Golf Becomes a Professional Sport
The Prestwick Golf Club was formed in 1851. 
The precursor to the British Open, the first major national championship,
was played there for the first time in 1860 with Willie Park as winner. The
legend of Old Tom Morris was born when he won the event in 1862, 1864 and
1867. However his son, Young Tom Morris, was the first great champion winning
the event a record four consecutive times from 1869. Other illustrious winners
were JH Taylor in 1894 and Harry Vardon in 1896. Together with James Braid,
these three men were known as the Great Triumvirate.
Besides the
few sponsored events such as the British Open, most golf professionals made
a living from competitions by betting against their opponent. Professionals
also earned a living from tuition, ball and club making and caddying.
The
growth of golf as an organised competitive sport in the United Kingdom was
paralleled abroad in India and the USA. Gate receipts were used as prize
money for the first time in 1892 in Cambridge, England. The first international
golf tournament was the Amateur Golf Championship of India and the East in
1893.
In 1894, the United States Golf Association (USGA) was established
to regulate the game in the United States and Mexico. 
Besides
rules it manages the handicapping system and conducts research into grass.
The US Open US Ladies Amateur Open were inaugurated in 1895.
By 1900
there were more than 1000 golf clubs in the USA. Chicago was the first to
have 18 holes. Significantly American golf courses were usually specifically
landscaped parklands unlike those in the United Kingdom, which were typically
links courses.
The
game attracted the attention of the media and business sponsorship which
raised it's profile enormously. In 1897 the first monthly magazine, Golf,
was published in the USA. The USA became the centre of the professional game
due to the proliferation of commercially sponsored competitions. However
the prestigious events were still those hosted in the United Kingdom. Interestingly,
it was the amateurs rather than professionals, which were exalted by the
public.
Golf was confirmed as a global sport when it was made an
Olympic sport in 1900.
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