He was the first ever Englishman to win The Open and was described as a golfing ‘phenomenon’

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The Open Championship is rapidly approaching, with Royal Portrush returning as the host venue for the major tournament.

Shane Lowry returned to Royal Portrush recently on a scouting mission, having won The Open Championship there in 2019.

Lowry hated the 17th tee shot all week at the Northern Ireland site, but still managed to secure a six-shot win over Tommy Fleetwood.

The Open represents the final major championship of the season, with Lowry and home favourite Rory McIlroy certain to attract attention.

McIlroy will receive huge support on home soil, and should be extra motivated to impress after missing the cut at the course in 2019.

He was the first Englishman and first amateur to win The Open Championship

But a long list of other world-class golfers will be aiming to cause an upset later this month, just as John Ball Jr did in 1890.

He was the son of the manager of the Royal Hotel at Hoylake, and played on the links of Royal Liverpool as a youth.

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At the age of just 16, the Englishman finished joint-fourth at The Open in 1878, for which he received 10 shillings.

Ball triumphed at the Amateur Championship eight times between 1888 and 1912, but really stunned when he won The Open at Prestwick in 1890, also winning the Amateur that year.

The Open winner John Ball remembered as a golfing ‘phenomenon’

At Muirfield two years later, Ball held the lead going into the final round of The Open, but was pipped to the title by his fellow club member Harold Hilton.

Hilton, who represents the only other British amateur winner of the event, described Ball as “a phenomenon whose play could only be admired, not imitated”, as quoted by The Open website.

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His skill was on full display at Prestwick in 1890, where Ball saw off former winner Willie Fernie and Willie Park Jnr, winner of two of the three previous editions.

And his remarkable life story also involved fighting in the Boer War, before at the age of 60 he reached the last 16 of the Amateur Championship in 1922.