Bob Ferguson (golfer)

Bob Ferguson
Personal information
Full name Robert Ferguson
Born 1848
Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland
Died 1915 (age 66 or 67)
Nationality  Scotland
Career
Status Professional
Best results in Major Championships
(Wins: 3)
The Open Championship Won: 1880, 1881, 1882
For other uses, see Bob Ferguson

Robert Ferguson (1848–1915), was a Scottish golfer who won a hat-trick of titles at The Open Championship in 1880, 1881 and 1882. He was especially noted for his putting. He is one of only four men who have won The Open three years in a row. The prize for his first win was £7.

Ferguson was a native of Musselburgh, East Lothian, which was then one of the three venues in the Open Championship rotation. He started caddying at the age of eight and played his first competition at Leith when he was eighteen. His playing career was cut short by a bout of typhoid and he became the Custodian of the Links at Musselburgh.

Major championships

Wins (3)

Year Championship 18 or 36 Holes Winning Score Margin Runner-up
1880 The Open Championship 1 shot lead (81-81=162) 5 strokes Peter Paxton
1881 The Open Championship (2) 3 shot lead (53-60-57=170) 3 strokes Jamie Anderson
1882 The Open Championship (3) 3 shot lead (83-88=171) 3 strokes Willie Fernie

Results timeline

Tournament 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879
The Open Championship 5 DNP DNP NT DNP DNP T8 4 DNP T3 DNP 6
Tournament 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
The Open Championship 1 1 1 2 DNP DNP T4 DNP DNP T15

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

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
† 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