The 12 Lowest Winning Scores In The History Of The British Open

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The British Open is golf’s oldest major, and thousands of competitors have gotten the chance to take on the links courses that have hosted the storied event that was first played in 1860. Earning the right to hoist the Claret Jug is easier said than done, but more than a few guys have managed to do exactly that while posting some impressively low scores over the course of the tournament.

Golf fans won’t be shocked to hear the U.S. Open has historically boasted the highest average winning score of any of the sport’s four majors. The British Open, on the other hand, tends to give players plenty of opportunities to finish well below par if their game is clicking.

That isn’t always the case, as inclement weather conditions have frequently thrown a wrench in things. However, that wasn’t really the case with the tournaments that ended with the winner posting one of the lowest scores in the history of the major officially known as “The Open.”

T-12. Tiger Woods: -14 (2005)

There are two people who’ve finished The British Open at -14, and we’ll start with the most recent.

It’s rare to make a list of notable golf achievements without including Tiger Woods, and this one is no exception.

This isn’t the only time he’ll be showing up here, as this is somehow the least impressive of the three wins Tiger had at the tournament. His second came in 2005 at St. Andrews, as he went wire-to-wire and finished at -14 while topping Colin Montgomerie by five strokes.

T-12. Lee Trevino: -14 (1971)

1971 was a very good year for Lee Trevino, who was just a few weeks removed from his second U.S. Open win when he headed to Royal Birkdale for the 100th edition of The British Open.

The fan favorite had a share of the lead at -4 on Thursday before taking sole possession at the top heading into the final 18 at -11, and he was ultimately able to get his first of back-to-back wins at the major while beating Lu Liang-Huan by a single stroke.

T-10. Collin Morikawa: -15 (2021)

We’ve got three guys who won by finishing at -15, and we’ll once again start with the most recent and work our way back.

2021 marked the first time Collin Morikawa had played in The British Open, and he wasn’t exactly the favorite to secure the Claret Jug at Royal St George’s.

However, he defied the odds while becoming the tenth golfer to emerge victorious in their debut at the major and became the first to do so since Ben Curtis in 2003 with a two-stroke win over Jordan Spieth.

T-10. Shane Lowry: -15 (2019)

Prior to 2019, Padraig Harrington was the only Irishman to get a poetic win in the British Open, and Shane Lowry joined that club by earning an especially satisfying victory when he became the first man born on the other side of the border to win one held in Northern Ireland when the major headed to Royal Portrush.

He also did it in commanding fashion, as he had a four-stroke lead heading into Sunday and ultimately beat Tommy Fleetwood by six to get what remains his only major championship.

T-10. Zach Johnson: -15 (2015)

Three men actually finished at -15 over the course of 72 holes when The British Open was held at St Andrews in 2015, as Zach Johnson, Louis Oosthuizen, and Marc Leishman needed a playoff to settle things.

Unfortunately for the last two men on that list, the first one is the only person who guaranteed they’d be remembered for their exceptional play that week, as Johnson ended up at -1 after the four-hole showdown where Oosthuizen finished with an E next to his name and Leishman came in at +2.

7. Louis Oosthuizen: -16 (2010)

Oosthuizen’s runner-up finish in 2015 was one of six times he’s come in second place at a major, and it probably would have stung a bit more if he hadn’t already gotten a British Open win of his own five years prior.

All of those Close But No Cigar Moments transpired after he got the lone major of his career at St Andrews, but he didn’t leave anything to doubt in 2010 after leaping out to a five-stroke lead prior to the start of the weekend en route to beating Lee Westwood by seven strokes.

6. Rory McIlroy: -17(2014)

It took Rory McIlroy more than a decade to cap off the career grand slam with a win at The Masters in 2025—a box he’d had the chance to check at Augusta National since winning The British Open at Royal Liverpool in 2014.

McIlroy is the second man we’ve mentioned so far who went wire-to-wire, as he had a one-stroke lead over Matteo Manassero after the opening round and was able to extend his margin over the rest of the field to six heading into Sunday.

We were treated to a little bit of drama when he capped off the tournament with a 71 after a 66-66-68 run, but he was still able to ward off the comeback bids of Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia while beating them both by two strokes.

T-5. Tiger Woods: -18 (2006)

He’s baaack!

Tiger Woods successfully defended his crown when The Open returned to Royal Liverpool in 2006 and did so by outdoing his performance from the year before.

He did face some stiffer competition, as Chris DiMarco and Ernie Els were both in contention over the last few days of the tournament. The former finished at -16, which marked the second time he ended up as the runner-up to Tiger in a major after finishing in the same place at The Masters in 2005.

T-5. Nick Faldo: -18 (1990)

Half of the six majors Nick Faldo earned came at The British Open (his other three were at The Masters), and none of those performances topped the one he put on at St Andrews in 1990.

Faldo tamed the Old Course while shooting 67-65-67 over his first three rounds, and while he faltered a bit with a 71 on Sunday, he didn’t really have to worry about the end result when you consider Mark McNulty and Payne Stewart finished five strokes behind him in a tie for second.

3. Tiger Woods: -19 (2000)

He’s baaaaack…again.

Tiger’s first British Open victory was also his most impressive. He not only finished at -19 (a tournament record at the time) but beat Thomas Bjørn and Ernie Els by eight strokes to set a record for the largest margin of victory at the major that still stands to this day.

T-1. Cameron Smith: -20 (2022)

As things currently stand, two golfers are tied for the honor of the lowest winning score at the major, and we’ll be following the same formula I have been while closing things out.

The British Open at St Andrews in 2022 was a very low-scoring affair, as Cameron Young came in second place at -19 while Rory McIlroy finished in third at -18.

Both of those scores would have been enough to get a win in a typical year, but that was not the case thanks to Cameron Young’s ability to become one of two men who’ve broken the -20 threshold at the major—a club that was previously only home to…

T-1. Henrik Stenson: -20 (2016)

Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson spent the bulk of the 2016 British Open battling for the top spot on the leaderboard, and it seemed like Sunday was going to feature plenty of drama as the former headed into the final 18 holes with a two-stroke lead over the latter.

Lefty had gotten off to a hot start at Royal Troon by shooting a 63 on Thursday, and while he closed things out in a similarly impressive manner with a 65, Stenson matched his score in the opening round to finish his final one at -20 and win by three strokes.