15 Open Championship Records Every Golfer Should Know

Records were made to be broken. Some may fall at the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland, only time will tell.

Today we brake down 15 Open Championship records every fan should know before Royal Portrush if they want to sound like a well-educated fan of the game of golf.

The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland will be chock full of incredible story lines. Among those, are golfers chasing historical records.

Here we have 15 Open Championship records, from the oldest/youngest champions to the best scores in relation to par, and all sorts of other Open Championship records that will ensure you sound like a well-educated golfer.

The Most Open Championship Victories: 6

Over the 152 past Open Championships, there have been 27 golfers to win multiple British Opens. Of those 27, the honorable Harry Vardon won the most at 6.

Henry William Vardon, born in 1870 in Jersey, England, won the 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, and 1914 Open Championship which is just one more than the four golfers tied with 5 titles. For context, Tiger Woods won 3.

Most Consecutive Victories: 4

Among the five golfers with four Open Championship victories is the legendary Tom Morris Jr. aka ‘Young Tom Morris’ who won all four in a row. Young Tom Morris took down the 1868, 1869, 1870, and 1872 Open Championship as there was no championship held in 1871.

Most Open Championship Apperances: 46

Some how, some way, Gary Player managed to play in 46 consecutive Open Championships and holds the all-time record. His streak began in 1956 and he played in every single Open Championship until 2001.

A 3-time British Open champion, Gary Player won the Claret Jug in 1959, 1968, and 1974.

Golfers That Won Their Open Championship Debut: 10

Throughout the illustrious history of the Open Championship there have been 10 winners of the Claret Jug that won it all in their tournament debut. The first was Willie Park Senior at Prestwick in 1860. Some of the others include Tom Kidd at St Andrews in 1873, Ben Hogan at Carnoustie in 1953, Tom Watson at Carnoustie in 1975, and most recently Collin Morikawa at Royal St George’s in 2021.

READ NEXT: The 14 Golfers Most Likely To Win The 2025 Open Championship At Royal Portrush Golf Club

Greatest Backback By A Champion: 13 Strokes

Everyone loves a comeback story and over the years at the Open Championship there have been some truly historic comebacks.

Breaking it down into 18, 36, and 54-hole comebacks, we have Paul Lawrie in 1999 who made a 10-stroke 54-hole comeback to win. George Duncan 1920 made a 13-stroke comeback over 36 holes to win. And the largest single round comeback to win was Harry Vardon in 1896 who came from 11 strokes back to lift the Claret Jug.

Oldest Open Championship Winner: Old Tom Morris

We already know Young Tom Morris set the Open Championship record for the most consecutive wins. But his family holds other records, of course! Old Tom Morris, Tom Morris Sr., holds the Open Championship record as the oldest winner of the Claret Jug at 46 years and 99 days when he won in 1867.

Youngest Open Championship Winner: Young Tom Morris

Back on the list again is Young Tom Morris (Tom Morris Jr.) who set the Open Championship record as the youngest winner of the Claret Jug in history. When he won it in 1868, Tom Morris Jr. was just 17 years and 156 days old.

Greatest Open Championship Margin Of Victory: 13 Strokes

Not to be outshone by Young Tom Morris holding two Open Championship records, Old Tom Morris holds the record of the largest margin of victory.

At the 1862 Open Championship, Old Tom Morris beat the field by a record 13 strokes. It was the largest margin of victory in any major championship until Tiger Woods won by 15 at Pebble Beach back in 2000. What’s wild though is Old Tom Morris set his record in just 36 holes!

Lowest Open Championship Total By An Amateur: 277

Thus far we have mostly talked about professional records but the amateurs often shine at the Open Championship. Holding the Open Championship record for the lowest total by an Amateur was Jordan Niebrugge who finished in 277 strokes at the 2025 Open at St. Andrews with scores of 67, 73, 67, 70.

Zach Johnson won the 2015 British Open at -15 after winning a 3-way playoff against Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman. Brugge, the lowest amateur in Open history, finished at -11 and tied for 6th place. He beat out Koepka, Mickelson, and countless other greats that week.

Amateurs Who Won The Open Championship: 3

Speaking of amateur golfers, there have been three amateurs to win the Open Championship throughout the years for a combined 6 Claret Jugs.

John Ball Jr won the 1890 Open Championship at Prestwick. Amateur Harold Hilton won two, the 1892 Open at Muirfield and 1897 Open at Liverpool. Then the legendary Bobby Jones holds the Open Championship record for 3 (most by an amateur) winning in 2916 at Royal Lytham & St Annes, 1927 at St. Andrews, and in 1930 at Royal Liverpool.

Most Open Championship Appearances Before A Victory: 19

Sometimes it takes PGA Tour golfers a few trips across the pond before they really get their footing in the British Open. Other times, they just need to keep at it until things go their way.

The latter was the case for Darren Clarke in 2011 who won his first Open Championship after playing in 19 of them. Then Phil Mickelson tied Clarke’s Open Championship record at 19 when Lefty won it all in 2013.

Numer Of Left-Handed Champions: 3

Speaking of lefties, there have been three left-handed golfers to win the Open Championship throughout the years. Left-handed golfers are a rarity in professional golf compared to their right-handed counterparts but 3 still seems slim!

Those 3 include Bob Charles in 1963 at Royal Lytham & St Annes, Phil Mickelson in 2013 at Muirfield, and Brian Harman in 2023 at Royal Liverpool.

Wire-To-Wire Open Championship Winners: 7

While we are on the subject of unique champions, there have been 7 Open Championship golfers throughout the years to go wire-to-wire and hold the lead after each round. Those golfers include Ted Ray (1912), Bobby Jones (1927), Gene Sarazen (1932), Henry Cotton (1934), Tom Weiskopf (1973), Tiger Woods (2005), and Rory McIlroy (2014).

Lowest Open Championship Score To Par: -9

Two times in the history of the British Open Championship golfers have gone so low they made history. The first was in 1990 when Paul Broadhurst shot a 9-under round on Saturday.

Rory McIlroy, not to be outdone, matched the 9-under round in his first round of the Open Championship that year at the Old Course at St. Andrews.

READ NEXT: These 13 Courses Have Hosted The Most Open Championships

Lowest Final Open Championship Score To Par: -20

We love a golfer who goes low, don’t we? The lowest 18-hole score in the history of the British Open is a record held by a golfer you probably wouldn’t think of during a trivia round. In the third round of 2017, Branden Grace set an Open Championship record when he fired a 9-under 62.

But it is Henrik Stenson who holds the all-time Open Championship scoring record at -20 when he fired off rounds of 68-65-68-63 for a 72-hole total of 264 in 2016 at the Royal Troon Golf Club.