Most Victories

  • 6 career wins: Harry Vardon, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914
  • 5: James Braid, 1901, 1905, 1906, 1908, 1910
  • 5: J.H. Taylor, 1894, 1895, 1900, 1909, 1913
  • 5: Peter Thomson, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965
  • 5: Tom Watson, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983

Vardon and Jack Nicklaus (at The Masters) are the only 6-time winners at any of golf’s four professional majors.

Most Second-Place Finishes

  • 7: Jack Nicklaus, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1979
  • 6: J.H. Taylor, 1896, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1914

Nicklaus had three victories to go along with his seven runner-up finishes, and those seven second-place finishes are the record at any of the four majors.

Scoring Records

Here are the tournament records that relate to scores: overall totals plus 18-hole and 9-hole scores, along with a few relating to margins, comebacks and the like.

Lowest Winning Scores

  • 264: Henrik Stenson, Royal Troon, 2016
  • 267: Greg Norman, Royal St George’s, 1993
  • 268: Tom Watson, Turnberry, 1977
  • 268: Nick Price, Turnberry, 1994
  • 268: Jordan Spieth, Royal Birkdale, 2017
  • 269: Tiger Woods, St. Andrews, 2000
  • 270: Nick Faldo, St. Andrews, 1990; Tiger Woods, Royal Liverpool, 2006

Lowest Winning Scores in Relation to Par

  • 20-under: Henrik Stenson, Royal Troon, 201619-under: Tiger Woods, St Andrews, 200018-under: Nick Faldo, St Andrews, 199018-under: Tiger Woods, Hoylake, 2006

Lowest 72-Hole Scores by Amateurs

  • 281: Iain Pyman, Royal St George’s, 1993281: Tiger Woods, Royal Lytham, 1996282: Justin Rose, Royal Birkdale, 1998282: Matteo Manassero, Turnberry, 2009283: Guy Wolstenhome, St Andrews, 1960283: Lloyd Saltman, St Andrews, 2005

Lowest 18-Hole Score

  • 62: Branden Grace, third round, Royal Birkdale, 2017
  • 63: Mark Hayes, second round, Turnberry, 1977
  • 63: Isao Aoki, third round, Muirfield, 1980
  • 63: Greg Norman, second round, Turnberry, 1986
  • 63: Paul Broadhurst, third round, St. Andrews, 1990
  • 63: Jodie Mudd, fourth round, Royal Birkdale, 1991
  • 63: Nick Faldo, second round, Royal St. George’s, 1993
  • 63: Payne Stewart, fourth round, Royal St George’s, 1993
  • 63: Rory McIlroy, first round, St. Andrews, 2010
  • 63: Phil Mickelson, first round, Royal Troon, 2016
  • 63: Henrik Stenson, fourth round, Royal Troon, 2016
  • 63: Haotong Li, fourth round, Royal Birkdale, 2017
  • 63: Shane Lowry, third round, Royal Portrush, 2019

Lowest 9-Hole Score28: Denis Durnian, front nine, Royal Birkdale, 1983

Largest Margin of Victory

  • 13 strokes: Old Tom Morris, 1862
  • 12 strokes: Young Tom Morris, 1870
  • 11 strokes: Young Tom Morris, 1869
  • 8 strokes: J.H. Taylor, 1900
  • 8 strokes: J.H. Taylor, 1913
  • 8 strokes: James Braid, 1908
  • 8 strokes: Tiger Woods 2000

Biggest Final-Round Comeback to Win10 strokes: Paul Lawrie, 1999 (Lawrie began the final round 10 shots off the lead)

Biggest 54-Hole Lead Lost5 strokes: Macdonald Smith, 1925; Jean Van de Velde, 1999

Most Career Rounds in the 60s

  • 39: Ernie Els
  • 37: Nick Faldo
  • 33: Jack Nicklaus

Following are records relating to the youngest and oldest champions, plus the youngest/oldest to play in this major.

Oldest Winners

  • Old Tom Morris, 1867, 46 years 99 days
  • Roberto de Vicenzo, 1967, 44 years 93 days
  • Harry Vardon, 1914, 44 years 41 days

Youngest Winners

  • Young Tom Morris, 1868, 17 years 5 months 8 days
  • Willie Auchterlonie, 1893, 21 years 24 days
  • Seve Ballesteros, 1979, 22 years 3 months 12 days

Youngest Competitor

  • Young Tom Morris, 14 years 4 months, 25 days, 1865

Oldest Competitor

  • Old Tom Morris, 74 years, 11 months, 24 days, 1896
  • Gene Sarazen, 74 years, 4 months, 9 days, 1976

Top Finishes

Here are few more victory-related tournament records at the Open Championship:

Players Who Won the Open in Three Decades

  • Harry Vardon - 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914
  • J.H. Taylor - 1894, 1895, 1900, 1909, 1913
  • Gary Player - 1959, 1968, 1974

Longest Span Between First and Last Wins

  • 19 years: J.H. Taylor, 1894 – 1913
  • 18 years: Harry Vardon, 1896 – 1914
  • 15 years: Gary Player, 1959 – 74
  • 15 years: Willie Park, 1860-75
  • 14 years: Henry Cotton, 1934 - 48

Wire-to-Wire WinnersLeading after all four rounds, including ties for the lead:

  • Harry Vardon, 1899
  • J.H. Taylor, 1900
  • Harry Vardon, 1903
  • Lee Trevino, 1971
  • Gary Player, 1974

Holding the outright lead after each round:

  • Ted Ray, 1912
  • Bobby Jones, 1927
  • Gene Sarazen, 1932
  • Henry Cotton, 1934
  • Tom Weiskopf, 1973
  • Tiger Woods, 2005

Most Consecutive Wins

  • 4 in a row: Young Tom Morris, 1868-72 (tournament not played in 1871)3 in a row: Jamie Anderson, 1877-793: Bob Ferguson, 1880-823: Peter Thomson, 1954-56

Most Top-5 Finishes

  • 16: J.H Taylor16: Jack Nicklaus15: Harry Vardon15: James Braid

Miscellaneous Records

Most Appearances

  • 46: Gary Player38: Jack Nicklaus

Most Frequent Venues

  • St. Andrews: 29
  • Prestwick: 24
  • Muirfield: 16
  • Royal St. George’s: 14
  • Royal Liverpool: 12
  • Royal Lytham & St. Annes: 11
  • Royal Birkdale: 9
  • Royal Troon: 9