It’s the oldest and most coveted prize in golf, but who has won The Open Championship the most times?
First played in 1860, The Open Championship is the fourth and final Major of the year and played on famous old links courses up and down Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Most of golf’s great names from the very beginning of the sport right through to modern day heroes have lifted the Claret Jug – the small but historic trophy handed out to the ‘Champion Golfer of the Year’.
Americans have lifted the Claret Jug more then anyone else, with 31 winners from the USA combining for 46 Open titles, with Scotland next with 22 different winners taking 41 Opens.
Overall there have been winners from 15 different nations, with England (13), Australia (5) and South Africa (4) next in line.
There have been 27 players who have become multiple Open champions, but top of the whole lot is Harry Vardon who holds the record with his six Open titles from 1896-1914.
Vardon’s great rivals James Braid and John Henry Taylor both won five each during the same time, with Scotsman Braid winning all of his five in the space of nine years between 1901-1910.
Tom Watson is the top American winner of the Open with his five victories – making the fact he could have tied Vardon’s record just another reason his 2009 defeat to Stewart Cink sticks in the memory.
Tiger Woods looks at all the names he joined on the Claret Jug
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Young Tom Morris is the only man to win four in a row, while Australian Peter Thomson’s remarkable hat-trick saw him match Bob Ferguson and Jamie Anderson who both won three in a row in the late 1800s.
Walter Hagen and Bobby Locke both won four Opens while legendary figures such as Bobby Jones, Gary Player, Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros all picked up three.
And given just how dominant they were during their peaks, it’s almost a bit of a surprise that Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus ‘only’ won the Claret Jug three times.
It could’ve been much more for Nicklaus though, who holds the record for the most runners-up finishes in open history with seven.
Most Open Championship wins
| Open wins | Name | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Harry Vardon | 1989, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914 |
| 5 | James Braid | 1901, 1905, 1906, 1908, 1910 |
| 5 | John Henry Taylor | 1894, 1895, 1900, 1909, 1913 |
| 5 | Peter Thomson | 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965 |
| 5 | Tom Watson | 1975, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983 |
| 4 | Tom Morris Sr | 1861, 1862, 1864, 1867 |
| 4 | Tom Morris Jr | 1868, 1869, 1870, 1872 |
| 4 | Willie Park Sr | 1860, 1863, 1866, 1875 |
| 4 | Walter Hagen | 1922, 1924, 1928, 1929 |
| 4 | Bobby Locke | 1949, 1950, 1952, 1957 |
| 3 | Jamie Anderson | 1877, 1878, 1879 |
| 3 | Bob Fergsuon | 1880, 1881, 1882 |
| 3 | Bobby Jones | 1926, 1927, 1930 |
| 3 | Henry Cotton | 1934, 1937, 1948 |
| 3 | Gary Player | 1959, 1968, 1974 |
| 3 | Jack Nicklaus | 1966, 1970, 1978 |
| 3 | Seve Ballesteros | 1979, 1984, 1988 |
| 3 | Nick Faldo | 1987, 1990, 1992 |
| 3 | Tiger Woods | 2000, 2005, 2006 |
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