Mungo Park (golfer)

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]

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Mungo Park
Personal information
Born	(1836-10-22)22 October 1836 Musselburgh, Scotland
Died	19 June 1904(1904-06-19) (aged 67) Inveresk, Scotland
Sporting nationality	Scotland
Spouse	Margaret Johnston
Career
Status	Professional
Best results in major championships (wins: 1)
The Open Championship	Won: 1874

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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]}

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]

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]

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]

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