The Open Championship , or simply The Open (often referred to as the British Open outside the UK), is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only major held outside the USA and is administered by the R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico. The Open is played on the weekend of the third Friday in July, and is the third major to take place each year following The Masters and the U.S. Open and before the PGA Championship. The event takes place every year on one of nine historic links courses in Scotland or England (the event has been held once in Northern Ireland, but Royal Portrush is no longer on the rota). In 2009, The Open will have a prize fund of £4.2 million (at the time of the announcement in July 2008, approximately €5.25 million or $8.3 million), with £750,000 going to the winner. [1] Historically, The Open's prize money was consistently the least of the four majors; from 2002 to 2008, it was the highest. Uniquely among the four Major championships, the Open features a four hole playoff for all golfers tied at the end of regulation, with the playoff continuing into sudden death holes if players remain tied after four holes.

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History

The Open Championship was first played on 17 October 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, in Ayrshire, Scotland. The inaugural tournament was restricted to professionals, and attracted a field of eight Scottish golfers, ^[2] who played three rounds of Prestwick's twelve-hole course in a single day. Willie Park Senior won with a score of 174, beating the favourite, Old Tom Morris, by two strokes. The following year the tournament was opened to amateurs; eight of them joined ten professionals in the field. Originally, the trophy presented to the event's winner was the Champion's Belt, a red leather belt with a silver buckle. There was no prize money in the first three Opens. In 1863, a prize fund of £10 (then $50) was introduced, which was shared between the second- third- and fourth-placed professionals, with the Champion still just getting to keep the belt for a year. In 1864 Old Tom Morris won the first Champion's cash prize of £6. By 2004, the winner's cheque had increased one hundred and twenty thousandfold to £720,000, or perhaps two thousandfold after allowing for inflation. The Champions Belt was retired in 1870, when Young Tom Morris was allowed to keep it for winning the tournament three consecutive times. It was then replaced by the present trophy, The Golf Champion Trophy , better known by its popular name of The Claret Jug .

Prestwick Golf Club administered The Open from 1860 to 1870. In 1871, it agreed to organise it jointly with The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. In 1892 the event was doubled in length from 36 to 72 holes, that is four rounds of what was by then the standard complement of 18 holes. In the same year the prize fund reached £100. 1894 was the first year the Open was held outwith Scotland, at the Royal St George's Golf Club, in England. Due to an increasing number of entrants, a cut was introduced after two rounds in 1898. In 1920 full responsibility for The Open Championship was handed over to The Royal & Ancient Golf Club.

The early winners were all Scottish professionals, who in those days worked as greenkeepers, clubmakers, and caddies to supplement their modest winnings from championships and challenge matches. The Open has always been dominated by professionals, with only six victories by amateurs, all of which occurred between 1890 and 1930. The last of these was Bobby Jones's third Open and part of his celebrated Grand Slam. Jones was one of six Americans who won The Open between the First and Second World Wars, the first of whom had been Walter Hagen in 1922. These Americans and the French winner of the 1907 Open, Arnaud Massy, were the only winners from outside Scotland and England up to 1939.

The first post-World War II winner was the American Sam Snead in 1946. In 1947 Fred Daly of Northern Ireland was victorious. While there have been many English and Scottish champions, Daly was the only winner from Ireland until the 2007 win of the Republic's Pádraig Harrington, and there has never been a Welsh champion. Otherwise the early postwar years The Open was dominated by golfers from the Commonwealth, with South African Bobby Locke and Australian Peter Thomson winning the Claret Jug in nine of the 11 championships from 1948 and 1958 between them. During this period, The Open often had a schedule conflict with the match-play PGA Championship, which meant that Ben Hogan, the best American golfer at this time, competed in The Open just once, in 1953 at Carnoustie, a tournament he won.

Another South African, Gary Player was Champion in 1959. This was at the beginning of the "Big Three" era in professional golf, the three players in question being Player, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. Palmer first competed in 1960, when he came second to the little known Australian Kel Nagle, but he won the two following years. While he was far from being the first American to become Open Champion, he was the first that many Americans saw win the tournament on television, and his charismatic success is often credited with persuading leading American golfers to make The Open an integral part of their schedule, rather than an optional extra. The improvement of trans-Atlantic travel also increased American participation.

