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 Bicycling Billiards Bodybuilding Bowling Boxing Car Racing Cheerleading 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 Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on 10/02/19 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, 1914 5: James Braid, 1901, 1905, 1906, 1908, 1910 5: J.H. Taylor, 1894, 1895, 1900, 1909, 1913 5: Peter Thomson, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965 5: 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, 1979 6: 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, 2016 267: Greg Norman, Royal St George's, 1993 268: Tom Watson, Turnberry, 1977 268: Nick Price, Turnberry, 1994 268: Jordan Spieth, Royal Birkdale, 2017 269: Tiger Woods, St. Andrews, 2000 270: 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, 2017 63: Mark Hayes, second round, Turnberry, 1977 63: Isao Aoki, third round, Muirfield, 1980 63: Greg Norman, second round, Turnberry, 1986 63: Paul Broadhurst, third round, St. Andrews, 1990 63: Jodie Mudd, fourth round, Royal Birkdale, 1991 63: Nick Faldo, second round, Royal St. George's, 1993 63: Payne Stewart, fourth round, Royal St George's, 1993 63: Rory McIlroy, first round, St. Andrews, 2010 63: Phil Mickelson, first round, Royal Troon, 2016 63: Henrik Stenson, fourth round, Royal Troon, 2016 63: Haotong Li, fourth round, Royal Birkdale, 2017 63: Shane Lowry, third round, Royal Portrush, 2019 Lowest 9-Hole Score28: Denis Durnian, front nine, Royal Birkdale, 1983 Largest Margin of Victory 13 strokes: Old Tom Morris, 1862 12 strokes: Young Tom Morris, 1870 11 strokes: Young Tom Morris, 1869 8 strokes: J.H. Taylor, 1900 8 strokes: J.H. Taylor, 1913 8 strokes: James Braid, 1908 8 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 Els 37: Nick Faldo 33: 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 days Roberto de Vicenzo, 1967, 44 years 93 days Harry Vardon, 1914, 44 years 41 days Youngest Winners Young Tom Morris, 1868, 17 years 5 months 8 days Willie Auchterlonie, 1893, 21 years 24 days Seve 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, 1896 Gene 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, 1914 J.H. Taylor - 1894, 1895, 1900, 1909, 1913 Gary Player - 1959, 1968, 1974 Longest Span Between First and Last Wins 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 Wire-to-Wire WinnersLeading after all four rounds, including ties for the lead: Harry Vardon, 1899 J.H. Taylor, 1900 Harry Vardon, 1903 Lee Trevino, 1971 Gary Player, 1974 Holding the outright lead after each round: Ted Ray, 1912 Bobby Jones, 1927 Gene Sarazen, 1932 Henry Cotton, 1934 Tom Weiskopf, 1973 Tiger 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: 29 Prestwick: 24 Muirfield: 16 Royal St. George's: 14 Royal Liverpool: 12 Royal Lytham & St. Annes: 11 Royal Birkdale: 9 Royal Troon: 9