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John Ball: British Open
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In 1878, Ball competed in his first Open and came fourth. The Amateur Championship was considered a Major back then and Ball won it in 1888. In fact, he went on to claim an unbeaten record of 8 Amateur titles. Perhaps his finest hour came in 1890 when he won the Open - the first amateur to do so. He retired to his farm in Wales after competing in the 1921 Amateur Championship.
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Ball missed three years of competition (he served in the Boer War) before coming back to claim his last three titles. He played his last British Amateur in 1921, at the age of 60, making it to the fifth round.
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A sometime priest at York and at Colchester, Ball was excommunicated about 1366 for inflammatory sermons advocating a classless society, but he continued to preach in open marketplaces and elsewhere. After 1376 he was often imprisoned, and at the outbreak of the rebellion (June 1381) he was rescued…
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The Open was far less important to Ball than the Amateur Championship in which he competed from its founding in 1885 until 1921, apart from a three-year break while serving in the Boer War. He won a record eight titles between 1888 and 1912, was runner-up twice, and in the all-time rankings of amateur golf only Bobby Jones can be considered his superior.
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Ball grew up in Hoylake where his father owned the Royal Hotel. The links there were open with Royal Liverpool being built many years later. Ball was introduced to golf by his father who was a skilful golfer himself.
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