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The Open begins at Prestwick
Eight professionals compete for the Challenge Belt.
Prestwick staged the first Open Championship on October 17. Willie Park Sr won after three rounds of the 12-hole course. A competition created to identify the champion golfer would become the game's oldest major.
After leading professional Allan Robertson died, golfers at Prestwick sought a contest to identify his successor as champion. Eight professionals assembled for three rounds of a 12-hole course on October 17, 1860.
Willie Park Sr beat Old Tom Morris for the first title and took home the Challenge Belt. The small field and unfamiliar trophy seem modest now, but this was the beginning of golf's longest-running major championship.