David Brown (golfer)

David "Deacon" Brown (9 May 1861 – 8 July 1936) was a Scottish professional golfer who played in the late 19th and early 20th century. He won the 1886 Open Championship and finished second in the 1903 U.S. Open. In total, he had twelve top-10 finishes in major championship tournaments.

Brown was born on 9 May 1861 in Musselburgh, Scotland. He was a roofing slater by trade and a keen golfer. In 1886 he was working in Musselburgh when The Open Championship was about to be played. John Anderson, who was secretary of the Musselburgh Club at the time, invited him to play and provided him with a pair of striped trousers, a frock coat and a lum hat to wear. He shocked the professionals by winning the tournament by two shots from Willie Campbell, carding rounds of 38-41-37-41=157, and then turned professional himself.

Brown was hired by Hayling Island Golfing Club (now Hayling Golf Club) in early 1885 as greenkeeper following the departure of Joseph Lloyd as Professional/Greenkeeper where The Field reported in an April report of the Spring Meeting of that year that 'great satisfaction was expressed at the improvement made in the state of the green since the charge of it was undertaken by David Brown of Musselburgh'. Brown moved permanently to England to become club professional at Newbiggin by the Sea Golf Club in about 1888, and later worked at Malvern Club. He played in the Open Championship regularly and featured prominently. At the turn of the century he moved to Boston in the United States. In 1903 he tied with Willie Anderson for first place in the U.S. Open after 72 holes, but he lost the playoff. Brown enjoyed playing the stock market but lost most of his wealth during the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and returned to Musselburgh, where he died in 1936.

Brown died on 8 July 1936 in Inveresk, Scotland. He is best remembered for winning the 1886 Open Championship and finishing second in the 1903 U.S. Open.

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	18 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1886	The Open Championship	1 shot deficit	38-41-37-41=157	2 strokes	Willie Campbell

Results timeline

Note: Brown played in only the two Opens.
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10