The Open was first held at Royal Birkdale in 1954. The 90th Open Championship took place from 7 to 9 July at the Southport, England, course, marking Royal Birkdale's debut on the championship rota.
Australian golfer Peter Thomson won the tournament, beginning a remarkable period in which he captured five Open titles. He finished at 9 under par, one stroke ahead of Bobby Locke, Dai Rees and Syd Scott. The winner's prize was £750, a tiny sum compared with modern Open purses.
Royal Birkdale had already built a strong reputation before hosting golf's oldest major. The club was founded in 1889, received royal status in 1951, and staged major amateur events after the Second World War. A planned 1940 Open at Birkdale was cancelled because of the war, which is why 1954—not 1940—marks its first actual staging.
A common mix-up is 1961, when Arnold Palmer won at Birkdale. That was the venue's second Open, not its first.