1904 Open Championship: Jack White wins at Royal St George's Golf Club
Jack White won the 1904 Open Championship at Royal St George's Golf Club, Sandwich, England with 296, by 1 stroke over James Braid and J.H. Taylor.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1904 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 8 June 1904 to 10 June 1904
- Course
- Royal St George's Golf Club, Sandwich, England
- Edition
- 44th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 143
- Made the cut
- 47 (cut at 168)
- Purse
- £125 · winner's share £50
- Trophy
- Claret Jug
- Champion
- Jack White · age 30 · Scotland · born Whitekirk, Scotland
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- How he got in
- open entry (no qualifying)
- Winning score
- 80-75-72-69 = 296 · won by 1 stroke
- Runners-up
- James Braid (297), J.H. Taylor (297)
- 54-hole leader
- James Braid (226) · Jack White was 1 stroke back
- Deciding hole
- No. 18, round 4
- Low amateur
- John Graham Jr. (310)
Top 11 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack White | 80 | 75 | 72 | 69 | 296 |
| T2 | J.H. Taylor | 77 | 78 | 74 | 68 | 297 |
| T2 | James Braid | 77 | 80 | 69 | 71 | 297 |
| 4 | Tom Vardon | 77 | 77 | 75 | 72 | 301 |
| 5 | Harry Vardon | 76 | 73 | 79 | 74 | 302 |
| 6 | J. Sherlock | 83 | 71 | 78 | 77 | 309 |
| T7 | John Graham Jr (a) | 76 | 76 | 78 | 80 | 310 |
| T7 | Andrew Kirkaldy | 78 | 79 | 74 | 79 | 310 |
| 9 | Sandy Herd | 84 | 76 | 76 | 75 | 311 |
| T10 | Ben Sayers | 80 | 80 | 76 | 77 | 313 |
| T10 | Robert Maxwell (a) | 80 | 80 | 76 | 77 | 313 |
What happened at the 1904 Open Championship
Braid became the first player to break 70 in The Open, a third-round 69 that went out in 31.
Taylor closed with a record 68 but finished one behind White, whose 296 was the first winning total under 300.
J.H. Taylor "needed a 3 at the last to tie but his 30-footer just slipped by", and Braid also came to the last with a chance to tie and finished one behind White.
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).