Ahead of the 152nd Open at Royal Troon, here are some of the stand-out records from golf’s original championship.
Most victories at The Open
Harry Vardon was the first player to win The Open six times, and no one has yet to match his record.
Born in Jersey, he played in his first Open Championship in 1893 and went on to win the Claret Jug at Muirfield in 1896, at Prestwick in 1898, 1903 and 1914 and at Sandwich in 1899 and 1911.
Behind him are four players with five victories, with Tom Watson the latest to join a group that already included James Braid, J.H. Taylor and Peter Thomson.
Most successive victories
In the long history of this great championship, Tom Morris Jr is the only player to have won The Open on four successive occasions. He won from 1868 to 1872, with no championship in 1871.
Jamie Anderson, Bob Ferguson and Thomson all won the title three years in a row.
There are 12 players who have won the title in back-to-back years, with Pádraig Harrington the most recent of those in 2007 and 2008.
Most runner-up or joint runner-up finishes
While an unwanted record, the sustained excellence of Jack Nicklaus in challenging for golf’s biggest titles is highlighted by the seven occasions he finished second.
Largest margin of victory
You must go back to 1862 when the third ever edition of the Open Championship was held for the biggest margin of success, achieved by Tom Morris Sr at Prestwick.
Champions who won on debut
There have been ten times when a player has won The Open on debut. Collin Morikawa was the most recent of those, lifting the Claret Jug at Royal St George’s in 2021 to become a two-time Major champion.
The others to do so are:
· Willie Park Sr, Prestwick, 1860
· Tom Kidd, St Andrews, 1873
· Mungo Park, Musselburgh, 1874
· Jock Hutchison, St Andrews 1921
· Denny Shute, St Andrews, 1933
· Ben Hogan, Carnoustie, 1953
· Tony Lema, St Andrews, 1964
· Tom Watson, Carnoustie, 1976
· Ben Curtis, Royal St George’s, 2003
Most appearances by a champion before his first victory
There are two players who lead this statistical category, with Darren Clarke (2011) and Phil Mickelson (2013) both winning The Open at the 20th time of asking.
Champions who shot four rounds under 70
In a sign of the long-standing challenge players have faced at The Open, there have been just six players who have carded sub-70 rounds on their way to victory.
Henrik Stenson achieved the feat at Royal Troon in 2016, carding a close 63 – the lowest final round by a champion – to become only the second player ever to finish a Major on 20 under par, equalling the record set by Jason Day at the 2015 US PGA Championship.
The others to do so are:
· Greg Norman, 1993, Royal St George’s: 66, 68, 69, 64
· Nick Price, 1994, Turnberry: 69, 66, 67, 66
· Tiger Woods, 2000, St Andrews: 67, 66, 67, 69
· Jordan Spieth, 2017, Royal Birkdale: 65, 69, 65, 69
· Collin Morikawa, 2021, Royal St George’s: 67, 64, 68, 66
Wire-to-wire champions
In the history of 72-hole Open Championships, there are just seven players to have led outright after every round.
· Ted Ray, 1912
· Bobby Jones, 1927
· Gene Sarazen, 1932
· Henry Cotton, 1934
· Tom Weiskopf, 1973
· Tiger Woods, 2005
· Rory McIlroy, 2014
Left-handed winners
Brian Harman become just the third left-handed winner of The Open last year at Royal Liverpool, emulating Bob Charles in 1963 and Mickelson in 2013.
Biggest 54-hole comeback by a champion
Paul Lawrie of Scotland was ten shots off the lead heading into the final round in 1999 at Carnoustie, before he beat Jean van de Velde in a play-off.
Most appearances in The Open
From his debut in 1956 to his final appearance in 2001, Gary Player played in 46 consecutive editions of The Open – another record that the South African holds.
Nationality of Open Champions
There have been 89 Champion Golfers of the Year since the inaugural championship in 1860, with 12 different nationalities represented. Great Britain & Ireland leads the way with 39 winners.
Lowest winning total by a champion
With rounds of 68, 65, 68 and 63, Stenson finished with a winning total of 264 as he won his sole Major to date at Royal Troon in 2016.
Lowest individual round
With an eight-under-par 62 in the third round at Royal Birkdale in 2017, Branden Grace wrote his name into the record books with a round he will never forget.
Holes-in-One
There have been 29 aces dating back to 1981, with five of those recorded at Royal Troon.
Amateurs who have won The Open
With victories in 1926, 1927 and 1930, Bobby Jones is the only player to have won The Open on three occasions as an amateur.
