1911 Open Championship at Royal St. George's GC Member Badge - Only One Known
This is the earliest Open Championship associated ticket, means of admission or credentials to ever hit the auction block, used to attend the official 1911 Open Championship meeting preceding the competition. Not just the earliest, but the earliest by nearly 2 decades! "Exciting," "memorable" and even "controversial" are gripping descriptors that historians use chronicle the 1911 Open Championship at Royal St George and Harry Vardon's marathon triumph over a major championship record field of 222 contestants. Liberated from a family scrapbook was this recent find, a green circle 'Temporary Member' badge with many layers of pressed paper thickness was issued to and inked by esteemed course architect and golf author John Duncan Dunn. It provided Duncan Dunn access to the official meeting discussing the four days of tournament play. That duration was another first for the eldest major championship. In black print across this badge is "Open Championship Meeting, 1911." The 36-hole playoff would be employed, which concluded in a concession that would stand out in the record books. The field was separated into three groups for the opening 36 holes. Monday morning-Tuesday afternoon, Monday afternoon-Wednesday morning, Tuesday morning-Wednesday afternoon were the three unique tournament play itineraries. Two players from each group would finish in the top six, but a pin placement controversy was still a topic of conversation when the third group played their first round with different placement then the first two. "James Braid, Captain of the PGA and at this point The Open's most prolific Champion, arranged for the protest on behalf of the professionals, but did not sign his name to it. A replay of the first day's play was offered by the professionals as a solution, and as Braid shot 78, speculation of his intentions were not what he desired to create. Willie Park Jnr, however, a two-time Champion Golfer, was one of a number of signatories of the document," reported The Open for their 150th anniversary timeline in 2022. Vardon began the third round in second to George Duncan, alongside thoroughbreds Ted Ray and JH Taylor. Vardon would card a 75 in round three for the outright lead by three.
Thursday, the final round was deemed by 'The Mail' as a day "quite unparalleled in the history of The Open", with the majority of golf's greatest players (8 Open Champions within a few strokes) all competing for The 51st Open. Vardon struggled in the final round, shooting a 38 front nine to card an 80 and cumulative 303. The Great Triumvirate, all in contention, was often dubbed the 'Great Quartet' at the time with the addition of Sandy Herd who found himself a single stroke over (304) after his final putt when was said to have went in and popped out of the hole. The 1907 Champion Golfer of the Year, Arnaud Massy, proved up for the challenge and finishes his 72 holes tied with Vardon. Vardon's 5 stroke lead after 18 playoff holes widened to 10 strokes when Massy graciously conceded the title to Harry Vardon for his record-tying and signature 5th Open Championship.
In Roger Gilchrist's Guide to Golf Collectibles, the 1911 Open ticket is listed as "none known" in the price guide. Twenty years after print, there are still none known. In fact, there is a very real chance that official tickets for competition play were not even sold during these years - then the setting more of a local tournament with limited attendance. The 1911 Open Championship Meeting 'Temporary Member' badge contains robust black print on front, along with John Duncan Dunn's bold signature and was removed from an album page as many of the great early ephemeral finds often are - the single earliest ticket/admissions badge associated with an Open Championship!
After moving from Scotland to America in 1897 John Duncan Dunn (1872-1951), grandson of Willie Dunn, became assistant professional to his uncle Willie Jr. at the Ardsley CC in New York. Three years later, in 1900, he took over as manager of the Bridgeport Gun Implement Company (BGI Co) golf club division. That is where he produced, most notably, the famous 1-piece driver - a patent he had carried with him since 1894. That same turn-of-the-century year Duncan Dunn was the course architect of Ekwanok CC in Vermont, and later added The Catalina Island GC in California, Belleair Country Club West Course in Belleair, Florida and others to his portfolio. Finally, John Duncan Dunn imparted much of his knowledge of the game as the golf author of titles 'A. B. C. of Golf' (1916), 'Intimate Golf Talks' (1920), and 'Natural Golf' (1931). Through his great-granddaughter Catherine Dunn, we now have the pleasure of offering never before seen items from his family's estate in this auction.
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