Mid-July sees the fourth and final major of the season, as the finest players in the game tackle the links layout of The Open Championship. Britain’s biggest golf tournament may now be the last of the four big ones in the calendar year, but it was comfortably the first on the scene, having first been held way back in 1860.
Not only is “The Open” the oldest of the four majors, it is in fact the oldest golf tournament in the world, bar none. That rich heritage is all part of the appeal of an event which continues to dominate the mid-summer golf news headlines and has golf punters flocking to seek out the best sports betting offers.
Now over 160 years old, the tournament has had more time than most to compile an impressive list of facts and stats, and here we take a look at a selection of the record-setting winners from the history of this great event.
Most Open Wins: Harry Vardon with Six
One of the early legends of the game, Jersey-born Vardon is credited with many things, including the invention of the standard, “Vardon Grip”, and becoming the first professional golfer to play wearing knickerbockers – a practice which hasn’t stood the test of time quite so well as his method of holding the club.
In addition to those contributions to the game, Vardon was also one of the dominant players of his generation. Beating John Henry Taylor to win this for the first time in 1896, he made it three with back-to-back successes in 1898 and 1899, before adding a fourth in 1903.
Vardon joined James Braide on five wins when coming home in front in 1911, but by 1913 both Vardon and Braide had been joined by the aforementioned John Henry Taylor. Fast forward to 1914, and Vardon claimed the record for himself, finishing three shots clear of Taylor in second.
Both Peter Thomson and Tom Watson have since joined the five-wins club, but as yet, no one has caught Vardon.
Oldest Winner: Old Tom Morris – 46 Years, 102 Days
It had to be, didn’t it? Born in St. Andrews in 1821, and christened Thomas Mitchell Morris, this legend of the Scottish game came to be known as “Old Tom” and is now often referred to as “The Grand Old Man of Golf”. It is therefore fitting that he is indeed the oldest ever Open winner, having landed a fourth and final success in the event at the age of 46 in 1867.
Youngest Winner: Young Tom Morris – 17 Years, 156 Days
When Old Tom Morris had finished seeing off the Open opposition, he simply passed the baton on to his son – the similarly imaginatively nicknamed, Young Tom Morris.
Whilst it took Old Tom until he was 46 to win four Opens, Young Tom achieved that feat by just 21 years of age – winning four successive editions between 1868 and 1872. (There was no event in 1871 due to the unusual reason of no trophy being available for the winner).
With the first of his wins coming at the age of 17, Young Tom became the youngest winner of the event, setting a record which seems unlikely to ever be broken.
Lowest Winning Score: -20 – Henrik Stenson (2016), Cameron Smith (2022)
2022 champ Cameron Smith was certainly made to work for a 1 stroke victory over Cameron Young. The fact that the winning margin was so small is pretty remarkable considering Smith’s final total of -20 was the joint lowest score in the 160+ year history of the tournament – equalling the record of Henrik Stenson who came home three clear of Phil Mickelson in 2016.
Biggest Winning Margin: 13 Strokes – Old Tom Morris (1862)
Old Tom was a formidable opponent in his heyday and proved unstoppable during a dominant display in 1862. A winning margin of 13 strokes is impressive by any standards, but all the more so considering that year’s edition was held over only 36 holes!