Today In Necessary Diversionary Reading: That Time The Open Was Cancelled Over A Strange Dispute

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With The Open Championship’s official cancellation coming just moments before the oddly-timed fall schedule rollout, there was not much room to consider the implications of such a stunning move. As Ewan Murray notes for The Guardian, it happened for a range of sound reasons and ends a steady run since 1946.

The Open will return next summer at Royal St. George’s and the 150th will now move to 2022 at the Old Course. The other three cancellations involved World War’s I and II, and an 1871 dispute.

John Antonini at GolfChannel.com explains how the 1871 Open at Prestwick was delayed and ultimately never played. There is all sorts of fun stuff to learn about those early day bickerings over the proposed rota, the claret jug’s birth, and also a couple of fun side notes. Starting with this fun reminder that they once contested the Open at 12 holes and somehow the game identified the best player and survived.

Young Tom didn’t disappoint, touring Prestwick in rounds of 47-51-51 to win by 12 strokes. “It will thus be seen that Young Tom Morris was yesterday the successful competitor for the third year in succession, and consequently carried off the belt,” reported the Herald.

Then this related to the Claret Jug’s lineage…

A stipulation stated that the new claret jug would never become permanent property of the winner no matter how many times in row the tournament was won. It was a prescient proviso considering that within the next decade both Anderson and Bob Ferguson would win The Open three straight times.

It wasn’t until the 1950s that anyone else won three consecutive Opens when Peter Thomson won it from 1954-56. By that time, the original jug was long retired.

Following the 1927 tournament won by Bobby Jones, the Royal & Ancient’s Championship Committee took the 1873 jug out of circulation, and has awarded a replica to the Champion Golfer of the Year. The first claret jug, as well as the original champion belt, is on display in the R&A Clubhouse.