The 1910 Open Championship was the 50th Open Championship, held 21–24 June at the Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. James Braid won the championship for the fifth time, four strokes ahead of Sandy Herd, the 1902 champion.
There was no qualifying competition; all 210 entries played 18 holes in pairs on the first two days with the top sixty and ties advancing for the final 36 holes on the third day. Prize money was increased by £10 with the addition of £5 prizes for seventh and eighth places.
Play started on Tuesday, 21 June, but an early afternoon thunderstorm flooded many of the greens and play was cancelled. It was decided that all existing scores would not count and that the Championship would start again on Wednesday and extend to Friday.
After the first round, George Duncan led with 73, a stroke ahead of Willie Watt and Robert Thomson. The leaderboard changed significantly during the second round on Thursday with Duncan shooting 77, while Watt and Thomson took 82 and 85. The midway leader was Willie Smith, then a professional in Mexico City, who shot 71 for 148. Braid was a stroke back on 149 with Duncan third on 150. The cut was at 161 or better and 64 players advanced for the final day.
Duncan's 71 on Friday morning gave him the 54-hole lead, two strokes ahead of Braid with Herd and Ted Ray a further four shots behind. Duncan's 83 in the afternoon dropped him to third place and gave Braid a comfortable victory with Herd second. Smith's second 80 of the day left him in a disappointing tie for fifth place.
Round summaries
First round Tuesday, 21 June 1910 Wednesday, 22 June 1910
A thunderstorm on Tuesday afternoon caused flooding; all scores for the day were thrown out and play was restarted on Wednesday. PlacePlayerScore1 George Duncan 73T2 Willie Watt 74 Robert ThomsonT4 Fred Robson 75 Herbert Riseborough T6 James Braid 76 Ted Ray J.H. Taylor T9 Albert Bellworthy 77 Fred Collins George Daniel Harold Frostick Willie Hunter Sr. Michael Moran Thomas Renouf James Sherlock Willie Smith Harry Vardon Tom Vardon Source:
Second round Thursday, 23 June 1910 PlacePlayerScore1 Willie Smith 77-71=1482 James Braid 76-73=1493 George Duncan 73-77=150T4 Ernest Gaudin 78-74=152 Sandy Herd 78-74=152 Michael Moran 77-75=152 Willie Ritchie 78-74=152T8 James Kinnell 79-74=153 Ted Ray 76-77=153 Thomas Renouf 77-76=153 Source:
Third round Friday, 24 June 1910 (morning) PlacePlayerScore1 George Duncan 73-77-71=221 2 James Braid 76-73-74=223T3 Sandy Herd 78-74-75=227 Ted Ray 76-77-74=227 T5 Ernest Gaudin 78-74-76=228 Thomas Renouf 77-76-75=228 Willie Smith 77-71-80=2288 Laurie Ayton, Snr 78-76-75=229 9 James Kinnell 79-74-77=23010 Michael Moran 77-75-79=231 Source:
Final round Friday, 24 June 1910 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScoreMoney (£)1 James Braid 76-73-74-76=299 502 Sandy Herd 78-74-75-76=303 253 George Duncan 73-77-71-83=304 154 Laurie Ayton, Snr 78-76-75-77=306 10T5 Ted Ray 76-77-74-81=308 613s 4d Fred Robson 75-80-77-76=308 Willie Smith 77-71-80-80=308T8 Ernest Gaudin 78-74-76-81=309 15s James Kinnell 79-74-77-79=309 Thomas Renouf 77-76-75-81=309 Donald Ross 78-79-75-77=309 Source:
References
External links St Andrews 1910 (Official site)