History
The Royal Liverpool Club of Hoylake, England, in 1885 held an informal championship tournament open to any British amateur golfer. A. E. MacFie was the winner, out of a field of 44 entrants.
Because of that tournament's success, the Royal and Ancient Club of St. Andrews, Scotland, staged the first formal British Amateur championship the following year. In 1922, the Royal and Ancient ruled that the 1885 event belonged on the official list and that MacFie was to be considered the first British Amateur champion.
The tournament has always been held at match play. For the first 11 years, all matches were played over 18 holes. In 1896, the championship match was extended to 36 holes. Now the quarter- and semi-finals are also 36-hole matches.
Walter Travis, a native of Australia who had emigrated to the United States, became the first foreigner to win the championship in 1904. The first American native to win was Jesse Sweetser, in 1926.
