1912 British Open Winner and Scores
Winner: Ted Ray, 295
Where it was played: Muirfield links at Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland
Tournament dates: June 24-25, 1912
Leader after first round: Ted Ray, 71
Leader after second round: Ted Ray, 144
Leader after third round: Ted Ray, 220
What Happened in the 1912 Open Championship
Ted Ray outlasted Harry Vardon to win the 1912 British Open, the first of Ray's two major championship victories. He later won the 1920 U.S. Open.In the era of Britain's "Great Triumvirate," most other golfers were overshadowed by Vardon, James Braid and J.H. Taylor. Prior to the 1912 Open, Ray had posted seven Top 10 finishes in this event. He finished second twice and third once after 1912, including runner-up as the defending champ at the 1913 Open. And speaking of 1913, Ray was involved in the famous playoff at the 1913 U.S. Open, where Ray and Vardon were beaten by the previously unknown American amateur Francis Ouimet.
This Open Championship was significant for Braid, too, who finished third. From 1899 through 1912, Braid finished inside the Top 5 in the Open Championship every year, winning five times. This was the last year of that streak. Braid finished in the Top 10 only once more after 1912.
And Taylor? He placed 12th here, just the second time he ever finished outside the Top 10 in a British Open.
The official website (opengolf.com) of the Open Championship describes Ray thusly:
"Ray was heavily built and played all his golf in tight fitting jacket, collar and tie, with a trilby hat crammed on his head and a large pipe permanently clamped in his teeth throughout the round."Despite that outfit, Ray managed to generate a lot of power and distance. Two holes on the Carnoustie layout were 300-yard (approximately) holes, and during the tournament Ray drove them both, according to opengolf.com.
The tournament was still played over just two days in 1912, 36 holes per day, and after Day 1 Ray held the lead by three over Vardon. He extended that lead to five following the third round, in which Vardon shot 81. Vardon rebounded with a final-round 71, matching the best score of the tournament - Ray had opened with a 71 - but it was too late. Ray shot 75 in the final round and won by four strokes.
1912 British Open Final Scores
| Ted Ray | 71-73-76-75—295 |
| Harry Vardon | 75-72-81-71—299 |
| James Braid | 77-71-77-78—303 |
| George Duncan | 72-77-78-78—305 |
| Laurie Ayton Sr. | 74-80-75-79—308 |
| Sandy Herd | 76-81-76-76—309 |
| Fred Collins | 76-79-81-74—310 |
| Jean Gassiat | 76-80-78-76—310 |
| Reginald Wilson | 82-75-75-78—310 |
| Arnaud Massy | 74-77-82-78—311 |
| Charles Mayo | 76-77-78-81—312 |
| J.H. Taylor | 75-76-77-84—312 |
| George Fotheringham | 75-78-79-81—313 |
| Robert Thomson | 73-77-80-83—313 |
| Hugh McNeill | 76-78-82-78—314 |
| Michael Moran | 76-79-80-79—314 |
| Fred Leach | 75-82-81-77—315 |
| Tom Williamson | 80-77-79-79—315 |
| Thomas Renouf | 77-80-80-79—316 |
| John D. Edgar | 77-81-80-79—317 |
| William Horne | 73-85-82-77—317 |
| Wilfred Reid | 80-79-79-79—317 |
| Phillip Gaudin | 80-76-82-80—318 |
| Fred Frostick | 77-80-81-81—319 |
| Philip Taylor | 76-82-81-80—319 |
| Tom Ball | 75-81-86-78—320 |
| James Batley | 79-86-80-76—321 |
| Rowland Jones | 78-82-84-77—321 |
| Charles Pope | 83-80-77-81—321 |
| Charles Roberts | 82-81-83-75—321 |
| Ernest C. Jones | 76-81-86-79—322 |
| Ben Sayers Jr. | 81-82-76-83—322 |
| James Sherlock | 79-79-85-79—322 |
| William Watt | 79-79-81-84—323 |
| David Grant Jr. | 83-79-81-81—324 |
| Jack White | 82-81-83-78—324 |
| Charles Johns | 81-81-83-82—327 |
| John Lonie | 83-77-80-87—327 |
| James Ockenden | 81-83-82-81—327 |
| a-Michael Scott | 82-81-83-81—327 |
| James Adwick | 85-80-77-86—328 |
| Cyril Hughes | 81-80-83-84—328 |
| George Cawkwell | 83-82-81-83—329 |
| Peter Robertson | 85-79-80-85—329 |
| C. Ralph Smith | 80-81-81-87—329 |
| Joshua Taylor | 84-79-87-79—329 |
| Tom Fernie | 82-82-85-81—330 |
| Charles Corlett | 78-84-85-84—331 |
| Arthur Gray | 87-80-77-87—331 |
| Walter Hambleton | 83-83-82-83—331 |
| Albert Hallam | 86-82-84-81—333 |
| James Bradbeer | 83-87-81-84—335 |
| Edwin Sinclair | 84-89-82-80—335 |
| Charles Wallis | 81-88-80-88—337 |
| a-Charles B. MacFarlane | 86-81-87-84—338 |
| Tom Beck | 85-83-82-90—340 |
| George Braid | 87-81-88-85—341 |
| James Kay | 92-81-85-85—343 |
| a-Sydney O. Shepherd | 85-86-91-86—348 |
Previous and next:
1911 British Open - 1913 British Open
Sources:
(Book titles are affiliate links; commissions earned)
Brenner, Morgan. The Majors of Golf, Volume 3, 2009, McFarland and Company.
Glasgow Herald. "Golf Championship: New winner at last," June 26, 1912, https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2Q8-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=20kMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6731%2C7235674
TheOpen.com. "1912 / Muirfield," Previous Opens, The R&A, https://www.theopen.com/previous-opens/52nd-open-muirfield-1912