Nicklaus' victories came in 1966, 1970 and 1978. This tally of three wins is not very remarkable, and indeed he won all of the other three majors more often, but it greatly understates how prominent he was at the tournament throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He finished in the top five 16 times, which is tied most in Open history with John Henry Taylor and easily the most in the postwar era. This included seven second places. Nicklaus holds the records for most rounds under par (61) and most aggregates under par (14). At Turnberry in 1977 he was involved in one of the most celebrated contests in golf history, when his duel with Tom Watson went to the final shot before Watson emerged as the champion for the second time.

Watson won five Opens, more than anyone else has since the 1950s, but his final win in 1983 brought down the curtain on an era of U.S. domination. In the next 11 years there was only one American winner, with the others coming from Europe and the Commonwealth. The European winners of this era, Spaniard Seve Ballesteros, Sandy Lyle, who was the first Scottish winner in over half a century, and the Englishman Nick Faldo, were also leading lights among the group of players who began to get the better of the Americans in the Ryder Cup during this period.

In 1995, The Open became part of the PGA Tour's official schedule. John Daly's playoff win over Italian Costantino Rocca began another era of American domination. Tiger Woods has won three Championships to date, two at St Andrews in 2000 and 2005, and one at Hoylake in 2006. There was a dramatic moment at St Andrews in 2000, as the ageing Jack Nicklaus waved farewell to the crowds, while the young challenger to his crown (as the greatest golfer of all time) watched from a nearby tee; Nicklaus afterwards decided to play in the 2005 Open when the R&A announced St. Andrews as the venue, giving his final farewell to the fans at the Home of Golf. In 2002, all Open wins before 1995 were retroactively classified as PGA Tour wins. Recent years have been notable for the number of wins by previously obscure golfers, including Paul Lawrie's playoff win after the epic 72nd-hole collapse of Jean Van de Velde in 1999, Ben Curtis in 2003 and Todd Hamilton in 2004. In 2007 the Europeans finally broke an eight year drought in the majors when Pádraig Harrington of the Republic of Ireland defeated Sergio García by one stroke in a four-hole playoff. In 2008 at Royal Birkdale Harrington retained the Claret Jug with a final round of 69 to win the tournament by four shots from Ian Poulter, with a total of 283 (+3) after 72 holes. In 2009, 59-year-old Tom Watson turned in one of the most remarkable performances ever seen at The Open. Leading the tournament through 71 holes and needing just a par on the last hole to win, Watson bogeyed, setting up a four-hole playoff, which he would lose by six shots to Stewart Cink.

Trophies

There are several medals and trophies that are, or have been, given out for various achievements during The Open Championship. ^[3]

• Challenge Belt – awarded to the winner from 1860 until 1870 when Young Tom Morris won the belt outright.
• The Golf Champion Trophy (commonly known as the Claret Jug) – replaced the Challenge Belt and has been awarded to the winner since 1873.
• Gold medal – awarded to the winner. First given out in 1872 when the Claret Jug was not yet ready, but since awarded to all champions.
• Silver medal – awarded since 1949 to the highest finishing amateur.
• Bronze medal – awarded since 1972 to all other amateurs playing in the final round.

The Professional Golfers' Association of Great Britain and Ireland also mark the achievements of their own members in the Open.

• Ryle Memorial Medal – awarded since 1901 to the winner if he is a PGA member. ^[4]
• Braid Taylor Memorial Medal – awarded since 1966 to the highest finishing PGA member. ^[5]
• Tooting Bec Cup – awarded since 1924 to the PGA member who records the lowest single round during the championship. ^[6]

Tour status

It has been an official event on the PGA Tour since 1995, which means that the prize money won in The Open by PGA Tour members is included on the official money list. In addition, all Open Championships before 1995 have been retroactively classified as PGA Tour wins, and the list of leading winners on the PGA Tour has been adjusted to reflect this. The European Tour has recognised The Open as an official event since its first official season in 1972 and it is also an official money event on the Japan Golf Tour.

