1899 Open Championship: Harry Vardon wins at Royal St George's Golf Club
Harry Vardon won the 1899 Open Championship at Royal St George's Golf Club, Sandwich, England with 310, by 5 strokes over Jack White.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1899 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 7 June 1899 to 8 June 1899
- Course
- Royal St George's Golf Club, Sandwich, England
- Edition
- 39th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 98
- Made the cut
- 36 (cut at 175)
- Purse
- £100
- Trophy
- Claret Jug
- Champion
- Harry Vardon · age 29 · Jersey · born Grouville, Jersey
- Champion's title
- 3rd Open title
- How he got in
- open entry (no qualifying)
- Winning score
- 76-76-81-77 = 310 · won by 5 strokes
- Runner-up
- Jack White (315)
- 54-hole leader
- Harry Vardon (233)
- Low amateur
- Freddie Tait (324)
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harry Vardon | 76 | 76 | 81 | 77 | 310 |
| 2 | Jack White | 79 | 79 | 82 | 75 | 315 |
| 3 | Andrew Kirkaldy | 81 | 79 | 82 | 77 | 319 |
| 4 | J.H. Taylor | 77 | 76 | 83 | 84 | 320 |
| T5 | James Braid | 78 | 78 | 85 | 81 | 322 |
| T5 | Willie Fernie | 79 | 83 | 82 | 78 | 322 |
| T7 | James Kinnell | 76 | 84 | 80 | 84 | 324 |
| T7 | Freddie Tait (a) | 81 | 82 | 79 | 82 | 324 |
| T9 | Albert Tingey | 81 | 81 | 79 | 85 | 326 |
| T9 | Tom Williamson | 76 | 84 | 80 | 86 | 326 |
What happened at the 1899 Open Championship
Vardon became the first three-time champion since Bob Ferguson in 1882.
He was the first player in the 72-hole era to lead or share the lead after every round.
No hole is named; Vardon led after every round and won by five.
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).