Harry Vardon By his early 20s, Harry developed a demanding practice program, the most ambitious seen to that time. He was the first professional golfer to play in knickerbockers – discarding the "proper" dress of an Englishman in an uncomfortable shirt and tie with a buttoned jacket. Within a few years he became golf's first superstar since the days of Young Tom Morris. In 1896, Vardon won the first of his record six Open Championships (a record that still stands today). Vardon had great rivalries with James Braid and J.H. Taylor, who each won five Open Championships; together the three formed the
Blundell v Vardon limit the petition to only challenge the election of Vardon. The Court appointed the Deputy-Marshall to conduct a recount. During the recount, it was thought that the 9,000 votes cast in the Division of Angas had been accidentally destroyed. The missing votes were around 12.8% of the votes cast in the election. It would appear however that these votes were later found, although it is unknown what, if any, effect these missing votes would have had on the recount. The Deputy Marshall identified 828 votes of doubtful formality in several classes. The question for the court was whether the irregularities