Host courses

From 1860-70, The Open Championship was organised by and played at Prestwick Golf Club. Since it was revived in 1872 after a lapse of one year, it has always been played at a number of courses in rotation. Initially there were three courses in the rotation, namely Prestwick, St Andrews, and Musselburgh. In 1893 Royal St George's and Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake were invited to join the rotation. Since then a handful of further clubs have been added, and a few have been dropped. The common factor in the venues for The Open is that they have always been links courses. In more recent times the rotation has generally followed the pattern of being played in Scotland and England alternately. The general interruption to this pattern is the Old Course at St Andrews, which hosts the event every five years or so. There is, however, no strict rule and the host is appointed by the R&A around five years in advance. There is a map showing the locations of the venues (there are thirteen dots for the fourteen courses; two of the courses are in the town of Sandwich). The Open is usually played in Scotland, North West England, or Kent in South East England. It has never been played in Wales, or in seven of the nine regions of England (all except the North West and South East), and it has only been played in Northern Ireland once.

The course rotation in the rota has been (for years ending in):

• (0,5) - - Scotland - (Old Course at St Andrews, every fifth year)
• (1,6) - - England
• (2,7) - - Scotland
• (3,8) - - England
• (4,9) - - Scotland

Although the schedule for 2011 and 2012 does not follow this pattern. There are nine courses in the current rota, five in Scotland and four in England: Courses in Scotland:

• Old Course at St Andrews: In 1873 the "Home of Golf" became the second course to host the Open. Nowadays, it does so more often than any other course. Since 1990 it has been scheduled every fifth year. The 2010 Open will be held at St. Andrews.
• Carnoustie Golf Links, Championship Course: The Royal Burgh of Carnoustie first hosted The Open in 1931, and it rejoined the rotation by hosting The Open in 1999 after an absence of 24 years and again in 2007.
• Muirfield: Muirfield is a private course which was built for The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, one of the trio of clubs which ran The Open in the 1870s and 1880s. It first staged The Championship in 1892, just nine months after it had been built. Muirfield will host The Open in 2013.
• The Turnberry Resort, Ailsa Course: A course on the southwest coast of Scotland which hosted The Open in 1977, 1986, 1994, and 2009. ^[7]
• Royal Troon Golf Club, Old Course: This southwestern Scottish course has been in the rotation since 1923.

Courses in England:

• Royal St George's Golf Club: This course is in the town of Sandwich in the county of Kent in southeast England. In 1894 it became the first Open venue outside Scotland. The Open will be held at Royal St George's in 2011.
• Royal Birkdale Golf Club: This course in northwest England has been in the rotation since 1954. Royal Birkdale hosted The Open in 2008.
• Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club: Also in northwest England, this course first hosted The Open in 1926, and entered the rotation in 1952. The 2012 Open will be held at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
• Royal Liverpool Golf Club: The home of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, which is often referred to simply as "Hoylake", joined the rotation in 1897 and hosted ten Opens up to 1967. After a 39 year absence from the rotation, it hosted in 2006.

Courses which are no longer in the rotation:

• - Prestwick Golf Club: The founder club was dropped from the rotation in 1925, by which time it had hosted twenty-four Opens.
• - Musselburgh Links: Musselburgh is a public course which was used by the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. When that club built Muirfield, Musselburgh dropped out of the rotation.
• - Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club: This course in the town of Deal in Kent hosted the Open in 1909 and 1920. Although situated in Deal, the course is very close to Royal St George's in Sandwich, on the current rota. In fact, the 11th tee at Royal Cinque Ports is closer to the clubhouse at Royal St George's than it is to the clubhouse of Royal Cinque Ports.
• - Prince's Golf Club: Prince's hosted its only Open in 1932. The course is in Sandwich, Kent, and is adjacent to Royal St George's on the current rota.
• - Royal Portrush Golf Club: The 1951 Open was staged at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, the only Open not played in Scotland or England.

Exemptions and qualifying events

The field for the Open is 156, and golfers may gain a place in three ways. Around two thirds of the field is made up of leading players who are given exemptions. The rest of the field is made up of players who were successful in "Local Qualifying" and those who came through "International Qualifying".

There are over thirty exemption categories. Among the more significant are:

• The top 50 on the Official World Golf Rankings. This key sweep up category means that no member of the current elite of world golf will be excluded.
• The top 30 in the previous season's PGA Tour money list and European Tour Order of Merit. Most but not all of these players will also be in the World top 50.
• All previous Open Champions who will be age 60 or under on the final day of the tournament.
• All players who have won one of the other three majors in the previous five years.
• The top 10 from the previous year's Open Championship.

