List of The Open Championship champions

The Open Championship is an annual golf competition held in the United Kingdom that was established in 1860.^[1] It is played on the weekend of the third Friday in July, and is the last of the four major championships to be played each year.^[2] In addition, this championship is conducted by The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A). The championship was not held in 1871 due to a disagreement over a new trophy,^[3] from 1915 to 1919 and from 1940 to 1945 due to the First and Second World Wars respectively, and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4]

Harry Vardon, six-time Open Champion in 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, and 1914, which is a record

The reigning champion of the competition is automatically invited to play in the other three majors (Masters, the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship) for the next five years. The prize of the tournament is the Golf Champion Trophy, commonly known as the Claret Jug, and the champion personally keeps the trophy until the next competition the following year. The champion also receives a gold medal, which they are allowed to keep permanently. Until 1870 the champion received the Challenge Belt, however when Tom Morris Jr. (more commonly known as Young Tom Morris) won the Open Championship three times in a row he won the belt outright, necessitating the need for a new trophy.^[3]

Harry Vardon holds the record for the most Open Championship victories, winning six times during his career.^[5] The oldest winner of the Open Championship is Tom Morris Sr. (or Old Tom Morris) who was 46 years and 102 days old when he won in 1867. His son, Tom Morris Jr., is the youngest winner of the championship, he was 17 years and 156 days old when he won the 1868 Open Championship. He also won the most consecutive times with four victories (1868–1872). Henrik Stenson and Cameron Smith hold the distinction of being both the most strokes under par for 72 holes (−20),^[a] which they achieved in 2016 and 2022 respectively.^[6] Stenson also recorded the lowest total score (264) when he won in 2016.^[7] Xander Schauffele is the current champion, winning the 2024 Open.

Champions

Key

(n/a)	Information not available
†	Tournament won in a playoff
*	Tournament won by an amateur

By year

James Braid, five-time Open Champion in 1901, 1905, 1906, 1908, and 1910

John Henry Taylor, five-time Open Champion in 1894, 1895, 1900, 1909, 1913

Tom Watson, five-time Open Champion in 1975, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983

Tom Morris Sr., four-time Open Champion in 1861, 1862, 1864, and 1867.
Tom Morris Jr., four-time Open Champion in 1868, 1869, 1870, and 1872.

Willie Park Sr., four-time Open Champion in 1860, 1863, 1866, and 1875

Walter Hagen, four-time Open Champion in 1922, 1924, 1928, and 1929

Bob Ferguson, three-time Open Champion in 1880, 1881, 1882

Bobby Jones, three-time Open Champion in 1926, 1927, and 1930. He is one of six champions to win wire-to-wire after 72-holes played with his victory in 1927.

Henry Cotton, three-time Open Champion in 1934, 1937, and 1948. He is one of six champions to win wire-to-wire after 72-holes played with his victory in 1934.

Gary Player, three-time Open Champion in 1959, 1968, and 1974.

Jack Nicklaus, three-time Open Champion in 1966, 1970, and 1978

Seve Ballesteros, three-time Open Champion in 1979, 1984, and 1988

Nick Faldo, three-time Open Champion in 1987, 1990, and 1992

Tiger Woods, three-time Open Champion in 2000, 2005, and 2006. He is one of six champions to win wire-to-wire after 72-holes played with his victory in 2005.

The Open Championship champions^[8][9][10]

