Park Snr’s descendant restores rare book

Preserved: Mungo Park, right, presents Mark Lawrie of the Argentine Golf Association with the book

Details of origins of Argentine golf preserved by grandson of first Open champ

Mungo Park, great grandson of Willie Park Snr, the first-ever Open champion, has saved, restored and preserved a rare golf book that details the very beginnings of golf in Argentina.

Dating back to the early 1900s The Open Championship Committee of the River Plate, pictured below right, is a rare glimpse of how golf developed in the country. Mungo’s own grandfather, Mungo Park Jnr won the very first River Plate tournament in 1905. The tournament would go on to be the Argentine Open and is one of the oldest national golf open championships still contested today, with previous winners including Angel Cabrera, Craig Stadler and Roberto De Vicenzo.

“I am very happy that we were able to protect this rare book,” said Park. “It offers a rare insight into the growth of the game at that time. It is of personal significance for my family and I am happy to see that the heritage of the game in Argentina is now preserved for future generations.

“I would like to thank those who made this possible, namely the R&A and Masterworks Golf. The R&A have a long record of protecting the heritage of the game with the British Golf Museum being just a small percentage of their work. Masterworks Golf specialises in rare golf photographs detailing the history of the game. It is apt that it was these two companies who helped me make this happen.”

Mungo presented the book to Mark Lawrie, the director of the Argentine Golf Association at this year’s Open Championship at Royal Lytham,

This presentation marked the end of a journey that started in East Hampton, Long Island, where Park, who now lives in Gloucestershire, first became interested in the foreign exploits of his grandfather (Mungo Park Jnr) and his brothers Willie Jnr and John.

All three, sons of Willie Park Snr, were exceptional golfers in their own right. Willie Park Jnr was the most famous, but his two brothers also had exciting careers at the frontiers of golf, as it became established in the late 19^th century in North and South America.

Bryce Ritchie is the Editor of bunkered and, in addition to leading on content and strategy, oversees all aspects of the brand. The first full-time journalist employed by bunkered, he joined the company in 2001 and has been editor since 2009. A member of Balfron Golfing Society, he currently plays off nine and once got a lesson from Justin Thomas’ dad.

Editor of bunkered