The Open Championship: Champion Golfers through the Years

Posted on July 9, 2018

The oldest running major golf tournament is the Open Championship. The Open Championship, also known as The Open or British Open, has been played since 1860. The Open Championship is symbolized now by its iconic trophy the Claret Jug. The Open Championship was started in Scotland and has been played in England and Ireland as well. The Open is conducted by the Royal and Ancients, which is the governing body for golf outside the United States and Mexico. Being the oldest major tournament makes the prestige of winning the Open highly sought after by many of golf’s greatest players.

Willie Park Sr.

The inaugural Open Championship was played upon Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland on October 17, 1860. After Allan Robertson, the undisputed best golfer of the era, passed away in 1859 the Open Championship was started to determine who would replace Robertson as the greatest, with the winner receiving the title of “Champion Golfer of the Year.” Willie Park, Sr., beat out the other seven competitors to claim victory after a day of three 12-hole rounds. Park received the prize of the Challenge Belt, a red Moroccan leather belt with a silver buckle, and won The Open two more times in 1863 and 1866. In 1861 at the 2nd Open Championship saw Old Tom Morris, the grandfather of golf, win the first of his four Open Championships, winning the next year, in 1864 and 1867. Old Tom Morris 1867 victory earned him the record of oldest Open Champion at 46 years old.

Old Tom’s son Young Tom Morris won in 1868 to become the youngest winner of The Open Championship at 17 years old. Young Tom Morris would continue to dominate the Open Championship over the next five years, winning four Opens in a row. The 1871 Open Championship was actually cancelled as there was no trophy available because after Young Tom won three consecutive years he was allowed to keep the Challenge Belt, as originally stipulated when The Open was started. Young Tom won his fourth Open the next year in 1872 and was awarded a medal. The now famous Claret Jug, or The Golf Champion Trophy, was created to be awarded to the Open Champion in 1872.

The 1873 Open Champion Tom Kidd became the first to be awarded the now iconic Champion Trophy, known also as the Claret Jug. Along with the Claret Jug, Kidd was awarded a medal and prize money of 11 euros. Since the Champion Trophy was commissioned and meant to be given to the 1872 winner Young Tom Morris was the first name inscribed on the trophy. The 1873 Open was also the first not held at Prestwick Golf Club, instead it was held at the historic Old Course at St Andrews Links in Scotland.

Harry Vardon

The 1892 Open Championship expanded from 36 holes to 72 holes played over four rounds with the prize fund reaching 100 euros. Amateur Harold Hilton won that year and was awarded the winner’s prize of 35 euros. In 1894 the Open was played outside of Scotland for the first time at the Royal St George’s Golf Club in England. J.H. Taylor won the first of his five Open Championships that year. The 1898 Open was the first to have a field cut after the first two rounds due to the increase in competitors. Harry Vardon won the first of his record six Open Championships that year, he would win again in 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, and 1914.

Play of the Open Championship was suspended from 1915 – 1919 due to World War I. 1920 marked the first Open Championship which was fully run by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club, whom before had shared responsibility with the Prestwick Golf Club and The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. The first native-born American to win the Open was the great Walter Hagen in 1922. Hagen would go on to win the Claret Jug three more times in 1924 and back to back in 1928 and 1929. In 1927 it was established that the Claret Jug would remain with the R&A and the future winners would be presented with a replica. The memorable Bobby Jones won the 1927 Open to claim his second Open Championship. Jones, who remained an amateur throughout his career, won his third Open Championship in 1930 which was the second major win on his way to winning all four majors, of that era, that year to achieve his unique single year “Grand Slam.” Jones was the third and last amateur to win the Open Championship.

Gene Sarazen

Gene Sarazen won the 1932 Open Championship after leading the tournament start to finish. Sarazen would go on to win the U.S. Open that year, which at the time only Bobby Jones had won both the Open and US Open in the same year. However since Sarazen’s achievement, greats like Ben Hogan in 1953, Lee Trevino in 1971, Tom Watson in 1982 and Tiger Woods in 2000 matched the accomplishment. Englishmen dominated from 1934 to 1939, including Henry Cotton winning two of his three Open Championships in 1934 and 1937, Cotton won his third in 1948.

Due to World War II there was no Open Championship held from 1940 to 1945. Following the end of World War II, the Open Championship returned to the Old Course at St Andrews in 1946. Golfing icon Sam Snead, who holds the most PGA Tour wins, emerged victorious to claim his only Open Championship in his second appearance at the tournament. In 1947, Irishman Fred Daly became the first Open winner from Ireland. It wasn’t until 2007 that another Irishman, Padraig Harrington, would win the Claret Jug.

Sam Snead

In 1949, Bobby Locke started his run of winning four Open Championships throughout the 1950s. Locke was the first winner from South Africa and defended his title in 1950, then won again in 1952 and 1957. At the 1953 Open Championship during his only appearance at the tournament Ben Hogan earned himself the Claret Jug. The Claret Jug went along well with the U.S. Open Trophy and Masters Jacket Hogan had also earned that year in what is called his “Triple Crown.”

