Complete List of Open Championship (British Open) Winners: 1860 - Present

Open Championship Key Records

• Most wins: Harry Vardon with 6 titles (1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914)
• Most wins (modern era): Tom Watson with 5 titles (1975, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983)
• Youngest winner: Young Tom Morris, age 17, in 1868
• Oldest winner: Tom Morris Sr., age 46, in 1867
• Most consecutive wins: Young Tom Morris won 4 straight from 1868 to 1872 (no championship held in 1871)
• Largest winning margin: Young Tom Morris won by 13 strokes at Prestwick in 1870
• First non-British winner: Arnaud Massy of France in 1907 at Royal Liverpool
• Only left-hander to win: Bob Charles of New Zealand in 1963
• Most host venue: St Andrews has hosted The Open more than any other course, often called the "Home of Golf"
• Tiger Woods: Won 3 Open titles (2000, 2005, 2006), including a dominant 8-stroke victory at St Andrews in 2000

About The Open Championship

The Open Championship is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf, first contested in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Originally a one-day, 36-hole event open to just eight professionals, it has grown into a global spectacle that attracts the best players from every tour. It is the only major played outside the United States, rotating among a select group of seaside links courses across England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland known as the Open rota.

The winner receives the Claret Jug, officially called the Golf Champion Trophy. First awarded in 1873 after Young Tom Morris won the original Challenge Belt outright, the Claret Jug is one of the most iconic trophies in sports. Each champion's name is engraved on the jug, and the winner traditionally holds it aloft on the 18th green, a moment that has defined careers from Harry Vardon to Tiger Woods.

The Open's links-style venues demand a brand of golf rarely seen in other tournaments. Players must navigate firm, fast fairways, deep pot bunkers, thick fescue rough, and unpredictable coastal weather that can shift from calm sunshine to sideways rain within a single round. This unique test of skill and adaptability is what gives The Open its reputation as golf's most demanding championship. For a deeper look at how it compares to the other three majors, see who has won the most golf majors.