Young Tom Morris
(1851-75)
wearing his Championship Belt,
which was awarded to the winner of the British Open until being retired
after Tom won it three years in a row.
When Young Tom won his first in 1868, he was only 17
years old. In
1870, he won by 12 strokes with a 149 total (they played two
rounds in those days), a record which lasted 30 years, until the arrival of the
rubber-core ball. Tommy broke Allan Robertson's St. Andrews course
record by two strokes, shooting a 77 in 1869. He was the Tiger Woods of
his day.
Charles Blair Macdonald (who is highlighted in
another page of this gallery) described him like this: “Young
Tom had a dashing style and a comparatively short swing, but he
possessed an unconquerable spirit, and, when it came to a tight place,
he always mastered the situation.”
Young Tom
was elected to
the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1975.
Photo
courtesy of the University of St. Andrews Library