Fairlie served as the captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and was the principal organiser of the inaugural 1860 Open Championship held at Prestwick.

Fairlie was a friend and frequent playing partner of the Earl of Eglinton, Archibald Montgomerie,[2] who donated the Challenge Belt that was awarded to the Open Championship winner.

[7] His father was a partner in the banking firm of Fairlie, Bonner & Co. which was subsequently renamed Hartwell, Innes, Clerk, Brazier & Co.

In William Fairlie's last will and testament dated 9 October 1823, he bequeathed to his son the sum of £19,000 which was his share of the residuary estate, money that would not be his to spend until reaching the age of 25.

With the untimely death of Allan Robertson, aged 42 in 1859, Prestwick members decided to conduct a challenge the following year that would determine the land's greatest golfer.

In a proposed competition for a "challenge belt", Fairlie sent out a series of invitations to Aberdeen, Blackheath, Bruntsfield, Carnoustie Panmure, Dirleton Castle, Leven, Montrose, Musselburgh, North Berwick, Perth and St Andrews.

Ten professionals and eight amateurs contested the event, with Old Tom Morris winning the championship by 4 shots from Willie Park Sr. Fairlie's total was 184, giving him an eighth-place finish in the tournament.

[8] While at St Andrews, the illustrator and painter Thomas Hodge produced a pen and monochrome watercolour depicting Fairlie on the links in the 1860s.