Year	Country	Champion	Course	Location	Total score	To par[b]
1860	Scotland	Willie Park Sr.	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	174	n/a
1861	Scotland	Tom Morris Sr.	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	163	n/a
1862	Scotland	Tom Morris Sr.	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	163	n/a
1863	Scotland	Willie Park Sr.	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	168	n/a
1864	Scotland	Tom Morris Sr.	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	167	n/a
1865	Scotland	Andrew Strath	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	162	n/a
1866	Scotland	Willie Park Sr.	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	169	n/a
1867	Scotland	Tom Morris Sr.	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	170	n/a
1868	Scotland	Tom Morris Jr.	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	154	n/a
1869	Scotland	Tom Morris Jr.	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	157	n/a
1870	Scotland	Tom Morris Jr.	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	149	n/a
1871	—	None[c]	—	—	—	—
1872	Scotland	Tom Morris Jr.	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	166	n/a
1873	Scotland	Tom Kidd	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	179	n/a
1874	Scotland	Mungo Park	Musselburgh Links	Musselburgh, Scotland	159	n/a
1875	Scotland	Willie Park Sr.	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	166	n/a
1876	Scotland	Bob Martin†[d]	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	176	n/a
1877	Scotland	Jamie Anderson	Musselburgh Links	Musselburgh, Scotland	160	n/a
1878	Scotland	Jamie Anderson	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	157	n/a
1879	Scotland	Jamie Anderson	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	169	n/a
1880	Scotland	Bob Ferguson	Musselburgh Links	Musselburgh, Scotland	162	n/a
1881	Scotland	Bob Ferguson	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	170	n/a
1882	Scotland	Bob Ferguson	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	171	n/a
1883	Scotland	Willie Fernie†[e]	Musselburgh Links	Musselburgh, Scotland	159	n/a
1884	Scotland	Jack Simpson	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	160	n/a
1885	Scotland	Bob Martin	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	171	n/a
1886	Scotland	David Brown	Musselburgh Links	Musselburgh, Scotland	157	n/a
1887	Scotland	Willie Park Jr.	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	161	n/a
1888	Scotland	Jack Burns	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	171	n/a
1889	Scotland	Willie Park Jr.†[f]	Musselburgh Links	Musselburgh, Scotland	155	n/a
1890	England	John Ball*[g]	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	162	n/a
1891	Scotland	Hugh Kirkaldy	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	166	n/a
1892	England	Harold Hilton*[h]	Muirfield	Gullane, Scotland	305	n/a
1893	Scotland	William Auchterlonie	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	322	n/a
1894	England	John Henry Taylor	Royal St George's	Sandwich, England	326	n/a
1895	England	John Henry Taylor	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	332	n/a
1896	Jersey	Harry Vardon†[i]	Muirfield	Gullane, Scotland	316	n/a
1897	England	Harold Hilton*[h]	Royal Liverpool	Hoylake, England	314	n/a
1898	Jersey	Harry Vardon	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	307	n/a
1899	Jersey	Harry Vardon	Royal St George's	Sandwich, England	310	n/a
1900	England	John Henry Taylor	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	309	n/a
1901	Scotland	James Braid	Muirfield	Gullane, Scotland	309	n/a
1902	Scotland	Sandy Herd	Royal Liverpool	Hoylake, England	307	n/a
1903	Jersey	Harry Vardon	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	300	n/a
1904	Scotland	Jack White	Royal St George's	Sandwich, England	296	n/a
1905	Scotland	James Braid	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	318	n/a
1906	Scotland	James Braid	Muirfield	Gullane, Scotland	300	n/a
1907	France	Arnaud Massy	Royal Liverpool	Hoylake, England	312	n/a
1908	Scotland	James Braid	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	291	n/a
