1870 British Open: Young Tom's 3rd In a Row
Winner: Tom Morris Jr., 149
Where it was played: Prestwick Golf Club, Ayrshire, Scotland
Tournament dates: Sept. 15, 1870
Leader after first round: Tom Morris Jr., 47
Leader after second round: Tom Morris Jr., 98
Notable Notes: Young Tom Morris won for the third straight year, which meant that he got permanent possession of the Challenge Belt. Morris' capture of the Challenge Belt left the tournament without a trophy, which eventually led to the creation of the famous Claret Jug as the Open trophy.
Young Tom shot 47 in the first round, the first golfer to break 50 at Prestwick, and finished two rounds as the first golfer to break 100 over 24 holes of the Open. (Once again the tournament took place over the 12-hole Prestwick links, three rounds for a total of 36 holes.)
Final Scores
| Tom Morris Jr. | 47-51-51—149 |
| Bob Kirk | 52-52-57—161 |
| Davie Strath | 54-49-58—161 |
| Tom Morris Sr. | 56-52-54—162 |
| a-William Doleman | 57-54-58—169 |
| Willie Park Sr. | 60-55-58—173 |
| Jamie Anderson | 59-57-58—174 |
| John Allan | 61-58-57—176 |
| a-A. Doleman | 61-59-58—178 |
| Charlie Hunter | 58-56-64—178 |
| Thomas Brown | 66-55-59—180 |
| a-James Miller | 66-63-54—183 |
| a-T. Hunter | 62-63-60—185 |
| a-F. Doleman | 65-64-60—189 |
| W. Boyd | 65-59-67—191 |
| J. Hunter | 62-65-64—191 |
| William Dow | 68-64-66—198 |