1903 Open Championship: Harry Vardon wins at Prestwick Golf Club
Harry Vardon won the 1903 Open Championship at Prestwick Golf Club, Scotland with 300, by 6 strokes over Tom Vardon.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1903 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 10 June 1903 to 11 June 1903
- Course
- Prestwick Golf Club, Scotland
- Edition
- 43rd Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 124
- Made the cut
- 59 (cut at 169)
- Purse
- £125 · winner's share £50
- Trophy
- Claret Jug
- Champion
- Harry Vardon · age 33 · Jersey · born Grouville, Jersey
- Champion's title
- 4th Open title
- How he got in
- open entry (no qualifying)
- Winning score
- 73-77-72-78 = 300 · won by 6 strokes
- Runner-up
- Tom Vardon (306)
- 54-hole leader
- Harry Vardon (222)
- Low amateur
- Robert Maxwell (318)
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harry Vardon | 73 | 77 | 72 | 78 | 300 |
| 2 | Tom Vardon | 76 | 81 | 75 | 74 | 306 |
| 3 | Jack White | 77 | 78 | 74 | 79 | 308 |
| 4 | Sandy Herd | 73 | 83 | 76 | 77 | 309 |
| 5 | James Braid | 77 | 79 | 79 | 75 | 310 |
| T6 | Robert Thomson | 83 | 78 | 77 | 76 | 314 |
| T6 | A.H. Scott | 77 | 77 | 83 | 77 | 314 |
| 8 | William Leaver | 79 | 79 | 77 | 80 | 315 |
| T9 | George Cawsey | 80 | 78 | 76 | 82 | 316 |
| T9 | J.H. Taylor | 80 | 82 | 78 | 76 | 316 |
What happened at the 1903 Open Championship
Harry and Tom Vardon finished first and second, the third pair of brothers to do so.
Harry Vardon's 300 broke the Championship record by five strokes.
Vardon won by six; the narrative names his 7 at the 17th and 6 at the 12th but not a deciding hole.
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).