Among other things, the additional exemption categories ensure that all the member tours of the International Federation of PGA Tours are represented, and that there are some amateur competitors. Full details of all the exemption categories can be found . Local Qualifying is the traditional way for non-exempt players to win a place at The Open. It comprises sixteen 18-hole "Regional Qualifying" competitions around Britain and Ireland a week and a half before the event, with successful competitors moving on to the four 36-hole "Local Final Qualifying" tournaments a few days later. There are now twelve places available through Local Qualifying, though there used to be far more.

Local Qualifying is open to players from all over the world, and it used to attract some big names. In order to make it easier for professionals from outside Britain and Ireland to compete for a place, the R&A introduced International Qualifying in 2004. This comprises five 36-hole qualifying events, one each in Africa, Australasia, Asia, America and Europe. Only players who have a rating in the Official World Golf Rankings may enter, which is a more stringent standard than for Local Qualifying. Thirty-six places are available in International Qualifying. Eligible players may choose whether to enter local qualifying or international qualifying, but they may not enter both. For full details on qualification see .

Tournament name

In Britain, the tournament is best known by its official title, The Open Championship . The tournament's website ^[8] uses only this name, while UK media generally refer to the Open (with "the" in lower case). ^{[9] [10]}

Outside the UK, the tournament is generally called the "British Open", in part to distinguish the tournament from another of the four majors that has an 'open' format, the U.S. Open, but mainly because other nations with similar 'open' format golf events refer to their own nation's open event as "the open." The PGA Tour refers to the tournament as the British Open, ^[11] as do many media outlets in the United States, such as SportsTicker and the Associated Press. ^{[12] [13]}

Records

• Oldest winner: Old Tom Morris (46 years, 99 days), 1867.
• Youngest winner: Young Tom Morris (17 years, 181 days), 1868. ^[14]
• Most victories: 6, Harry Vardon (1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914).
• Lowest absolute 72-hole score: 267, Greg Norman (66-68-69-64), 1993.
• Lowest 72-hole score in relation to par: -19, Tiger Woods (67-66-67-69, 269), 2000 (a record for all major championships).
• *Norman's 1993 score was -13. Par at Royal St George's, the site of the 1993 Open, was 70, as opposed to the par 72 of The Old Course at St Andrews, the 2000 site. In fact, the to-par record broken by Woods was not held by Norman, but by Nick Faldo, who shot -18 at The Old Course in 1990.
• Greatest victory margin: 13 strokes, Old Tom Morris, 1862. This remained a record for all majors until 2000, when Woods won the U.S. Open by 15 strokes at Pebble Beach. However, Old Tom's 13-stroke margin was achieved over just 36 holes.
• Lowest 18-hole score: 63 – Mark Hayes, 2nd round, 1977; Isao Aoki, 3rd, 1980; Greg Norman, 2nd, 1986; Paul Broadhurst, 3rd, 1990; Jodie Mudd, 4th, 1991; Nick Faldo, 2nd, 1993; Payne Stewart, 4th, 1993.

There is an extensive records section on the official site .