1909	England	John Henry Taylor	Royal Cinque Ports	Deal, England	291	n/a
1910	Scotland	James Braid	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	299	n/a
1911	Jersey	Harry Vardon†[j]	Royal St George's	Sandwich, England	303	n/a
1912	Jersey	Ted Ray	Muirfield	Gullane, Scotland	295	n/a
1913	England	John Henry Taylor	Royal Liverpool	Hoylake, England	304	n/a
1914	Jersey	Harry Vardon	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	306	n/a
1915	—	None[k]	—	—	—	—
1916	—	None	—	—	—	—
1917	—	None	—	—	—	—
1918	—	None	—	—	—	—
1919	—	None	—	—	—	—
1920	Scotland	George Duncan	Royal Cinque Ports	Deal, England	303	+15
1921	United States	Jock Hutchison†[l]	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	296	+8
1922	United States	Walter Hagen	Royal St George's	Sandwich, England	300	+20
1923	England	Arthur Havers	Troon	Troon, Scotland	295	+7
1924	United States	Walter Hagen	Royal Liverpool	Hoylake, England	301	+13
1925	England	Jim Barnes	Prestwick Golf Club	Prestwick, Scotland	300	+16
1926	United States	Bobby Jones*[m]	Royal Lytham & St Annes	Lytham St Annes, England	291	+7
1927	United States	Bobby Jones*[m]	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	285	–3
1928	United States	Walter Hagen	Royal St George's	Sandwich, England	292	+12
1929	United States	Walter Hagen	Muirfield	Gullane, Scotland	292	+8
1930	United States	Bobby Jones*[m]	Royal Liverpool	Hoylake, England	291	+3
1931	United States	Tommy Armour	Carnoustie	Carnoustie, Scotland	296	+12
1932	United States	Gene Sarazen	Prince's Golf Club	Sandwich, England	283	−5
1933	United States	Denny Shute†[n]	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	292	+4
1934	England	Henry Cotton	Royal St George's	Sandwich, England	283	+3
1935	England	Alf Perry	Muirfield	Gullane, Scotland	283	−5
1936	England	Alf Padgham	Royal Liverpool	Hoylake, England	287	−9
1937	England	Henry Cotton	Carnoustie	Carnoustie, Scotland	290	+6
1938	England	Reg Whitcombe	Royal St George's	Sandwich, England	295	+15
1939	England	Dick Burton	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	290	−2
1940	—	None[o]	—	—	—	—
1941	—	None	—	—	—	—
1942	—	None	—	—	—	—
1943	—	None	—	—	—	—
1944	—	None	—	—	—	—
1945	—	None	—	—	—	—
1946	United States	Sam Snead	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	290	+2
1947	Northern Ireland	Fred Daly	Royal Liverpool	Hoylake, England	293	+5
1948	England	Henry Cotton	Muirfield	Gullane, Scotland	284	E
1949	South Africa	Bobby Locke†[p]	Royal St George's	Sandwich, England	283	–5
1950	South Africa	Bobby Locke	Troon	Troon, Scotland	279	−9
1951	England	Max Faulkner	Royal Portrush	County Antrim, Northern Ireland	285	−3
1952	South Africa	Bobby Locke	Royal Lytham & St Annes	Lytham St Annes, England	287	–1
1953	United States	Ben Hogan	Carnoustie	Carnoustie, Scotland	282	−6
1954	Australia	Peter Thomson	Royal Birkdale	Southport, England	283	−3
1955	Australia	Peter Thomson	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	281	−7
1956	Australia	Peter Thomson	Royal Liverpool	Hoylake, England	286	−2
1957	South Africa	Bobby Locke	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	279	−9
1958	Australia	Peter Thomson†[q]	Royal Lytham & St Annes	Lytham St Annes, England	274	−10
1959	South Africa	Gary Player	Muirfield	Gullane, Scotland	284	E
1960	Australia	Kel Nagle	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	278	−10
1961	United States	Arnold Palmer	Royal Birkdale	Southport, England	284	−4
1962	United States	Arnold Palmer	Troon	Troon, Scotland	276	−12
1963	New Zealand	Bob Charles†[r]	Royal Lytham & St Annes	Lytham St Annes, England	277	−7
1964	United States	Tony Lema	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	279	−9
1965	Australia	Peter Thomson	Royal Birkdale	Southport, England	285	−7
1966	United States	Jack Nicklaus	Muirfield	Gullane, Scotland	282	−2
1967	Argentina	Roberto De Vicenzo	Royal Liverpool	Hoylake, England	278	−10
1968	South Africa	Gary Player	Carnoustie	Carnoustie, Scotland	289	+1
1969	England	Tony Jacklin	Royal Lytham & St Annes	Lytham St Annes, England	280	−4
1970	United States	Jack Nicklaus†[s]	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	283	−5