Australian golfer Peter Thomson became the first from his country to win the Open in 1954. Thomson would successfully retain his title for the next two years 1955 and 1956, and win again in 1958 and 1965. In 1959 another South African would have the honor of hoisting up the Claret Jug, the Black Knight himself Gary Player. Player was the first of the famous triumvirate known as The Big Three of Player, Palmer and Nicklaus, to win the Open Championship. Gary Player is the only golfer in the 20th century to win the Open in three different decades, winning again in 1968 and 1974.

Arnold Palmer

The second Open Champion from the Big Three was Arnold Palmer in 1961, coming after his second place finish in 1960 to Australian Kel Nagle. Palmer successfully defended his championship the following year. Palmer is highly credited for helping revitalize the prestige of The Open Championship, as interest from American golfers in the major tournament had dwindled largely due to cost of travel. After his initial trip in 1960, Palmer encouraged other American golfers to join him the next year to compete. Many followed Palmer’s lead and the Open has regained its glory.

In 1966 the final member of the Big Three, Jack Nicklaus, won his first Open Championship. His victory marked the completion of Nicklaus’ first career Grand Slam, having won each major at least once. Nicklaus went on to win the Open two more times in 1970 and 1978. Nicklaus holds the record for most runner-up finishes with seven second place finishes. Following Jack’s win in 1970, golfing great Lee Trevino won the Open Championship back-to-back in 1971 to 1972.

Tom Watson

The 1977 Open Championship became known as the Duel in the Sun when golf titans Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson battled it out strokes ahead of the rest of the field on the final day at the Ailsa Course at Turnberry, Scotland. Watson edged out Nicklaus by a stroke to claim his second Open Championship, earning his first in 1975. Watson went on to prove himself as a great links player after winning the Open Championship a total five times, winning in 1980, and back-to-back in 1982 and 1983. Seve Ballesteros became ended the era of U.S. dominance by becoming the first Spaniard to win the Open Championship in 1979. Ballesteros held the Claret Jug in victory two more times in 1984 and 1988.

The European winning trend continued for the next ten years at the Open as Australia’s Greg Norman won in 1986 and 1993. England’s Nick Faldo won three times in that period in 1987, 1990 and 1992. Nick Price became the first Open Champion from Zimbabwe in 1994. American John Daly brought the Claret Jug back to the States after winning the 1995 Open after a four-hole playoff. 1995 as well marked the first year the Open Championship became an official part of the PGA Tour schedule.

Tiger Woods (AP)

At the 2000 Open Championship Tiger Woods became the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam after winning The Open. Woods 2000 Open Championship was also the second major win in his “Tiger Slam,” where he won all four major tournaments consecutively starting with the 2000 US Open and ending with the 2001 Masters Tournament. Woods would top the field at the Open Championship again in 2005 and successfully defend in 2006. Followings Woods’ repeat wins was Padraig Harrington with a pair of wins himself in 2007 and 2008. The 2005 Open Championship marked the final professional golf tournament for the legendary Jack Nicklaus.

Fan favorite Phil Mickelson won his fifth major title and his first Open Championship in 2013. The following year Rory McIlroy won his first Open Championship ending two strokes ahead of Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia. In 2015 Zach Johnson won his second major and first Open Championship after outmatching 2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman in a playoff.

The 2016 Open Championship saw a final day battle between Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson which drew similarities to the 1977 Duel in the Sun between Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson. Stenson and Mickelson pulled ahead of the field going into the final day with Stenson hitting birdies on 16 and 18 to seal his victory. Stenson scored a 264, 20 under par, bettering Mickelson’s 267, 17 under, with third place J.B. Holmes scoring 278, 6 under. Stenson’s 20 under score tied a record for lowest score in a major, which had been set at the 2015 PGA Championship by Jimmy Walker. With his win Henrik Stenson became the first Scandinavian to win a major championship.

Jordan Spieth (Golf Digest)

The 146th Open Championship was staged at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England on July 20th 2017. Jordan Spieth captured his third major championship, leaving him now needing only to win the PGA Championship to earn the illusive career grand slam. Spieth fell out of the lead in the final round, which opened the door for Matt Kuchar to take the top spot on the leaderboard for a moment. However, Spieth was able to come back with some stellar play after an unplayable lie incident on hole 13, which resulted in a bogey then followed by a birdie, eagle, and another birdie. The major win makes Spieth only the second golfer to win three different major championships, along with Jack Nicklaus, before turning 24 years old. Along with the Claret Jug, Spieth took home $1.845 million, roughly 1.571 million euros, in prize money.

Categories: Golf History, Major Championships

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The Open Championship: Champion Golfers through the Years