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]
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] Brian Harman is the current champion, winning the 2023 Open.[8]
Champions edit
| (n/a) | Information not available |
| † | Tournament won in a playoff |
| * | Tournament won by an amateur |
By year edit
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Tom Morris Jr., four-time Open Champion in 1868, 1869, 1870, and 1872.
Multiple champions edit
By nationality edit
| Nationality | Wins | Winners |
|---|---|---|
 United States
|
46 | 31 |
 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 edit
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.[12]
- ^ The 1871 Open Championship was not held.[3]
- ^ Bob Martin won in a playoff against Davie Strath who refused to compete.
- ^ Willie Fernie won in a playoff against Bob Ferguson.
- ^ Willie Park Jr. won in a playoff against Andrew Kirkaldy.
- ^ John Ball won The Open Championship as an amateur.
- ^ a b Harold Hilton won The Open Championship as an amateur.
- ^ Harry Vardon won in a playoff against John Henry Taylor.
- ^ Harry Vardon won in a playoff against Arnaud Massy.
- ^ The Open Championship was not held from 1915 to 1918 because of the First World War.
- ^ Jock Hutchison won in a playoff against Roger Wethered.
- ^ a b c Bobby Jones won The Open Championship as an amateur.
- ^ Denny Shute won in a playoff against Craig Wood.
- ^ The Open Championship was not held from 1940 to 1945 because of the Second World War.
- ^ Bobby Locke won in a playoff against Harry Bradshaw.
- ^ Peter Thomson won in a playoff against Dave Thomas.
- ^ Bob Charles won in a playoff against Phil Rodgers.
- ^ Jack Nicklaus won in a playoff against Doug Sanders.
- ^ Tom Watson won in a playoff against Jack Newton.
- ^ Mark Calcavecchia won in a playoff against Wayne Grady and Greg Norman.
- ^ John Daly won in a playoff against Costantino Rocca.
- ^ Mark O'Meara won in a playoff against Brian Watts.
- ^ Paul Lawrie won in a playoff against Jean van de Velde and Justin Leonard.
- ^ Ernie Els won in a playoff against Thomas Levet, Steve Elkington and Stuart Appleby.
- ^ Todd Hamilton won in a playoff against Ernie Els.
- ^ Pádraig Harrington won in a playoff against Sergio García.
- ^ Stewart Cink won in a playoff against Tom Watson.
- ^ Zach Johnson won in a playoff against Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen.
References edit
- ^ Powers, Christopher (9 July 2022). "Open Championship 2022: Frequently Asked Questions". Golf Digest. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ Newport 1997, p. 272.
- ^ a b c "Claret Jug". Open Golf. Archived from the original on 18 July 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
- ^ Haselton, Todd (6 April 2020). "British Open canceled for first time since WWII due to coronavirus". CNBC. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ Kolur, Nihal (17 July 2018). "Who Has Won the Most British Opens?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ Ray, Justin (17 July 2022). "Open Championship: 10 notes to know on Cameron Smith's history-making win". The Athletic. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ Scott, Ged (17 July 2016). "The Open 2016: Henrik Stenson beats Phil Mickelson to win at Royal Troon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ Scrivener, Peter (23 July 2023). "The Open: Brian Harman wins Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool by six shots". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- ^ "Previous Opens". The Open Championship. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ "2011 Open Championship Media Guide". The Open Championship. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
- ^ "Open Champions". The Open Championship. Archived from the original on 2 March 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
- ^ "Scoring". BBC Sport. 13 July 2005. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
Bibliography edit
- Newport, Stuart (1997). Guinness Book Of Knowledge. Guinness Publishing. ISBN 0-85112-046-6.
External links edit