Willie Park Sr.

Willie Park Sr.
— Golfer —
Park wearing the Challenge Belt
Personal information
Full name	William Park Sr.
Nickname	Willie
Born	(1833-06-30)30 June 1833 Wallyford, East Lothian, Scotland, UK
Died	25 July 1903(1903-07-25) (aged 70) Levenhall, Musselburgh, Scotland, UK
Nationality	Scotland
Spouse	Susanna Law
Children	10
Career
Status	Professional
Best results in major championships (wins: 4)
The Open Championship	Won: 1860, 1863, 1866, 1875
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	2005 (member page)

Park (c. 1867)

William "Willie" Park Sr. (30 June 1833 – 25 July 1903) was one of the pioneers of professional golf. He was a 4-time winner of the Open Championship.

Early life

Park was born in Wallyford, East Lothian, Scotland. Like some of the other early professional golfers, Park started out as a caddie. He later ran a golf equipment manufacturing business. On the course, he made his money from "challenge matches" against rivals such as Old Tom Morris, Willie Dunn and Allan Robertson, which were the most popular form of spectator golf in his era.

Playing style

Park, a tall, strong man, was a very long hitter and an excellent putter, but sometimes got into trouble through overly aggressive play. He had surpassed the older Willie Dunn by age 20, and travelled to St Andrews Links to play and learn that course. He issued a public challenge in 1853 to Robertson, generally recognised as the best player, which was, however, not taken up. Custom of the time allowed the best player to refuse a challenge of this sort without damage to his reputation. Park further fuelled controversy through his aggressive self-promotion, but this did lead to increased interest in golf rivalries, more press coverage, and more matches and tournaments being set up, developing the professional game and increasing the incomes of players such as Park, Morris, and Robertson.^[1]

Family

He married Susanna Law in Inveresk, Scotland, on 29 March 1860. The couple would have ten children.

Park's brother Mungo and his son Willie Jr. both also won the Open Championship. Mungo's victory came in 1874 and Willie Jr. had two wins, in 1887 and 1889.

Death and legacy

Park died on 25 July 1903.^[2] He is primarily best remembered as the winner of four Open Championships, including the inaugural event in 1860, when the field was just eight strong. His other victories came in 1863, 1866 and 1875.^[3] Park was the co-holder of the record for most wins in the tournament until James Braid picked up his fifth win in 1910.

Major championship

Wins (4)

Year	Championship	24 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1860	The Open Championship	Not known	55-59-60=174	2 strokes	Tom Morris Sr.
1863	The Open Championship (2)	4 shot lead	56-54-58=168	2 strokes	Tom Morris Sr.
1866	The Open Championship (3)	5 shot lead	54-56-59=169	2 strokes	Davie Park
1875	The Open Championship (4)	1 shot deficit	56-59-51=166	2 strokes	Bob Martin

Results timeline

Tournament	1860	1861	1862	1863	1864	1865	1866	1867	1868	1869
The Open Championship	1	2	2	1	4	2	1	2	4	DNP

Tournament	1870	1871	1872	1873	1874	1875	1876	1877	1878	1879
The Open Championship	6	NT	DNP	DNP	13	1	3	T8	T6	DNP

Tournament	1880	1881	1882	1883	1884	1885	1886
The Open Championship	15	T9	T7	22	DNP	DNP	T36

Note: Park played only in The Open Championship.

NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

References

↑ Cook, Kevin (2007). Tommy's Honor: The Story of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris, Golf's Founding Father and Son. New York: Gotham Books. ASIN B004SI8XEU. ISBN 978-1592403424.
↑ "Deaths in the District of Inveresk and Musselburgh in the County of Edinburgh". Statutory Deaths 689/00 0146. ScotlandsPeople. Retrieved 19 February 2015. (subscription required (help)).
↑ "1860 Willie Park Sr". The Open. Retrieved 16 October 2013.

