This Day in Golf History: October 17

Willie Park, Sr., won the first Open Championship on this date in 1860. He had a score of 164 to win at Prestwick Club, Scotland. There were just eight players. In second by two strokes was Tom Morris, Sr., who would become known as Old Tom in the history books. The match, which was three rounds of 12 holes, was played to simply determine who the best player in the land was, now that the recognized No. 1, Alan Robertson, had died the previous year.