# Top 26 British Open Champions of All Time

> From Victorian-era pioneers in tweed to modern major winners chasing history, this lineup spans more than 160 years of links golf greatness. Who deserves the Claret Jug title of all time?

*By YPB Team · Published July 14, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/top-26-british-open-champions-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Harry Vardon** — score 1000/1000
   Holds the all-time record with 6 Open titles between 1896 and 1914, the benchmark by which every champion is measured.
2. **Bobby Jones** — score 789/1000
   Won 3 Opens as an amateur, capping his historic 1930 Grand Slam year at St Andrews before retiring at 28.
3. **Rory McIlroy** — score 744/1000
   Won wire-to-wire at Royal Liverpool in 2014, his first Claret Jug on the way to a career Grand Slam bid.
4. **Phil Mickelson** — score 663/1000
   Won in 2013 at Muirfield with a closing 66 widely regarded as one of the great final rounds in major championship history.
5. **Nick Faldo** — score 609/1000
   Won 3 Opens with ice-cold consistency, becoming Europe's dominant links player of his generation.
6. **Ernie Els** — score 546/1000
   Won 2 Opens bookending his career, showcasing his smooth swing on links terrain.
7. **Bobby Locke** — score 473/1000
   Won 4 Opens between 1949 and 1957, the dominant South African putter of his era.
8. **Tom Watson** — score 473/1000
   Won 5 Opens across different links courses and nearly won a 6th at age 59 in 2009.
9. **Peter Thomson** — score 473/1000
   Won 5 Opens including 3 in a row, dominating post-war links golf as Australia's greatest champion.
10. **Willie Park Sr.** — score 473/1000
   Won the inaugural 1860 Open and 4 titles overall in golf's first great rivalry with Old Tom Morris.
11. **Ben Hogan** — score 473/1000
   Won his only Open appearance in 1953 at Carnoustie, completing one of golf's greatest single seasons.
12. **Jack Nicklaus** — score 473/1000
   Won 3 Opens and finished runner-up a record 7 times, cementing his case as the greatest player in golf history.
13. **Young Tom Morris** — score 387/1000
   Won 4 straight Opens from 1868 to 1872, permanently retiring the Challenge Belt as the youngest major champion ever at 17.
14. **Arnold Palmer** — score 387/1000
   Won 2 Opens and is credited with reviving American professionals' interest in competing at the Open.
15. **Padraig Harrington** — score 387/1000
   Won back-to-back Opens in 2007 and 2008, the last European champion before McIlroy's 2014 breakthrough.
16. **Old Tom Morris** — score 387/1000
   Won 4 Opens between 1861 and 1867 as one of golf's founding fathers and the sport's first true professional star.
17. **Seve Ballesteros** — score 387/1000
   Won 3 Opens with flair and creativity, becoming the first continental European champion since 1907.
18. **Walter Hagen** — score 284/1000
   Won 4 Opens and was the first American-born golfer to dominate the Championship, elevating professional golfers' status worldwide.
19. **Gary Player** — score 284/1000
   Won 3 Opens across three decades as part of his career Grand Slam and global golf legacy.
20. **James Braid** — score 284/1000
   Won 5 Opens between 1901 and 1910 as part of the 'Great Triumvirate,' later a renowned course architect.
21. **Tiger Woods** — score 284/1000
   Won 3 Opens including a record-tying 8-shot romp at St Andrews in 2000 without hitting a single fairway bunker.
22. **Tony Jacklin** — score 284/1000
   Won in 1969, the only Englishman to claim the Claret Jug between 1951 and 1992.
23. **Shane Lowry** — score 284/1000
   Won in 2019 at Royal Portrush in an emotional homecoming victory, the first Open held in Northern Ireland since 1951.
24. **Greg Norman** — score 158/1000
   Won 2 Opens including a then-record 267 total at Royal St George's in 1993.
25. **J.H. Taylor** — score 158/1000
   Won 5 Opens as a member of golf's legendary 'Great Triumvirate,' helping professionalize the sport.
26. **Henry Cotton** — score 158/1000
   Won 3 Opens between 1934 and 1948, restoring British pride and bridging the Vardon era with postwar golf.

Tags: sports, golf, tournaments, british open