Winners

Year	Venue	Champion	Country	Winning Score	1st Prize
2009	Turnberry	Stewart Cink		278 (-2)PO	£ 750 000
2008	Royal Birkdale Golf Club	Pádraig Harrington (2)		283 (+3)	£ 750 000
2007	Carnoustie Golf Links	Pádraig Harrington		277 (–7)PO	£ 750 000
2006	Royal Liverpool Golf Club	Tiger Woods (3)		270 (–18)	£ 720 000
2005	St Andrews	Tiger Woods (2)		274 (–14)	£ 720 000
2004	Royal Troon Golf Club	Todd Hamilton		274 (–10)PO	£ 720 000
2003	Royal St George's Golf Club	Ben Curtis		283 (–1)	£ 700 000
2002	Muirfield	Ernie Els		278 (–6)PO	£ 700 000
2001	Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club	David Duval		274 (–10)	£ 600 000
2000	St Andrews	Tiger Woods		269 (–19)	£ 500 000
1999	Carnoustie Golf Links	Paul Lawrie		290 (+6)PO	£ 350 000
1998	Royal Birkdale Golf Club	Mark O'Meara		280 (E)PO	£ 300 000
1997	Royal Troon Golf Club	Justin Leonard		272 (–12)	£ 250 000
1996	Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club	Tom Lehman		271 (–13)	£ 200 000
1995	St Andrews	John Daly		282 (–6)PO	£ 125 000
1994	Turnberry	Nick Price		268 (–12)	£ 110 000
1993	Royal St George's Golf Club	Greg Norman (2)		267 (–13)	£ 100 000
1992	Muirfield	Nick Faldo (3)		272 (–12)	£ 95 000
1991	Royal Birkdale Golf Club	Ian Baker-Finch		272 (–8)	£ 90 000
1990	St Andrews	Nick Faldo (2)		270 (–18)	£ 85 000
1989	Royal Troon Golf Club	Mark Calcavecchia		275 (–13)PO	£ 80 000
1988	Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club	Seve Ballesteros (3)		273 (–11)	£ 80 000
1987	Muirfield	Nick Faldo		279 (–5)	£ 75 000
1986	Turnberry	Greg Norman		280 (E)	£ 70 000
1985	Royal St George's Golf Club	Sandy Lyle		282 (+2)	£ 65 000
1984	St Andrews	Seve Ballesteros (2)		276 (–12)	£ 55 000
1983	Royal Birkdale Golf Club	Tom Watson (5)		275 (–9)	£ 40 000
1982	Royal Troon Golf Club	Tom Watson (4)		284 (–4)	£ 32 000
1981	Royal St George's Golf Club	Bill Rogers		276 (–4)	£ 25 000
1980	Muirfield	Tom Watson (3)		271 (–13)	£ 25 000
1979	Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club	Seve Ballesteros		283 (–1)	£ 15 000
1978	St Andrews	Jack Nicklaus (3)		281 (–7)	£ 12 500
1977	Turnberry	Tom Watson (2)		268 (–12)	£ 10 000
1976	Royal Birkdale Golf Club	Johnny Miller		279 (–9)	£ 7 500
1975	Carnoustie Golf Links	Tom Watson		279 (–5)PO	£ 7 500
1974	Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club	Gary Player (3)		282 (–2)	£ 5 500
1973	Royal Troon Golf Club	Tom Weiskopf		276 (–12)	£ 5 500
1972	Muirfield	Lee Trevino (2)		278 (–6)	£ 5 500
1971	Royal Birkdale Golf Club	Lee Trevino		278 (–10)	£ 5 500
1970	St Andrews	Jack Nicklaus (2)		283 (–5)PO	£ 5 250
1969	Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club	Tony Jacklin		280 (–4)	£ 4 250
1968	Carnoustie Golf Links	Gary Player (2)		289 (+1)	£ 3 000
1967	Royal Liverpool Golf Club	Roberto De Vicenzo		278 (–10)	£ 2 100
1966	Muirfield	Jack Nicklaus		282 (+2)	£ 2 100
1965	Royal Birkdale Golf Club	Peter Thomson (5)		285 (–3)	£ 1 750
1964	St Andrews	Tony Lema		279 (–9)	£ 1 500
1963	Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club	Bob Charles		277 (–7)PO	£ 1 500
1962	Royal Troon Golf Club	Arnold Palmer (2)		276 (–12)	£ 1 400
1961	Royal Birkdale Golf Club	Arnold Palmer		284 (–4)	£ 1 400
1960	St Andrews	Kel Nagle		278 (–10)	£ 1 250
1959	Muirfield	Gary Player		284 (E)	£ 1 000
1958	Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club	Peter Thomson (4)		274 (–10)PO	£ 1 000
1957	St Andrews	Bobby Locke (4)		279 (–9)	£ 1 000
1956	Royal Liverpool Golf Club	Peter Thomson (3)		286 (–2)	£ 1 000
1955	St Andrews	Peter Thomson (2)		281 (–7)	£ 1 000
1954	Royal Birkdale Golf Club	Peter Thomson		283 (–5)	£750
1953	Carnoustie Golf Links	Ben Hogan		282 (–6)	£500
1952	Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club	Bobby Locke (3)		287 (–1)	£300
1951	Royal Portrush Golf Club	Max Faulkner		285 (–3)	£300
1950	Royal Troon Golf Club	Bobby Locke (2)		279 (–9)	£300
1949	Royal St George's Golf Club	Bobby Locke		283 (–5)	£300
1948	Muirfield	Henry Cotton (3)		288 (E)	£150
