Activities Sports & Athletics All-Time Bests From the British Open Share PINTEREST Email Print Simon Bruty / Getty Images Sports & Athletics Golf Golf Tournaments Basics History Gear Golf Courses Famous Golfers Baseball Basketball Bicycling Billiards Bodybuilding Bowling Boxing Car Racing Cheerleading Cricket Extreme Sports Football Gymnastics Ice Hockey Martial Arts Professional Wrestling Skateboarding Skating Paintball Soccer Swimming & Diving Table Tennis Tennis Track & Field Volleyball Other Activities Learn More Table of Contents Expand Most Victories Most Second-Place Finishes Scoring Records Age-Related Records Top Finishes Miscellaneous Records by Brent Kelley Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism. Updated July 01, 2018 Which golfers hold the tournament records at the British Open? You can browse through various categories—wins, scores, youngest/oldest, and more—to view the tournament's top golfers. You can also find more historical facts and figures on the British Open FAQ and British Open Winners pages. Most Victories 6 career wins: Harry Vardon, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 19145: James Braid, 1901, 1905, 1906, 1908, 19105: J.H. Taylor, 1894, 1895, 1900, 1909, 19135: Peter Thomson, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 19655: Tom Watson, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983 Vardon and Jack Nicklaus (at The Masters) are the only 6-time winners at any of golf's four professional majors. Most Second-Place Finishes 7: Jack Nicklaus, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1977, 19796: J.H. Taylor, 1896, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1914 Nicklaus had three victories to go along with his seven runner-up finishes, and those seven second-place finishes are the record at any of the four majors. Scoring Records Here are the tournament records that relate to scores: overall totals plus 18-hole and 9-hole scores, along with a few relating to margins, comebacks and the like. Lowest Winning Scores 264: Henrik Stenson, Royal Troon, 2016267: Greg Norman, Royal St George's, 1993268: Tom Watson, Turnberry, 1977268: Nick Price, Turnberry, 1994268: Jordan Spieth, Royal Birkdale, 2017269: Tiger Woods, St. Andrews, 2000270: Nick Faldo, St. Andrews, 1990; Tiger Woods, Royal Liverpool, 2006 Lowest Winning Scores in Relation to Par 20-under: Henrik Stenson, Royal Troon, 201619-under: Tiger Woods, St Andrews, 200018-under: Nick Faldo, St Andrews, 199018-under: Tiger Woods, Hoylake, 2006 Lowest 72-Hole Scores by Amateurs 281: Iain Pyman, Royal St George's, 1993281: Tiger Woods, Royal Lytham, 1996282: Justin Rose, Royal Birkdale, 1998282: Matteo Manassero, Turnberry, 2009283: Guy Wolstenhome, St Andrews, 1960283: Lloyd Saltman, St Andrews, 2005 Lowest 18-Hole Score 62: Branden Grace, third round, Royal Birkdale, 201763: Mark Hayes, second round, Turnberry, 197763: Isao Aoki, third round, Muirfield, 198063: Greg Norman, second round, Turnberry, 198663: Paul Broadhurst, third round, St. Andrews, 199063: Jodie Mudd, fourth round, Royal Birkdale, 199163: Nick Faldo, second round, Royal St. George's, 199363: Payne Stewart, fourth round, Royal St George's, 199363: Rory McIlroy, first round, St. Andrews, 201063: Phil Mickelson, first round, Royal Troon, 201663: Henrik Stenson, fourth round, Royal Troon, 201663: Haotong Li, fourth round, Royal Birkdale, 2017 Lowest 9-Hole Score28: Denis Durnian, front nine, Royal Birkdale, 1983 Largest Margin of Victory 13 strokes: Old Tom Morris, 186212 strokes: Young Tom Morris, 187011 strokes: Young Tom Morris, 18698 strokes: J.H. Taylor, 19008 strokes: J.H. Taylor, 19138 strokes: James Braid, 19088 strokes: Tiger Woods 2000 Biggest Final-Round Comeback to Win10 strokes: Paul Lawrie, 1999 (Lawrie began the final round 10 shots off the lead) Biggest 54-Hole Lead Lost5 strokes: Macdonald Smith, 1925; Jean Van de Velde, 1999 Most Career Rounds in the 60s 39: Ernie Els37: Nick Faldo33: Jack Nicklaus Age-Related Records Following are records relating to the youngest and oldest champions, plus the youngest/oldest to play in this major. Oldest Winners Old Tom Morris, 1867, 46 years 99 daysRoberto de Vicenzo, 1967, 44 years 93 daysHarry Vardon, 1914, 44 years 41 days Youngest Winners Young Tom Morris, 1868, 17 years 5 months 8 daysWillie Auchterlonie, 1893, 21 years 24 daysSeve Ballesteros, 1979, 22 years 3 months 12 days Youngest Competitor Young Tom Morris, 14 years 4 months, 25 days, 1865 Oldest Competitor Old Tom Morris, 74 years, 11 months, 24 days, 1896Gene Sarazen, 74 years, 4 months, 9 days, 1976 Top Finishes Here are few more victory-related tournament records at the Open Championship: Players Who Won the Open in Three Decades Harry Vardon - 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914J.H. Taylor - 1894, 1895, 1900, 1909, 1913Gary Player - 1959, 1968, 1974 Longest Span Between First and Last Wins 19 years: J.H. Taylor, 1894 – 191318 years: Harry Vardon, 1896 – 191415 years: Gary Player, 1959 – 7415 years: Willie Park, 1860-7514 years: Henry Cotton, 1934 - 48 Wire-to-Wire WinnersLeading after all four rounds, including ties for the lead: Harry Vardon, 1899J.H. Taylor, 1900Harry Vardon, 1903Lee Trevino, 1971Gary Player, 1974 Holding the outright lead after each round: Ted Ray, 1912Bobby Jones, 1927Gene Sarazen, 1932Henry Cotton, 1934Tom Weiskopf, 1973Tiger Woods, 2005 Most Consecutive Wins 4 in a row: Young Tom Morris, 1868-72 (tournament not played in 1871)3 in a row: Jamie Anderson, 1877-793: Bob Ferguson, 1880-823: Peter Thomson, 1954-56 Most Top-5 Finishes 16: J.H Taylor16: Jack Nicklaus15: Harry Vardon15: James Braid Miscellaneous Records Most Appearances 46: Gary Player38: Jack Nicklaus Most Frequent Venues St. Andrews: 29Prestwick: 24Muirfield: 16Royal St. George's: 14Royal Liverpool: 12Royal Lytham & St. Annes: 11Royal Birkdale: 9Royal Troon: 9 Continue Reading