Harold Hilton

Harold Horsfall Hilton (12 January 1869 – 5 May 1942) was an English amateur golfer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He won The Open Championship twice, The Amateur Championship four times, and the U.S. Amateur Championship once.

Harold Hilton
Hilton in 1913
Personal information
Full name	Harold Horsfall Hilton
Born	(1869-01-12)12 January 1869 West Kirby, Merseyside, England
Died	5 May 1942(1942-05-05) (aged 73) Westcote, Gloucestershire, England
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight	155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)
Sporting nationality	England
Career
Status	Amateur
Best results in major championships (wins: 7)
Masters Tournament	NYF
PGA Championship	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP
The Open Championship	Won: 1892, 1897
U.S. Amateur	Won: 1911
British Amateur	Won: 1900, 1901, 1911, 1913
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame 1978 (member page)

Career

Hilton c. 1904

Hilton in 1914

Hilton was born in West Kirby and attended West Buckland School in Devon. In 1892, he won The Open Championship at Muirfield,^[1] becoming the second amateur to do so. He won again in 1897 at his home club, Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake. The only other amateurs who have won the Open Championship are John Ball and Bobby Jones. Hilton's autobiography My Golfing Reminiscences was published in 1907.

Hilton also won The Amateur Championship on four occasions, including 1911, when he became the only British player to win the British and U.S. Amateurs in the same year. Hilton retired with a 99–29 record (77.3%) at The Amateur Championship.

From 1905 to 1915, Hilton was a member at Ashford Manor Golf Club in Middlesex (now Surrey), the club having been incorporated in 1902.^[2] In 1912, he played a major part in designing Ferndown Golf Club in Dorset which became an Open Championship qualifying course and one of the top 100 courses in the UK.

Personal life

Hilton died on 5 May 1942 at Gloucestershire, England at the age 73.^[3]

Legacy

Hilton was also a golf writer. He was the co-author in 1912 of The Royal and Ancient Game of Golf with Garden Smith. The Donovan and Jerris golf book bibliography says about the book, "Quite simply stated, Hilton and Smith's "The Royal and Ancient Game of Golf" is one of the most magnificent books in the library of golf. Well-illustrated and sweeping in content…" He was also the first editor of Golf Monthly and also the editor of Golf Illustrated.

Hilton also designed many courses. In addition, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1978.

Bibliography

• 1907 My Golfing Reminiscences
• 1912 The Royal and Ancient Game of Golf (with Garden Smith)

Tournament wins (47)

Note: This list may be incomplete

• 1889 Royal Liverpool Summer Lubbock Gold Medal,^[4] Royal Liverpool Autumn Kennard Gold Medal,^[4] Royal Liverpool St. Andrew's Gold Cross Medal,^[4] West Lancashire Golf Club Challenge Gold Medal,^[5] West Lancashire Golf Club Mayor's Prize,^[5] West Lancashire Golf Club St. Andrew's Challenge Gold Cross Medal^[5]
• 1891 Royal Liverpool Spring Club Gold Medal, Royal Liverpool Summer Lubbock Gold Medal, Birkdale Golf Club Crowther Cup
• 1892 Open Championship, Formby Cullen Silver Medal,^[6] Royal Liverpool Summer Lubbock Gold Medal,^[7] West Lancashire Golf Club Gold Medal,^[8] West Lancashire Golf Club Silver Challenge Cup,^[8] West Lancashire Golf Club St. Andrew's Gold Cross,^[8] West Lancashire Golf Club Easter Challenge Cup,^[8] Southport Golf Club Pilkington Centenary Gold Medal,^[9]
• 1893 St. George's Challenge Cup, Formby Prestwich Gold Medal,^[10] Formby Cullen Silver Medal,^[10] Royal Liverpool Spring Club Gold Medal,^[11] Royal Liverpool Spring Connaught Challenge Star Medal,^[11] Royal Liverpool Autumn Kennard Gold Medal,^[11] West Lancashire Golf Club Cookson Prize,^[12] West Lancashire Golf Club Silver Cup,^[12] West Lancashire Golf Club St. Andrew's Challenge Gold Cross Medal,^[12] Lytham & St. Anne's Golf Club Silver Iron,^[13] Lytham & St. Anne's Golf Club Thistleton Medal^[13]
• 1894 St. George's Challenge Cup
• 1897 Open Championship, Irish Amateur Open Championship
• 1899 Formby Prestwich Gold Medal,^[14] Formby Cullen Silver Medal,^[14] Formby St. Andrew's Medal,^[14] Royal Liverpool Spring Club Gold Medal,^[15] Royal Liverpool Spring Connaught Challenge Star Medal,^[15] Royal Liverpool Autumn Kennard Gold Medal,^[16] Royal Liverpool Milligan St. Andrew's Gold Cross^[16]
• 1900 The Amateur Championship, Irish Amateur Open Championship
• 1901 The Amateur Championship, Irish Amateur Open Championship
• 1902 Irish Amateur Open Championship
• 1911 The Amateur Championship, U.S. Amateur
• 1913 The Amateur Championship
• 1914 Golf Illustrated Gold Vase

Note: Major championship wins in bold

Major championships

Professional wins (2)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1892	The Open Championship	2 shot deficit	78-81-72-74=305	3 strokes	John Ball, Sandy Herd, Hugh Kirkaldy
1897	The Open Championship (2)	3 shot deficit	80-75-84-75=314	1 stroke	James Braid

Amateur wins (5)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Runner-up
1900	The Amateur Championship	8 & 7	James Robb
1901	The Amateur Championship	1 up	John L. Low
1911	The Amateur Championship	4 & 3	Edward Lassen
1911	U.S. Amateur	37 holes	Fred Herreshoff
1913	The Amateur Championship	6 & 5	Robert Harris

Results timeline

Tournament	1887[17]	1888	1889[18]
The Open Championship
The Amateur Championship	R16		R16

Tournament	1890[19]	1891	1892	1893[20]	1894[21]	1895[22]	1896	1897[23]	1898[24]	1899[25]
The Open Championship		T8	1 LA	T8	WD	WD	23	1 LA	3 LA	T12
The Amateur Championship	QF	2	2	R32	QF	R32	2	R32	R16	QF
U.S. Amateur	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF

Tournament	1900	1901	1902[26]	1903[27]	1904[28]	1905[29]	1906[30]	1907[31]	1908[32]	1909[33]
The Open Championship	T16	4 LA	T6	T25	WD	CUT				WD
The Amateur Championship	1	1	QF	R64	QF	R64	R128	R16	R64	R32
U.S. Amateur

Tournament	1910[34]	1911	1912[35]	1913	1914[36]	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919
The Open Championship		T3 LA		WD	WD	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT
The Amateur Championship	SF	1	R16	1	R32	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT
U.S. Amateur		1 M	R32					NT	NT

Tournament	1920[37]	1921[38]	1922[39]	1923	1924[40]	1925[41]	1926	1927[42]
The Open Championship[43]
The Amateur Championship[44]	R32	R64	QF		R128	R256		R256
U.S. Amateur

Note: Hilton only played in The Open Championship, U.S. Amateur, and The Amateur Championship.

  Win

  Top 10

  Did not play

LA = Low amateur
M = Medalist
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play

Team appearances

• England–Scotland Amateur Match (representing England): 1902, 1903 (winners), 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910 (winners), 1911, 1912
• Coronation Match (representing the Amateurs): 1911