Open Championship Records

Oldest Winner

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

Youngest Winner

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

Champions in Three Decades

Harry Vardon, 1896, 1903, 1911
J.H Taylor, 1894, 1900, 1913
Gary Player, 1959, 1968, 1974

Victories by Amateurs

3, Bobby Jones 1926-27-30
2,Harold Hilton, 1892-97
1, John Ball, 1890
Roger Wethered lost a play-off in 1921

Most Victories

6, Harry Vardon, 1896, 98, 99, 1903, 11, 14
5, James Braid, 1901, 05, 06, 08, 10
J H Taylor, 1894, 95, 1900, 09, 13
Peter Thomson, 1954, 55, 56, 58, 65
Tom Watson, 1975, 77, 80, 82, 83

Most Times Runner-Up or Joint Runner-Up

7, Jack Nicklaus, 1964, 67, 68, 72, 76, 77, 79
6, J H Taylor, 1896, 1904, 05, 06, 07, 14

Youngest and Oldest Competitor

Young Tom Morris, 14 years 4 months 4 days, 1865
Gene Sarazen, 74 years, 5 months, 8 days, 1976

Biggest Margin of Victory

13 strokes - Old Tom Morris, 1862
12 strokes - Young Tom Morris, 1870
8 strokes - J H Taylor, 1900 and 1913; James Braid, 1908; Tiger Woods 2000.
6 strokes - Bobby Jones, 1927; Walter Hagen, 1929; Arnold Palmer, 1962; Johnny Miller, 1976

Lowest Winning Aggregates

 

267 (66, 68, 69, 64) Greg Norman, Royal St George's, 1993
268,(68,70, 65, 65) Tom Watson, Turnberry, 1977; (69, 66, 67, 66) Nick Price, Turnberry, 1994
269 (67,66,67,69) Tiger Woods, St Andrews, 2000
270 (67, 65, 67, 71) Nick Faldo, St Andrews, 1990
271 (68, 70, 64, 69) Tom Watson, Muirfield, 1980; (67, 67, 64, 73) Tom Lehman, Royal Lytham & St Annes, 1996
272 (71, 71, 64, 66) Ian Baker- Finch, Royal Birkdale, 1991; (66, 64, 69, 73) Nick Faldo, Muirfield, 1992; (69, 66, 72, 65)
Justin Leonard, Royal Troon, 1997

Lowest Aggregate by an Amateur

281 (68, 72, 70, 71) Iain Pyman, Royal St George's. 1993; (75, 66, 70, 70) Tiger Woods, Royal Lytham & St Annes, 1996
282 (72, 66, 75, 69) Justin Rose, Royal Birkdale, 1998
283 (74, 70, 71, 68) Guy Wolstenhome, St Andrews, 1960

Lowest Individual Round

63 - Mark Hayes, 2nd round Turnberry, 1977;
Isao Aoki, 3rd round Muirfield, 1980;
Greg Norman, 2nd round Turnberry, 1986;
Paul Broadhurst, 3rd round St Andrews, 1990;
Jodie Mudd, 4th round Royal Birkdale, 1991;
Nick Faldo, 2nd round and Payne Stewart, 4th round Royal St George's, 1993

Lowest Individual Round by an Amateur

66 - Frank Stranahan, 4th round Troon, 1950;
Tiger Woods, 2nd round, Royal Lytham & St Annes, 1996;
Justin Rose, 2nd round Birkdale, 1998

Lowest First Round

Craig Stadler 1983 (64) at Royal Birkdale
Christy O'Conner Jnr. 1985 (64) at Royal St George's
Rodger Davis 1987 (64) at Muirfield
Raymond Floyd and Steve Pate 1992 (64) at Muirfield

Lowest Second Round

Mark Hayes 1977 (63) at Turnberry
Greg Norman 1986 (63) at Turnberry
Nick Faldo 1992 (63) at Royal St George's