The Open Championship champions

1860 Willie Park Sr. 1861 Tom Morris Sr. 1862 Tom Morris Sr. 1863 Willie Park Sr. 1864 Tom Morris Sr. 1865 Andrew Strath 1866 Willie Park Sr. 1867 Tom Morris Sr. 1868 Tom Morris Jr. 1869 Tom Morris Jr. 1870 Tom Morris Jr. 1871 No championship 1872 Tom Morris Jr. 1873 Tom Kidd 1874 Mungo Park 1875 Willie Park Sr. 1876 Bob Martin† 1877 Jamie Anderson 1878 Jamie Anderson 1879 Jamie Anderson 1880 Bob Ferguson 1881 Bob Ferguson 1882 Bob Ferguson 1883 Willie Fernie† 1884 Jack Simpson 1885 Bob Martin 1886 David Brown 1887 Willie Park Jr. 1888 Jack Burns 1889 Willie Park Jr.† 1890 John Ball# 1891 Hugh Kirkaldy 1892 Harold Hilton# 1893 William Auchterlonie 1894 John Henry Taylor 1895 John Henry Taylor 1896 Harry Vardon† 1897 Harold Hilton# 1898 Harry Vardon 1899 Harry Vardon 1900 John Henry Taylor 1901 James Braid 1902 Sandy Herd 1903 Harry Vardon 1904 Jack White 1905 James Braid 1906 James Braid 1907 Arnaud Massy 1908 James Braid 1909 John Henry Taylor 1910 James Braid 1911 Harry Vardon† 1912‡ Edward Ray 1913 John Henry Taylor 1914 Harry Vardon 1915–19 No Championships due to World War I 1920 George Duncan 1921 Jock Hutchison† 1922 Walter Hagen 1923 Arthur Havers 1924 Walter Hagen 1925 Jim Barnes 1926 Bobby Jones# 1927‡ Bobby Jones# 1928 Walter Hagen 1929 Walter Hagen 1930 Bobby Jones# 1931 Tommy Armour 1932‡ Gene Sarazen 1933 Denny Shute† 1934‡ Henry Cotton 1935 Alf Perry 1936 Alf Padgham 1937 Henry Cotton 1938 Reg Whitcombe 1939 Dick Burton 1940–45 No Championships due to World War II 1946 Sam Snead 1947 Fred Daly 1948 Henry Cotton 1949 Bobby Locke† 1950 Bobby Locke 1951 Max Faulkner 1952 Bobby Locke 1953 Ben Hogan 1954 Peter Thomson 1955 Peter Thomson 1956 Peter Thomson 1957 Bobby Locke 1958 Peter Thomson† 1959 Gary Player 1960 Kel Nagle 1961 Arnold Palmer 1962 Arnold Palmer 1963 Bob Charles† 1964 Tony Lema 1965 Peter Thomson 1966 Jack Nicklaus 1967 Roberto De Vicenzo 1968 Gary Player 1969 Tony Jacklin 1970 Jack Nicklaus† 1971 Lee Trevino 1972 Lee Trevino 1973‡ Tom Weiskopf 1974 Gary Player 1975 Tom Watson† 1976 Johnny Miller 1977 Tom Watson 1978 Jack Nicklaus 1979 Seve Ballesteros 1980 Tom Watson 1981 Bill Rogers 1982 Tom Watson 1983 Tom Watson 1984 Seve Ballesteros 1985 Sandy Lyle 1986 Greg Norman 1987 Nick Faldo 1988 Seve Ballesteros 1989 Mark Calcavecchia† 1990 Nick Faldo 1991 Ian Baker-Finch 1992 Nick Faldo 1993 Greg Norman 1994 Nick Price 1995 John Daly† 1996 Tom Lehman 1997 Justin Leonard 1998 Mark O'Meara† 1999 Paul Lawrie† 2000 Tiger Woods 2001 David Duval 2002 Ernie Els† 2003 Ben Curtis 2004 Todd Hamilton† 2005‡ Tiger Woods 2006 Tiger Woods 2007 Pádraig Harrington† 2008 Pádraig Harrington 2009 Stewart Cink† 2010 Louis Oosthuizen 2011 Darren Clarke 2012 Ernie Els 2013 Phil Mickelson 2014‡ Rory McIlroy 2015 Zach Johnson† 2016 Henrik Stenson

† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire in 72-holes; # indicates the event was won by an amateur

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