1947	Royal Liverpool Golf Club	Fred Daly		293 (+5)	£150
1946	St Andrews	Sam Snead		290 (+2)	£150
1940–1945: No Championships due to World War II
1939	St Andrews	Richard Burton		290	£100
1938	Royal St George's Golf Club	Reg Whitcombe		295	£100
1937	Carnoustie Golf Links	Henry Cotton (2)		290	£100
1936	Royal Liverpool Golf Club	Alf Padgham		287	£100
1935	Muirfield	Alf Perry		283	£100
1934	Royal St George's Golf Club	Henry Cotton		283	£100
1933	St Andrews	Denny Shute		292PO	£100
1932	Prince's Golf Club	Gene Sarazen		283	£100
1931	Carnoustie Golf Links	Tommy Armour		296	£100
1930	Royal Liverpool Golf Club	Bobby Jones (Am) (3)		291	Am – £100
1929	Muirfield	Walter Hagen (4)		292	£100
1928	Royal St George's Golf Club	Walter Hagen (3)		292	£100
1927	St Andrews	Bobby Jones (Am) (2)		285	Am - £100
1926	Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club	Bobby Jones (Am)		291	Am – £75
1925	Prestwick Golf Club	Jim Barnes		300	£75
1924	Royal Liverpool Golf Club	Walter Hagen (2)		301	£75
1923	Royal Troon Golf Club	Arthur Havers		295	£75
1922	Royal St George's Golf Club	Walter Hagen		300	£75
1921	St Andrews	Jock Hutchison		296PO	£75
1920	Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club	George Duncan		303	£75
1915–1919: No Championships due to World War I
1914	Prestwick Golf Club	Harry Vardon (6)	Jersey	306	£50
1913	Royal Liverpool Golf Club	John Henry Taylor (5)		304	£50
1912	Muirfield	Ted Ray	Jersey	295	£50
1911	Royal St George's Golf Club	Harry Vardon (5)	Jersey	303PO	£50
1910	St Andrews	James Braid (5)		299	£50
1909	Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club	John Henry Taylor (4)		291	£30
1908	Prestwick Golf Club	James Braid (4)		291	£30
1907	Royal Liverpool Golf Club	Arnaud Massy	collapsed	312	£30
1906	Muirfield	James Braid (3)		300	£30
1905	St Andrews	James Braid (2)		318	£30
1904	Royal St George's Golf Club	Jack White		296	£30
1903	Prestwick Golf Club	Harry Vardon (4)	Jersey	300	£30
1902	Royal Liverpool Golf Club	Sandy Herd		307	£30
1901	Muirfield	James Braid		309	£30
1900	St. Andrews	John Henry Taylor (3)		309	£30
1899	Royal St George's Golf Club	Harry Vardon (3)	Jersey	310	£30
1898	Prestwick Golf Club	Harry Vardon (2)	Jersey	307	£30
1897	Royal Liverpool Golf Club	Harold Hilton (Am) (2)		314	Am – £30
1896	Muirfield	Harry Vardon	Jersey	316 PO	£30
1895	St Andrews	John Henry Taylor (2)		332	£30
1894	Royal St George's Golf Club	John Henry Taylor		326	£30
1893	Prestwick Golf Club	William Auchterlonie		322	£30
1892	Muirfield	Harold Hilton (Am)		305	(Am)
1891	St Andrews	Hugh Kirkaldy		166	£10
1890	Prestwick Golf Club	John Ball (Am)		164	Am – £8
1889	Musselburgh Links	Willie Park, Jnr (2)		155PO	£8
1888	St Andrews	Jack Burns		171	£10
1887	Prestwick Golf Club	Willie Park, Jnr		161	£10
1886	Musselburgh Links	David Brown		157	£10
1885	St Andrews	Bob Martin (2)		171	£10
1884	Prestwick Golf Club	Jack Simpson		160	£10
1883	Musselburgh Links	Willie Fernie		159PO	£10
1882	St Andrews	Bob Ferguson (3)		171	£10
1881	Prestwick Golf Club	Bob Ferguson (2)		170	£10
1880	Musselburgh Links	Bob Ferguson		162	£10
1879	St Andrews	Jamie Anderson (3)		169	£10
1878	Prestwick Golf Club	Jamie Anderson (2)		157	£10
1877	Musselburgh Links	Jamie Anderson		160	£10
1876	St Andrews	Bob Martin		176	£10
1875	Prestwick Golf Club	Willie Park, Snr (4)		166	£6
1874	Musselburgh Links	Mungo Park		159	£6
1873	St Andrews	Tom Kidd		179	£6
1872	Prestwick Golf Club	Tom Morris, Jnr (4)		166	£6
1871	No Championship
1870	Prestwick Golf Club	Tom Morris, Jnr (3)		149	£6
1869	Prestwick Golf Club	Tom Morris, Jnr (2)		154	£6
1868	Prestwick Golf Club	Tom Morris, Jnr		157	£6
1867	Prestwick Golf Club	Tom Morris, Snr (4)		170	£6
1866	Prestwick Golf Club	Willie Park, Snr (3)		169	£6
1865	Prestwick Golf Club	Andrew Strath		162	£6
1864	Prestwick Golf Club	Tom Morris, Snr (3)		167	£6
1863	Prestwick Golf Club	Willie Park, Snr (2)		168
1862	Prestwick Golf Club	Tom Morris, Snr (2)		163
1861	Prestwick Golf Club	Tom Morris, Snr		163
1860	Prestwick Golf Club	Willie Park, Snr		174

