 | 80 | 79 | 317 |
| 5 | Sandy Herd | 78 | 81 | 79 | 80 | 318 |
| 6 | Harry Vardon | 84 | 80 | 80 | 76 | 320 |
| T7 | Archie Simpson | 83 | 81 | 81 | 79 | 324 |
| T7 | Tom Vardon | 81 | 81 | 79 | 83 | 324 |
| T7 | David Brown | 79 | 82 | 80 | 83 | 324 |
| T10 | J.H. Taylor | 82 | 80 | 82 | 86 | 330 |
| T10 | Andrew Kirkaldy | 83 | 83 | 82 | 82 | 330 |
What happened at the 1897 Open Championship
Braid needed a 3 at the 18th to tie, but his approach ran 20 feet past and he missed the return putt.
While Braid finished, the amateur Hilton calmed his nerves by playing billiards in the clubhouse.
Braid came to the last needing a 3 to tie, but his approach came within a foot and ran on 20 feet past, and he missed the putt back to lose by one to Hilton.
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).