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Mungo Park (golfer)

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Mungo Park
Personal information
Born(1836-10-22)22 October 1836
Musselburgh, Scotland
Died19 June 1904(1904-06-19) (aged 67)
Inveresk, Scotland
Sporting nationality Scotland
SpouseMargaret Johnston
Career
StatusProfessional
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
The Open ChampionshipWon: 1874

Mungo Park (22 October 1836 – 19 June 1904) was a member of a famous family of Scottish golfers. He won the 1874 Open Championship held at Musselburgh Links.[1]

Early life

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He was born 22 October 1836 to farm labourer and occasional golfer[2] James Park (1797–1873) and his wife Euphemia (née Kerr; 1806–1860), at Quarry Houses in Musselburgh, which was to become one of the three towns that shared hosting responsibilities for The Open Championship through the 1870s and 1880s. He learned golf at the age of four, but then spent 20 years as a seaman.[citation needed]

Golf career

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After his career as a seaman concluded he returned to his home town in the early 1870s and won the 1874 Open Championship on the Musselburgh Links.[1] His winning score was 159 for 36 holes.[3] He spent his later life working as a teacher, golf course designer and clubmaker. Park would go on to post four more top-10 finishes in The Open Championship between 1875 and 1881.[3]

Golf course design

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Park was the first club professional at Alnmouth Golf Club and it is believed by those associated with the club that he was also responsible for the design of the course.[4] Park was also the first professional at Portmarnock Golf Club for one year having supervised the golf course design in 1893.[5]

Family

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Park's brother, Willie, and his nephew, Willie Park, Jr., both won The Open Championship.[3]

Mungo Park had a nephew, Mungo Park Jr., Willie Jr.'s younger brother, who was also a professional golfer. Mungo Jr. spent some time in Argentina and won the Argentine Open three times, in 1905, 1907 and 1912.[6]

Death

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Park died of pernicious anemia in the Inveresk poorhouse, aged 67.[7]

Major championships

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Wins (1)

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Year Championship 18 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1874 The Open Championship 4 shot lead 75-84=159 2 strokes Scotland Tom Morris, Jr.

Results timeline

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Tournament 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886
The Open Championship 1 3 T4 7 17 20 T9 27 WD T33

Note: Park played only in the Open Championship.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

References

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  1. ^ a b "1874 Mungo Park". The Open. Archived from the original on 26 November 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  2. ^ Fisher, Richard (2016). "Park, William [Willie], senior (1833–1903), golfer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/102422. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ a b c Brenner, Morgan G. (2009). The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of the Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008. Vol. 1. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3360-5.
  4. ^ "Alnmouth Golf Club Ltd - Golf club and golf course in Northumberland".
  5. ^ "Portmarnock Golf Club Timeline".
  6. ^ "Antique Golf Clubs from Scotland: Clubmakers". antiquegolfscotland.com. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Deaths in the District of Inveresk and Musselburgh in the County of Edinburgh". Statutory Deaths 689/00 0124. ScotlandsPeople. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
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