The 150th Open

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The Open Championship golf course with dramatic links landscape

The history of

The 150th Open

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The Open Championship is the oldest of golf's four majors, first contested in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire. It has returned to the Old Course at St Andrews more than any other venue, and the 150th edition in 2022 marked a milestone that drew the game's greatest names back to the place where it all began. From eight professionals playing 36 holes for a leather belt to a global sporting event watched by hundreds of millions, The Open's history is the history of competitive golf itself.

A Scottish links golf course near the coast, reminiscent of the early Open Championship venues

A Scottish seaside town, evoking the coastal setting of early Open Championship venues

1860

Eight men, 36 holes, and a leather belt: The Open is born at Prestwick.

Eight professionals, a leather belt, and not a penny in prize money: this is how golf decided its greatest player.

On 17 October 1860, eight professional golfers teed off at Prestwick Golf Club to compete for the Challenge Belt, a red Moroccan leather strap with a silver buckle. Willie Park Sr. won with a score of 174 over three rounds of Prestwick's 12-hole course, beating Old Tom Morris by two strokes. There was no entry fee, no prize money, and no spectator stands. Just wind, links turf, and the small matter of deciding who was the best golfer in the land.

1873

The Open comes to St Andrews for the first time.

The Claret Jug wasn't even ready when Tom Kidd won it; he collected his prize retrospectively.

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Bobby JonesWinner of The Open Championship, 1926, 1927, 1930

The Old Course is the most fascinating golf course I have ever played. There is always a way at St Andrews, although it is not always the obvious way.

Bobby JonesWinner of The Open Championship, 1926, 1927, 1930

After Young Tom Morris won the Challenge Belt outright with three consecutive victories, a new trophy was commissioned: the Claret Jug, formally known as the Golf Champion Trophy. In 1873, the championship introduced a rotation between Prestwick, St Andrews, and Musselburgh. Tom Kidd won that first Open at St Andrews, and the Old Course began its long association with golf's oldest major. The Claret Jug itself was not ready in time; Kidd received it retrospectively.

1894

The Open crosses the border into England for the first time.

Golf links in Scotland with a clubhouse, representing the expansion of Open Championship venues

Sixteen Opens shared between three men; it started the moment Taylor claimed the first English title in 1894.

Royal St George's in Sandwich, Kent, became the first English venue to host The Open. J.H. Taylor won, heralding the era of the Great Triumvirate: Taylor, Harry Vardon, and James Braid, who between them won 16 Open Championships from 1894 to 1914. The expansion to English courses broadened the championship's reach and cemented its status as a truly national, then international, occasion.

1927

Bobby Jones and the Americans arrive at St Andrews.

View across the Old Course at St Andrews with the town in the background

From torn scorecard to Freedom of the Burgh; St Andrews forgave Jones, then claimed him entirely.

Bobby Jones won The Open at St Andrews in 1927, having famously torn up his scorecard and walked off the Old Course in frustration during his first visit in 1921. His return and triumph began a love affair with St Andrews that defined his career. Jones went on to complete the Grand Slam in 1930, winning all four major championships in a single year, a feat never repeated. His relationship with the town became so deep that he was granted the Freedom of the Burgh of St Andrews in 1958.

1960

Arnold Palmer's arrival transforms The Open into a global event.

Palmer finished one stroke short of the title, yet effectively won The Open for the world.

The Open's centenary year brought Arnold Palmer to St Andrews. He finished second, one stroke behind Kel Nagle, but his presence changed everything. Palmer's star power drew American attention back to a championship many top US players had been skipping. He returned to win in 1961 and 1962, and his commitment encouraged Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and a generation of international stars to make The Open a priority. The modern era of the championship begins here.

1970

Jack Nicklaus conquers the Old Course.

A bunker on the Old Course at St Andrews

A putt of under three feet stood between Sanders and glory; Nicklaus simply collected what Sanders left behind.

Nicklaus won his second Open Championship at St Andrews in 1970, beating Doug Sanders in an 18-hole playoff. Sanders had missed a putt of less than three feet on the 72nd hole that would have won him the title outright. It remains one of the most agonising moments in Open history. Nicklaus would win again at St Andrews in 1978, further cementing the Old Course's reputation as the stage where the game's greatest chapters are written.

1984

Seve Ballesteros punches the air on the 18th at St Andrews.

A green with flag on the Old Course at St Andrews

Ballesteros at St Andrews in 1984; the fist in the air said everything words could not.

Severiano Ballesteros won his second Open Championship at St Andrews in 1984, and his fist-pumping celebration on the final green became one of golf's most iconic images. The Spaniard's victory, by two strokes from Bernhard Langer and Tom Watson, showcased the creative, swashbuckling golf that made him a global star. Ballesteros had already won at Royal Lytham in 1979 at just 22, but St Andrews was where he truly belonged.

2000

Tiger Woods wins by eight shots in the most dominant Open ever played.

The fairway at St Andrews Old Course with the R&A Clubhouse in the distance

He played 72 holes at St Andrews without once finding a bunker. Over 100 of them. Not one.

Tiger Woods completed the career Grand Slam at St Andrews in 2000, winning by eight strokes at 19 under par. He did not find a single bunker all week on a course that has over 100 of them. It was a performance of such precision and power that it redefined what was thought possible on the Old Course. Woods won again at St Andrews in 2005, confirming his mastery of links golf and his place alongside Nicklaus and Jones in the pantheon of Open champions at the Home of Golf.

2022

Cameron Smith wins The 150th Open at the Home of Golf.

Spectators watching golfers at a championship tournament

Five birdies in six holes; Smith didn't just win the Claret Jug, he seized it.

The 150th Open Championship returned to St Andrews in July 2022, and Cameron Smith produced a final-round 64 to overhaul Rory McIlroy and claim the Claret Jug. The week was as much about celebration as competition. A Celebration of Champions occasion on the Monday brought together past winners, and the four-hole exhibition featured legends spanning decades of Open history. Over 290,000 spectators attended across the week, a record for the championship. The emotional centrepiece came on Friday, when Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and other former champions crossed the Swilcan Bridge in an unofficial farewell to the Old Course. Smith's victory, sealed with birdies on five of the last six holes, was a fitting conclusion to a milestone week.