George Paxton (golfer)

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George Paxton
Personal information
Bornc. 1851
Musselburgh, Scotland
Sporting nationality Scotland
Career
Turned professionalc. 1868
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open Championship3rd: 1874

George Paxton (born c. 1851) was a Scottish professional golfer who played during the late 19th century. Paxton took third place in the 1874 Open Championship.[1] In total, Paxton had five top-10 performances in the Open Championship between 1874 and 1883.

Early life

Paxton was born in Musselburgh, Scotland, circa 1851. He had a younger brother, Peter, who was also a professional golfer.

Golf career

The 1874 Open Championship

The

Tom Morris, Jr. This was the first Open Championship played at Musselburgh. Paxton—who finished third—played very consistently, carding rounds of 40-40-42-40=162 and won £3 (£352.00 today[2]
).

Details of play

Play started at about 12 noon in dull and showery weather but later in the day the weather improved. The course, especially the greens, "were rather heavy".[3]

Many of the spectators followed Tom Morris, Jr. and

Willie Park, Sr. who were paired together. Morris—who got off to a rough start—experienced difficulties in extricating his ball from a number of bunkers. Park scored 40 in the first round to Morris's 42. However, as the day progressed, Morris began to find fairways and improved while Park fell away. The best player in the first two rounds was Mungo Park with scores of 37 and 38. At this stage he led by 4 from G. McCachnie, 5 from George Paxton with Tom Morris, Jr., and Willie Park had fallen a full 8 shots behind.[3]

Mungo Park carded a third round 43 with G. McCachnie, George Paxton,

Glasgow Herald wrote, "During the last round the utmost excitement prevailed, and as each couple came in a knot of spectators gathered round them to ascertain what luck had attended them."[3]

Death and legacy

The date of death of Paxton is unknown. Paxton is best remembered for having five top-10 finishes (four of which were top-5) in the Open Championship.

Results in The Open Championship

Tournament 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883
The Open Championship 3 T8 4 T4 T5

Note: Paxton played only in The Open Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

"T" indicates a tie for a place

References