National summary

Rank	Nation	Wins	Winners
T1	align=left	42	22
	align=left	42	27
3	align=left	20	12
4	align=left	9	4
5	align=left	8	3
6	Jersey	7	2
7		3	1
8	align=left	2	1
T9	align=left	1	1
	collapsed	1	1
	align=left	1	1
		1	1
		1	1

Multiple winners

Twenty-six players have won more than one Open Championship, to 2008 inclusive:

• 6 wins: Harry Vardon
• 5 wins: James Braid, John Henry Taylor, Peter Thomson, Tom Watson
• 4 wins: Walter Hagen, Bobby Locke, Old Tom Morris, Young Tom Morris, Willie Park, Snr
• 3 wins: Jamie Anderson, Seve Ballesteros, Henry Cotton, Nick Faldo, Bob Ferguson, Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tiger Woods
• 2 wins: Pádraig Harrington, Harold Hilton, Bob Martin, Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer, Willie Park, Jnr, Lee Trevino

Back-to-back winners

• Old Tom Morris, Scotland (1861, 1862); Young Tom Morris, Scotland (1868–1870); Jamie Anderson, Scotland (1877–1879); Bob Ferguson, Scotland (1880–1882); John Henry Taylor, England (1894, 1895); Harry Vardon, England (1898, 1899); James Braid, Scotland (1905, 1906); Bobby Jones, USA (1926, 1927); Walter Hagen, USA (1928, 1929); Bobby Locke, South Africa (1949, 1950); Peter Thomson, Australia (1954–1956); Arnold Palmer, USA (1961, 1962); Lee Trevino, USA (1971, 1972); Tom Watson, USA (1982, 1983); Tiger Woods, USA (2005, 2006); Pádraig Harrington, Ireland (2007, 2008)

Future sites

• 2010 St Andrews
• 2011 Royal St George's Golf Club
• 2012 Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
• 2013 Muirfield

Notes and references

1. Prize money for Open Champion remains at £750,000
2. The Open Championship - More Scottish than British
3. Claret Jug
4. Ryle Memorial Medal
5. Braid Taylor Memorial Medal
6. Tooting Bec Cup
7. Turnberry to host the 2009 Open
8. Title Unavailable
9. Birkdale 'will provide Open test'
10. The top ten best shots at the Open
11. Title Unavailable
12. Title Unavailable
13. Title Unavailable
14. Some sources still give 17 years, 5 months and 8 days (or 17 years, 161 days), but his birth certificate was discovered in 2006. See Notes: Young Tom Morris gets 20 days older, ''pgatour.com'', 1 August 2006.