OUR STORY 2 of 10: 1921 – 1930
Scotland’s Ted Douglas won his fourth and final Championship when he beat future winner Ernie Moss by 9 strokes in Christchurch. Arthur Brooks would then go on to win back-to-back tournaments in 1922-23 by narrow margins in Manawatu (1 stroke) and Wanganui (2 strokes). His 1923 victory saw four players tied for second with Jack Black, Joe Clements, Arthur Duncan and Fred Hood chasing Brooks right till the end.
Ernie Moss claimed his maiden championship in 1924 with a strong showing in Auckland. His 10-stroke victory over Arthur Duncan became the second-highest winning margin, and his final score of 301 was also the second-lowest winning total. Ernie would go on to win two more championships in 1927 & 1933 as well as finishing runner up in 1921, 1923 and 1937
In the last six tournaments between 1921 and 1930, Andrew Shaw would be the most consistent performer winning three tournaments (1926, 1929 & 1930) as well as finishing runner up three times (1925, 1927 & 1928).
Shaw’s victory at Manawatu in 1930 came by a whopping 18 strokes which still stands as the biggest victory margin in the 100-tournament history of the New Zealand Open as well as setting the new record for the lowest winning total of 284.
1924 also saw the introduction of the Jellicoe Cup for the lowest individual round which was presented by Earl Jellicoe of Scapa. The inaugural winner was Arthur Duncan with a score of 71.
The lowest championship-winning score was 284 shot by Andrew Shaw in Manawatu. The highest was 312 by Arthur Brooks at Wanganui in 1923. The Average winning total was 302 dropping from 315 in the previous 10 tournaments. There was one playoff victory in 1926 where Andrew Shaw beat Ernie Moss by 76-80 over 18 holes.
| Year | Champion | Nationality | Course | Score | Winning Margin | Runner Up |
| 1921 | Ted Douglas | Scotland | Christchurch | 302 | 9 | Ernie Moss |
| 1922 | Arthur Brooks | New Zealand | Manawatu | 308 | 1 | Jack Black (a) |
| 1923 | Arthur Brooks | New Zealand | Wanganui | 312 | 2 | Jack Black (a) Joe Clements Arthur Duncan (a) Fred Hood |
| 1924 | Ernie Moss | New Zealand | Auckland | 301 | 10 | Arthur Duncan (a) |
| 1925 | Ewen Macfarlane | New Zealand | Christchurch | 308 | 2 | Jock McIntosh Andrew Shaw |
| 1926 | Andrew Shaw | New Zealand | Miramar | 307 | Playoff | Ernie Moss |
| 1927 | Ernie Moss | New Zealand | Hamilton | 300 | 4 | Norrie Bell (a) Andrew Shaw |
| 1928 | Sloane Morpeth | New Zealand | Otago | 303 | 3 | Andrew Shaw |
| 1929 | Andrew Shaw | New Zealand | Wanganui | 299 | 2 | T Horton (a) |
| 1930 | Andrew Shaw | New Zealand | Manawatu | 284 | 18 | D C Collins (a) Jock McIntosh Fred Rutter |
Read the first article: Our Story: 1907 – 1920
