The 1912 Open Championship was the 52nd Open Championship, held 24–25 June at Muirfield in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Ted Ray led wire-to-wire and won the championship, four strokes ahead of runner-up Harry Vardon, the defending champion.
Following the problems caused by the large number of entries in 1911, qualification was re-introduced and took place on 20, 21, and 22 June. The top twenty and ties qualified on each of the three days; George Duncan led the twenty qualifiers on Thursday by seven strokes with a score of 149, and 168 was the qualifying score. There 21 qualifiers on the second day at 162 or better, led by Ted Ray on 153. There were 21 qualifiers on the third day; Tom Ball scored 144 on Saturday, six strokes ahead of the rest, and the qualifying mark was 160.
After the first two rounds on Monday, Ray led on 144, with Vardon at 147, James Braid on 148, and George Duncan in fourth at 149.
On Tuesday, Ray extended his lead to five strokes after the third round, and he was not seriously challenged in the final round in the afternoon, despite a 71 from Vardon. Despite his weight and with his nearest rivals still to complete their rounds, Ray was carried off the final green in triumph by some of his friends.
Course
HoleYardsHoleYards1204 10390236511407333812390434713293547014138638315295739016464849717330936518382 Out3,359 In3,089Source: Total 6,448
Round summaries First round Monday, 24 June 1912 (morning) PlacePlayerScore1 Ted Ray 712 George Duncan 72T3 William Horne 73 Robert Thomson T5 Laurie Ayton, Snr 74 Arnaud Massy T7 Tom Ball 75 George Fotheringham Fred Leach J.H. Taylor Harry Vardon Source:
Second round Monday, 24 June 1912 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScore1 Ted Ray 71-73=1442 Harry Vardon 75-72=1473 James Braid 77-71=1484 George Duncan 72-77=1495 Robert Thomson 73-77=150T6 Arnaud Massy 74-77=151 J.H. Taylor 75-76=151T8 George Fotheringham 75-78=153 Charles Mayo 76-77=153T10 Laurie Ayton, Snr 74-80=154 Hugh McNeill 76-78=154 Source:
Third round Tuesday, 25 June 1912 (morning) PlacePlayerScore1 Ted Ray 71-73-76=220 2 James Braid 77-71-77=225 3 George Duncan 72-77-78=227 T4 J.H. Taylor 75-76-77=228 Harry Vardon 75-72-81=228 6 Laurie Ayton, Snr 74-80-75=229 7 Robert Thomson 73-77-80=2308 Charles Mayo 76-77-78=231T9 George Fotheringham 75-78-79=232 Reg Wilson 82-75-75=232 Source:
Final round Tuesday, 25 June 1912 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScoreMoney (£)1 Ted Ray 71-73-76-75=295 502 Harry Vardon 75-72-81-71=299 253 James Braid 77-71-77-78=303 154 George Duncan 72-77-78-78=305 105 Laurie Ayton, Snr 74-80-75-79=308 710s6 Sandy Herd 76-81-76-76=309 T7 Fred Collins 76-79-81-74=310 36s 8d Jean Gassiat 76-80-78-76=310 Reg Wilson 82-75-75-78=31010 Arnaud Massy 74-77-82-78=311 0 Source:
References
External links Muirfield 1912 (Official site)