The Open was first played outside Scotland in 1894.
The 1894 Open Championship took place at Royal St George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England, making it the first staging of golf’s oldest major championship beyond Scottish soil. It was the 34th Open, held over 11–12 June, with 94 players competing.
J.H. Taylor won the championship with a score of 326, finishing five strokes ahead of Douglas Rolland. Taylor’s victory was notable for another reason: he became the first non-Scottish professional to win the Open. The move to England showed that the championship was becoming a genuinely international event rather than a predominantly Scottish competition.
A common mix-up is confusing the first English Open venue with Royal Liverpool. Royal Liverpool first hosted the championship at Hoylake in 1897, three years after Royal St George’s broke the geographic boundary. Royal St George’s has since hosted the Open several more times, including the 2011 and 2021 championships.