1911 Open Championship: Harry Vardon wins at Royal St George's Golf Club
Harry Vardon won the 1911 Open Championship at Royal St George's Golf Club, Sandwich, England with 303, beating Arnaud Massy in a playoff.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1911 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 26 June 1911 to 30 June 1911
- Course
- Royal St George's Golf Club, Sandwich, England
- Edition
- 51st Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 226
- Made the cut
- 68 (cut at 162)
- Purse
- £135
- Trophy
- Claret Jug
- Champion
- Harry Vardon · age 41 · Jersey · born Grouville, Jersey
- Champion's title
- 5th Open title
- Winning score
- 74-74-75-80 = 303
- Runner-up
- Arnaud Massy (303)
- 54-hole leader
- Harry Vardon (223)
- Playoff
- 36-hole stroke play (conceded); beat Arnaud Massy; Vardon 138 (74-64 through 34 holes); Massy 148 (79-69 through 34 holes)
- Deciding hole
- No. 17, round playoff, playoff hole 35
- Final-day weather
- wind (strength not stated): Play-off: Vardon "powered two long shots against the wind onto the 17th green"
- Low amateur
- Harold Hilton (304)
Top 11 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harry Vardon | 74 | 74 | 75 | 80 | 303 |
| 2 | Arnaud Massy | 75 | 78 | 74 | 76 | 303 |
| T3 | Sandy Herd | 77 | 73 | 76 | 78 | 304 |
| T3 | Harold Hilton (a) | 76 | 74 | 78 | 76 | 304 |
| T5 | Ted Ray | 76 | 72 | 79 | 78 | 305 |
| T5 | J.H. Taylor | 72 | 76 | 78 | 79 | 305 |
| T5 | James Braid | 78 | 75 | 74 | 78 | 305 |
| 8 | George Duncan | 73 | 71 | 83 | 79 | 306 |
| 9 | Laurie Ayton Sr | 75 | 77 | 77 | 78 | 307 |
| T10 | J. Hepburn | 74 | 77 | 83 | 75 | 309 |
| T10 | Fred Robson | 78 | 74 | 79 | 78 | 309 |
What happened at the 1911 Open Championship
Massy reached the 72nd green in two and two-putted to force a playoff with Vardon.
Ten strokes down after 34 playoff holes, Massy conceded on the 35th, saying "I cannot play this damn game."
Vardon "powered two long shots against the wind onto the 17th green" of the afternoon play-off round and Massy, ten behind after 34 holes, conceded.
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).