Lowest Third Round

Isao Aoki 1980 (63) at Muirfield
Paul Broadhurst 1990 (63) at St Andrews

Lowest Fourth Round

Jodie Mudd 1991 (63) at Royal Birkdale
Payne Stewart 1993 (63) at Royal St George's

Lowest first 36 holes

130 (66, 64), Nick Faldo, Muirfield, 1992

Lowest second 36 holes

130 (65, 65), Tom Watson, Turnberry, 1977
130 (64, 66), Ian Baker-Finch, Royal Birkdale, 1991
130 (66, 64), Anders Forsbrand, Turnberry, 1994

Lowest middle 36 holes

130 (66, 64), Fuzzy Zoeller, Turnberry, 1994

Lowest first 54 holes

198 (67, 67, 64), Tom Lehman, Royal Lytham, 1996
199 (67, 65, 67), Nick Faldo, St Andrews, 1990; (66, 64, 69), Nick Faldo, Muirfield, 1992

Lowest final 54 holes

199 (66, 67, 66), Nick Price, Turnberry, 1994

Lowest 9 holes

 

  28, Denis Durnian, first 9, Royal Birkdale, 1983
29, Peter Thomson and Tom Haliburton, first 9, Royal Lytham, 1958
29, Tony Jacklin, first 9, St Andrews, 1970
29, Bill Longmuir, first 9, Royal Lytham, 1979
29, David J. Russell, first 9, Royal Lytham, 1988
29, Ian Baker-Finch and Paul Broadhurst, first 9, St Andrews, 1990
29, Ian Baker-Finch, first 9, Royal Birkdale, 1991
29, Paul McGinley, first 9, Royal Lytham, 1996
29, Ernie Els, first 9, Muirfield, 2002
29, Sergio Garcia, first 9, Royal Liverpool, 2006

Biggest Span Between First and Last Victories

 

  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

Successive Victories

4, Young Tom Morris, 1868-72 (No Championship in 1871)
3, Jamie Anderson, 1877-79; Bob Ferguson, 1880-82; Peter Thomson, 1954-56
2, Old Tom Morris, 1861-62; J.H Taylor, 1894-95; Harry Vardon, 1898-99; James Braid, 1905-06; Bobby Jones, 1926-27; Walter Hagen, 1928-29; Bobby Locke, 1949-50; Arnold Palmer, 1961-62; Lee Trevino, 1971-72; Tom Watson, 1982-83, Tiger Woods, 2005-06.

Highest Number of Top Five Finishes

16, J.H Taylor, Jack Nicklaus
15, Harry Vardon, James Braid

Highest Number of Rounds Under 70

33, Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo
27, Tom Watson
23, Greg Norman
21, Lee Trevino
20, Severiano Ballesteros, Nick Price

First Players to Break 70 in The Open

1904 Royal St George's

68 J.H Taylor
69 James Braid (3), Jack White (4)

Outright Leader After Every Round

Ted Ray, 1912; Bobby Jones, 1927; Gene Sarazen, 1932; Henry Cotton, 1934; Tom Weiskopf, 1973

Record Leads (Since 1892)

   

After 18 holes:

4 strokes, James Braid, 1908; Bobby Jones, 1927; Henry Cotton, 1934; Christy O'Connor Jnr., 1985

After 36 holes:

9 strokes, Henry Cotton, 1934

After 54 holes:

10 strokes, Henry Cotton, 1934
7 strokes, Tony Lema, 1964
6 strokes, James Braid, 1908, Tom Lehman, 1996

Champions with Each Round Lower than Previous One

Jack White, 1904, Sandwich, 80, 75, 72, 69
James Braid, 1906, Muirfield, 77, 76, 74, 73
Ben Hogan, 1953, Carnoustie, 73, 71, 70, 68
Gary Player, 1959, Muirfield, 75, 71, 70, 68

