As The Open is played on the Old Course at St Andrews for the 30th time we have all the interesting facts and figures from golf's oldest championship
How many times has The Open been played at St Andrews? Who won the first Open played there? Who has won The Open at St Andrews the most times? We have all the answers!
The first Open Championship took place on October 17, 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club. Prestwick hosted the first 12 Opens and would go on to stage 24 in total. Due to problems with overcrowding they hosted The Open for the final time in 1925.
The only other course to host more than 20 Open Championships is the Old Course at St Andrews. They have hosted it 29 times and in 2022, to celebrate the 150th Open, they will host the event for the 30th time.
The Old Course at St Andrews is considered the oldest golf course in the world, so it's very fitting that the oldest golf tournament has been hosted there the most times.
Unlike the first Open Championship held on the Old Course at St Andrews in 1873 where Tom Kidd competed against 26 other golfers for a prize of £11 golfers will be competing for a $2,500,000 (£2,080,850) winner's cheque!
Who has won The Open at St Andrews?
There have been 29 Champion Golfers of the Year who have been presented with the Claret Jug at St Andrews. In fact, Tom Kidd was the first to be presented with it in 1873. Young Tom Morris has the first name on the Claret Jug (1872) but the trophy wasn't ready to be presented that year.
| Year | Champion Golfer of the Year | Country | Field Size | Prize Money | Winner's Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1873 | Tom Kidd | Scotland | 27 | £25 | £11 |
| 1876 | Bob Martin (p) | Scotland | 34 | £27 | £10 |
| 1879 | Jamie Anderson | Scotland | 47 | £45 | £10 |
| 1882 | Bob Ferguson | Scotland | 40 | £45 15s | £12 |
| 1885 | Bob Martin | Scotland | 60 | £35 | £10 |
| 1888 | Jack Burns | Scotland | 53 | £20 | £8 |
| 1891 | Hugh Kirkaldy | Scotland | 84 | £28 10s | £10 |
| 1895 | J.H. Taylor | England | 73 | £90 | £30 |
| 1900 | J.H. Taylor | England | 81 | £115 | £50 |
| 1905 | James Braid | Scotland | 148 | £115 | £50 |
| 1910 | James Braid | Scotland | 210 | £125 | £50 |
| 1921 | Jock Hutchison | Scotland | 85 | £200 | £75 |
| 1927 | Bobby Jones (a) | America | 108 | £250 | £75 |
| 1933 | Denny Shute (p) | America | 117 | £500 | £100 |
| 1939 | Dick Burton | England | 129 | £500 | £100 |
| 1946 | Sam Snead | America | 100 | £1,000 | £150 |
| 1955 | Peter Thomson | Australia | 94 | £3,750 | £1,000 |
| 1957 | Bobby Locke | South Africa | 96 | £3,750 | £1,000 |
| 1960 | Kel Nagle | Australia | 72 | £7,000 | £1,250 |
| 1964 | Tony Lema | America | 120 | £8,500 | £1,500 |
| 1970 | Jack Nicklaus (p) | America | 134 | £40,000 | £5,250 |
| 1978 | Jack Nicklaus | America | 155 | £125,000 | £12,500 |
| 1984 | Seve Ballesteros | Spain | 156 | £425,000 | £55,000 |
| 1990 | Nick Faldo | England | 156 | £50,000 | £85,000 |
| 1995 | John Daly (p) | America | 159 | £1,250,000 | £125,000 |
| 2000 | Tiger Woods | America | 156 | £2,800,000 | £500,000 |
| 2005 | Tiger Woods | America | 156 | £4,000,000 | £720,000 |
| 2010 | Louis Oosthuizen | South Africa | 156 | £4,800,000 | £850,000 |
| 2015 | Zach Johnson (p) | America | 156 | £6,300,000 | £1,150,000 |
| 2022 | ??? | ??? | 156 | $14,000,000 | $2,500,000 |
Who will the 30th winner at St Andrews?
Four fun facts about The Open at St Andrews
- The most times any golfer has won The Open on the Old Course is twice. This has been achieved by Bob Martin (1876, 1885), J.H. Taylor (1895, 1900), James Braid (1905, 1910), Jack Nicklaus (1970, 1978) and Tiger Woods (2000, 2005).
- The Open at St Andrews has only been won by an amateur once when Bobby Jones lifted the trophy in 1927.
- Five Open Championships have ended up in a play-off. However, the play-off was not contested in 1876. Bob Martin tied with Davie Strath but Strath refused to take part in the play-off, so Martin took the title.
- The biggest winning margin of The Open on the Old Course was eight shots. Two players achieved this feat, 100 years apart! In 1900, J.H. Taylor won The Open for the third time by eight shots over Harry Vardon and in 2000, Tiger Woods won his Open Championship and fourth Major by eight shots over Thomas Bjorn and Ernie Els.
Did you know all these facts about The Open at St Andrews? We definitely learnt a few things whilst putting it together! Find out more interesting stats from The Open website here.
