GOLF WRITER // GENERAL EDITORIAL SPECIALIST
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This Day in Golf History

A page that will list golf history, and the people and events that comprise it in the form of This Day in Golf or This Week in Golf.

This Day in Golf History: September 26

The 1861 Open Championship ended on this date at Prestwick Golf Club, Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the second Open Championship and had a field of 10 professionals and eight amateurs. The winner was Tom Morris, Sr., aka Old Tom, by four shots over Willie Park, Sr. with a score of 163.

Cliff Schrock
This Day in Golf History: September 25

The 1926 PGA Championship ended on this date, at Salisbury Golf Club on Long Island in East Meadow, New York, with Walter Hagen beating Leo Diegel, 5 and 3, in the final. The victory was Hagen’s third straight, fourth overall and he would eventually win five.

Cliff Schrock
This Day in Golf History: September 24

The 31st Ryder Cup Match ended on this date in 1995, with the European team beating the U.S. in a thriller, 14½-13½, at Oak Hill County Club in Rochester, N.Y. It was a stinging defeat for the Americans to lose on home turf.

Cliff Schrock
This Day in Golf History: September 20

The 1981 Ryder Cup ended on this day at Walton Heath Golf Club in Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey, England, southwest of London, with the United States winning 18½ to 9½ points. It is the largest margin of victory by the U.S. over a European team (since 1979).

Cliff Schrock
This Day in Golf History: September 18

The 1863 Open Championship was played on this date, with Willie Park Sr. winning by two shots over Tom Morris Sr., also known as Old Tom. Park shot 168 in three 12-hole rounds played in one day, beating out the field of 14 players at Prestwick Golf Club.

Cliff Schrock
This Day in Golf History: September 17

The third U.S. Open was held on this date in 1897. The 35 players played two rounds at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois. Joe Lloyd was the winner by a mere one shot over Willie Anderson, who would become a four-time winner.

Cliff Schrock
This Day in Golf History: September 16

Tom Morris Sr., aka Old Tom Morris, won the Open Championship for the third time when he won on this date in 1864 with a score of 167 at Prestwick Golf Club. He finished two shots ahead of Andrew Strath in the field of 16.

Cliff Schrock
This Day in Golf History: September 15

The Open Championship of 1870, the 11th overall, finished on this day with Tom Morris Jr., aka Young Tom, winning with a score of 149 at Prestwick Golf Club. He won by 12 shots over the field of 20 players.

Cliff Schrock
This Day in Golf History: September 13

Continuing the recent Open Championship theme, the 1866 Open was the seventh Open Championship and was held on this date at Prestwick Golf Club. The winner for the third time was Willie Park, Sr., who won by two shots over his brother Davie Park after shooting 169. There were 16 players.

Cliff Schrock
This Day in Golf History: September 11

The third Open Championship was won by Tom Morris Sr. on this date in 1862 when he shot a 163 at Prestwick Golf Club. He won by 13 shots over Willie Park Sr. Only eight players competed on the 12-hole course. Morris would be known as Old Tom after his son Young Tom became a legendary player himself.

Cliff Schrock
This Day in Golf History: September 10

The 1875 Open Championship was held on this date at Prestwick Golf Club, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Yes, the entire tournament was on one day. Eighteen players began at 11:30 a.m. Willie Park, Sr. won by two strokes over runner-up Bob Martin with a score of 166, playing three rounds of 12 holes. Park had won the first championship in 1860 and his 1875 victory gave him four wins.

Cliff Schrock
This Day in Golf History: September 9

The great, feisty Louise Suggs began her march toward winning the St. Louis Golf Open on this date in 1955. Three days later she had shot a four-under 289 to beat Mary Lena Faulk by six shots and win first prize of $900. She died in 2015 at age 91.

Cliff Schrock
This Day in Golf History: September 8

On this date in 1968, in Eugene, Oregon, Sandra Haynie, 25, bogeyed two of her last three holes but still won the $12,500 Pacific Ladies' Classic by three strokes. The Fort Worth, Texas, golfer won $1,875. She finished 54 holes at 213, three-under-par on the 6,361-yard, par-72 Eugene Country Club. She hadn't won since the September 1967 Mickey Wright Invitational in Bonsall, Calif. Sandra Palmer and Kathy Cornelius tied for second.

Cliff Schrock