Biggest Leads by Non-Champions

5 strokes, Macdonald Smith, 1925
5 strokes, Jean Van de Velde, 1999

Champion with Four Rounds the Same

Densmore Shute, 1933, St Andrews, 73, 73, 73, 73 (excluding the play-off)

Biggest Variation Between Rounds of a Champion

14 strokes, Henry Cotton, 1934, second round 65, fourth round, 79
11 strokes, Jack White, 1904, first round 80, fourth round 69; Greg Norman, 1986, first round 74, second round 63, third round 74

Biggest Variation Between Two Rounds

20 strokes, R.G. French, 1938, second round 71, third round 91; Colin Montgomerie, 2002, second round 64, third round 84
19 strokes, R.H. Pemberton, 1938, second round 72, third round 91
18 strokes, A. Tingey Jnr., 1923, first round 94, second round 76
17 strokes, Jack Nicklaus, 1981, first round 83, second round 66; Ian Baker-Finch, 1986, first round 86, second round 69

 

Best Comeback by Champions

After 18 holes: Harry Vardon, 1896, 11 strokes behind the leader
After 36 holes: George Duncan, 1920, 13 strokes behind the leader
After 54 holes: Paul Lawrie, 1999, 10 strokes behind the leader

Champions with Four Rounds Under 70

 

Greg Norman, 1993, Royal St George’s, (66, 68, 69, 64)
Nick Price, 1994, Turnberry, (69, 66, 67, 66)
Tiger Woods, 2000, St Andrews, (67, 66, 67, 69)

Of non-champions:

Ernie Els, 1993, Royal St George’s, (68, 69, 69, 68);
Jesper Parnevik, 1994, Turnberry, (68, 66, 68, 67)
Ernie Els, 2004, Royal Troon, (69, 69, 68, 68)

Best Finishing Round by a Champion

64, Greg Norman, Royal St George’s, 1993
65, Tom Watson, Turnberry, 1977; Severiano Ballesteros, Royal Lytham, 1988; Justin Leonard, Royal Troon, 1997

Worst Round by a Champion Since 1939

   

78, Fred Daly, third round, Hoylake, 1947
76, Paul Lawrie, third round, Carnoustie, 1999

Worst Finishing Round by a Champion Since 1939

75, Sam Snead, St Andrews, 1946

Best Opening Round by a Champion

   

66, Peter Thomson, Royal Lytham, 1958; Nick Faldo, Muirfield, 1992; Greg Norman, Royal St George’s, 1993; Tiger Woods, St Andrews, 2005

Biggest Recovery in 18 Holes by a Champion

George Duncan, Deal, 1920, was 13 strokes behind the leader, Abe Mitchell, after 36 holes and level after 54

Most Appearances

   

46, Gary Player
38, Jack Nicklaus

Most Appearances on Final Day (since 1892)

32, Jack Nicklaus
31, Alex Herd
30, J.H. Taylor
27, Harry Vardon, James Braid, Nick Faldo
26, Peter Thomson, Gary Player
23, Dai Rees
22, Henry Cotton

Most Appearances Before First Victory

   

16, Nick Price, 1994
14, Mark O’Meara, 1998

Most Appearances Without a Victory

29, Dai Rees
28, Sam Torrance
27, Neil Coles

Championship Since 1946 with the Fewest Rounds Under 70

   

St Andrews, 1946; Hoylake, 1947; Portrush, 1951; Hoylake, 1956; Carnoustie, 1968. All had only two rounds under 70.

Longest Course

 

Carnoustie, 2007 - 7421 yd

Courses Most Often Used 

St Andrews - 27
Prestwick - 24
Muirfield - 15
Sandwich - 13
Hoylake - 11
Royal Lytham - 10
Royal Birkdale - 8
Royal Troon - 7
Carnoustie - 7 (including 2007)
Musselburgh - 6
Turnberry - 3
Deal - 2
Royal Portrush and Prince's - 1

The preceding was furnished by The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and OpenGolf.com