1971	United States	Lee Trevino	Royal Birkdale	Southport, England	278	−14
1972	United States	Lee Trevino	Muirfield	Gullane, Scotland	278	−6
1973	United States	Tom Weiskopf	Royal Troon	Troon, Scotland	276	−12
1974	South Africa	Gary Player	Royal Lytham & St Annes	Lytham St Annes, England	282	−2
1975	United States	Tom Watson†[t]	Carnoustie	Carnoustie, Scotland	279	−9
1976	United States	Johnny Miller	Royal Birkdale	Southport, England	279	−9
1977	United States	Tom Watson	Turnberry	South Ayrshire, Scotland	268	−12
1978	United States	Jack Nicklaus	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	281	−7
1979	Spain	Seve Ballesteros	Royal Lytham & St Annes	Lytham St Annes, England	283	−1
1980	United States	Tom Watson	Muirfield	Gullane, Scotland	271	−13
1981	United States	Bill Rogers	Royal St George's	Sandwich, England	276	−4
1982	United States	Tom Watson	Royal Troon	Troon, Scotland	284	−4
1983	United States	Tom Watson	Royal Birkdale	Southport, England	275	−9
1984	Spain	Seve Ballesteros	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	276	−12
1985	Scotland	Sandy Lyle	Royal St George's	Sandwich, England	282	+2
1986	Australia	Greg Norman	Turnberry	South Ayrshire, Scotland	280	E
1987	England	Nick Faldo	Muirfield	Gullane, Scotland	279	−5
1988	Spain	Seve Ballesteros	Royal Lytham & St Annes	Lytham St Annes, England	273	−11
1989	United States	Mark Calcavecchia†[u]	Royal Troon	Troon, Scotland	275	−13
1990	England	Nick Faldo	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	270	−18
1991	Australia	Ian Baker-Finch	Royal Birkdale	Southport, England	272	−8
1992	England	Nick Faldo	Muirfield	Gullane, Scotland	272	−12
1993	Australia	Greg Norman	Royal St George's	Sandwich, England	267	−13
1994	Zimbabwe	Nick Price	Turnberry	South Ayrshire, Scotland	268	−12
1995	United States	John Daly†[v]	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	282	−6
1996	United States	Tom Lehman	Royal Lytham & St Annes	Lytham St Annes, England	271	−13
1997	United States	Justin Leonard	Royal Troon	Troon, Scotland	272	−12
1998	United States	Mark O'Meara†[w]	Royal Birkdale	Southport, England	280	E
1999	Scotland	Paul Lawrie†[x]	Carnoustie	Carnoustie, Scotland	290	+6
2000	United States	Tiger Woods	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	269	−19
2001	United States	David Duval	Royal Lytham & St Annes	Lytham St Annes, England	274	−10
2002	South Africa	Ernie Els†[y]	Muirfield	Gullane, Scotland	278	−6
2003	United States	Ben Curtis	Royal St George's	Sandwich, England	283	−1
2004	United States	Todd Hamilton†[z]	Royal Troon	Troon, Scotland	274	−10
2005	United States	Tiger Woods	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	274	−14
2006	United States	Tiger Woods	Royal Liverpool	Hoylake, England	270	−18
2007	Ireland	Pádraig Harrington†[aa]	Carnoustie	Carnoustie, Scotland	277	−7
2008	Ireland	Pádraig Harrington	Royal Birkdale	Southport, England	283	+3
2009	United States	Stewart Cink†[ab]	Turnberry	South Ayrshire, Scotland	278	−2
2010	South Africa	Louis Oosthuizen	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	272	−16
2011	Northern Ireland	Darren Clarke	Royal St George's	Sandwich, England	275	−5
2012	South Africa	Ernie Els	Royal Lytham & St Annes	Lytham St Annes, England	273	−7
2013	United States	Phil Mickelson	Muirfield	Gullane, Scotland	281	−3
2014	Northern Ireland	Rory McIlroy	Royal Liverpool	Hoylake, England	271	−17
2015	United States	Zach Johnson†[ac]	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	273	−15
2016	Sweden	Henrik Stenson	Royal Troon	Troon, Scotland	264	−20
2017	United States	Jordan Spieth	Royal Birkdale	Southport, England	268	−12
2018	Italy	Francesco Molinari	Carnoustie	Carnoustie, Scotland	276	−8
2019	Ireland	Shane Lowry	Royal Portrush	County Antrim, Northern Ireland	269	−15
2020	—	None [ad]	—	—	—	—
2021	United States	Collin Morikawa	Royal St George's	Sandwich, England	265	−15
2022	Australia	Cameron Smith	St Andrews	St Andrews, Scotland	268	−20
2023	United States	Brian Harman	Royal Liverpool	Hoylake, England	271	−13
2024	United States	Xander Schauffele	Royal Troon	Troon, Scotland	275	−9

