1901 Open Championship: James Braid wins at Muirfield
James Braid won the 1901 Open Championship at Muirfield, Gullane, Scotland with 309, by 3 strokes over Harry Vardon.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1901 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 5 June 1901 to 6 June 1901
- Course
- Muirfield, Gullane, Scotland
- Edition
- 41st Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 100
- Made the cut
- 36 (cut at 175)
- Purse
- £125 · winner's share £50
- Trophy
- Claret Jug
- Champion
- James Braid · age 31 · Scotland · born Earlsferry, Scotland
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- How he got in
- open entry (no qualifying)
- Winning score
- 79-76-74-80 = 309 · won by 3 strokes
- Runner-up
- Harry Vardon (312)
- 54-hole leader
- James Braid (229)
- Deciding hole
- No. 16, round 4
- Low amateur
- Harold Hilton (320)
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Braid | 79 | 76 | 74 | 80 | 309 |
| 2 | Harry Vardon | 77 | 78 | 79 | 78 | 312 |
| 3 | J.H. Taylor | 79 | 83 | 74 | 77 | 313 |
| 4 | Harold Hilton (a) | 89 | 80 | 75 | 76 | 320 |
| 5 | Sandy Herd | 87 | 81 | 81 | 76 | 325 |
| 6 | Jack White | 82 | 82 | 80 | 82 | 326 |
| T7 | John E. Laidlay (a) | 84 | 82 | 82 | 80 | 328 |
| T7 | James Kinnell | 79 | 85 | 86 | 78 | 328 |
| T9 | P.J. Gaudin | 86 | 81 | 86 | 76 | 329 |
| T9 | John Graham Jr (a) | 82 | 83 | 81 | 83 | 329 |
What happened at the 1901 Open Championship
Braid hooked his opening drive of the Championship over a wall and out of bounds.
On his approach to the 72nd hole his club shaft snapped, yet the ball still reached the green about 200 yards away and he made 4.
"A 6 at the 16th of his final round ruined any hopes Vardon still had of catching the new Champion", Braid, who won by three.
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).