The 153rd edition of the Open Championship, the greatest of the greats due to its long, unparalleled, and legendary history, is just around the corner. Only a few hours remain before play begins at the Dunluce course of Royal Portrush, a beautiful and challenging design by Harry Colt, perhaps his masterpiece, officially opened for play in 1933. This is the third time this course hosts the Open. The first was in 1951, with a victory by the Englishman Max Faulkner; and the second did not take place until almost seventy years later, in 2019, with the triumph of an Irishman, Shane Lowry. Naturally, Faulkner is no longer with us (he passed away in 2005 at the age of 88), so Lowry is the only one who could repeat a win at an Open on this course, which would undoubtedly be a remarkable feat considering the history…
It hasn’t happened many times that a player has repeated a victory at the Open on the same course. Since Prestwick Golf Club ceased to be the sole venue (1860-1872) and was introduced into that first rotation of British Open courses, along with Musselburgh and the Old course at St. Andrews, only ten players have managed to repeat a victory on the same course. Most of them, moreover, are names with extraordinary weight in the history of golf.
As will be seen, only two of these ten players also managed to repeat a victory on two different courses, a true feat. They were Harry Vardon and James Braid. Let’s go step by step and consider each of the fourteen courses where the Open has been played in these first 152 editions already held.
– At Prestwick, the first twelve editions were played (they don’t count for this study, logically) and then another twelve between 1873 and 1925, within a rotation of courses that gradually expanded the number of venues. Well, in those twelve subsequent editions, only one player was able to win more than once at Prestwick, Harry Vardon, who did so on three occasions (1898, 1903, and 1914), being the only one to have won three times on a rotation course in the entire history of the tournament.
– At the Old course at St. Andrews, thirty editions have been played, and we have up to five players who have repeated victories: Bob Martin (1876 and 1885), J. H. Taylor (1895 and 1900), James Braid (1905 and 1910), Jack Nicklaus (1970 and 1978), and Tiger Woods (2000 and 2005).
– At Musselburgh, six editions were held, and no one repeated a victory.
– At Muirfield, 16 editions have been held, and only two players repeated: James Braid appears again (1901 and 1906), and the other is much more recent, Nick Faldo (1987 and 1992).
– At Royal St. Georges, fifteen editions have been held, and again only two players repeated victories. Harry Vardon appears again (1899 and 1911) and Walter Hagen (1922 and 1928).
– At Royal Liverpool, thirteen editions have been held, and no one has ever repeated a victory so far. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Brian Harman are the only active players who already have the first…
– At Royal Troon, ten editions have been held, and no one has repeated so far.
– At Royal Lytham & St. Annes, eleven editions have been played, and only one player has repeated a victory, the great Seve Ballesteros (1979 and 1988).
– At Carnoustie, eight editions have been held, and no one has repeated so far.
– At Royal Birkdale, ten editions have been played, and only one player has repeated a victory, Peter Thomson (1954 and 1965).
– At Turnberry, four editions were played, and no one repeated.
– At Royal Cinque Ports, only two editions were played, and no one repeated.
– At Prince’s, only one edition was played.
– And at Royal Portrush, the two editions already mentioned, with victories by Faulkner and Lowry.
As you can see, in this list we find figures like Vardon, Braid, Hagen, Thomson, Nicklaus, Woods, Faldo, or Ballesteros, who form a significant part of the backbone of golf history. Not much more to add. Lowry’s challenge is therefore fabulous.