Multiple champions

Multiple Open championship champions

Golfer	Total	Years
Harry Vardon (JEY)	6	1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914
James Braid (SCO)	5	1901, 1905, 1906, 1908, 1910
John Henry Taylor (ENG)	5	1894, 1895, 1900, 1909, 1913
Peter Thomson (AUS)	5	1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965
Tom Watson (USA)	5	1975, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983
Tom Morris Sr. (SCO)	4	1861, 1862, 1864, 1867
Tom Morris Jr. (SCO)	4	1868, 1869, 1870, 1872
Willie Park Sr. (SCO)	4	1860, 1863, 1866, 1875
Walter Hagen (USA)	4	1922, 1924, 1928, 1929
Bobby Locke (RSA)	4	1949, 1950, 1952, 1957
Jamie Anderson (SCO)	3	1877, 1878, 1879
Bob Ferguson (SCO)	3	1880, 1881, 1882
Bobby Jones (a) (USA)	3	1926, 1927, 1930
Henry Cotton (ENG)	3	1934, 1937, 1948
Gary Player (RSA)	3	1959, 1968, 1974
Jack Nicklaus (USA)	3	1966, 1970, 1978
Seve Ballesteros (ESP)	3	1979, 1984, 1988
Nick Faldo (ENG)	3	1987, 1990, 1992
Tiger Woods (USA)	3	2000, 2005, 2006
Bob Martin (SCO)	2	1876, 1885
Willie Park Jr. (SCO)	2	1887, 1889
Harold Hilton (a) (ENG)	2	1892, 1897
Arnold Palmer (USA)	2	1961, 1962
Lee Trevino (USA)	2	1971, 1972
Greg Norman (AUS)	2	1986, 1993
Pádraig Harrington (IRL)	2	2007, 2008
Ernie Els (RSA)	2	2002, 2012

By nationality

Open Championship champions by nationality

Nationality	Wins	Winners
United States	47	32
Scotland	41	22
England	22	13
Australia	10	5
South Africa	10	4
Jersey	7	2
Northern Ireland	3	3
Spain	3	1
Ireland	3	2
Argentina	1	1
France	1	1
Italy	1	1
New Zealand	1	1
Sweden	1	1
Zimbabwe	1	1

Notes

1. 72 holes refers to four rounds of golf played on the same 18 holes of golf, with the pin positions varying from one round to another.
2. Par is a predetermined number of strokes that a golfer should require to complete a hole, a round (the sum of the total pars of the played holes), or a tournament (the sum of the total pars of each round). E stands for even, which means the tournament was completed in the predetermined number of strokes.^[11]
3. The 1871 Open Championship was not held.^[3]
4. Bob Martin won in a playoff against Davie Strath who refused to compete.
5. Willie Fernie won in a playoff against Bob Ferguson.
6. Willie Park Jr. won in a playoff against Andrew Kirkaldy.
7. John Ball won The Open Championship as an amateur.
8. Harold Hilton won The Open Championship as an amateur.
9. Harry Vardon won in a playoff against John Henry Taylor.
10. Harry Vardon won in a playoff against Arnaud Massy.
11. The Open Championship was not held from 1915 to 1918 because of the First World War.
12. Jock Hutchison won in a playoff against Roger Wethered.
13. Bobby Jones won The Open Championship as an amateur.
14. Denny Shute won in a playoff against Craig Wood.
15. The Open Championship was not held from 1940 to 1945 because of the Second World War.
16. Bobby Locke won in a playoff against Harry Bradshaw.
17. Peter Thomson won in a playoff against Dave Thomas.
18. Bob Charles won in a playoff against Phil Rodgers.
19. Jack Nicklaus won in a playoff against Doug Sanders.
20. Tom Watson won in a playoff against Jack Newton.
21. Mark Calcavecchia won in a playoff against Wayne Grady and Greg Norman.
22. John Daly won in a playoff against Costantino Rocca.
23. Mark O'Meara won in a playoff against Brian Watts.
24. Paul Lawrie won in a playoff against Jean van de Velde and Justin Leonard.
25. Ernie Els won in a playoff against Thomas Levet, Steve Elkington and Stuart Appleby.
26. Todd Hamilton won in a playoff against Ernie Els.
27. Pádraig Harrington won in a playoff against Sergio García.
28. Stewart Cink won in a playoff against Tom Watson.
29. Zach Johnson won in a playoff against Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen.
30. The Open Championship was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.