Top 10 players to win most Open Championships
The Open Championship is one of the oldest and most prestigious competitions in the world of golf. This year it will see an increase in the total prize purse and final pool. Here is a list of the past ten winners of this iconic event

Shane Lowry, Cameron Smith, Collin Morikawa [Image Credit: Links Magazine, The Boston Globe, Golf Digest]
The golfing world might be going through some drastic changes right now with the whole merger thing. While the future of golf continues to remain unclear, the events continue to come in at a rapid speed. The players are now preparing for the 151st Open Championship, which has increased prize money for the winner.
As per the tournament organizers, the purse has been increased to $16.5 million this year. The last of the four majors in the year, the winner will bag an astonishing $3 million from winning the event at Royal Liverpool this year. Previously the total amount in the tournament was around $14 million, with the eventual winner earning $2.5 million for their efforts.
This announcement follows the trend in the increase of prize purse. The other three majors also saw an increase with the recent US Open reaching up to $20 million. The winner of that event – Wyndham Clark collected $3.6 million as a reward for finishing on top. Several big names are gonna compete in the tournament, but who will walk away with the grand prize, will be interesting to see.
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List of past 10 winners of the Open Championship
2012: Ernie Else

In a tight 2012 Open championship, South Africa’s Ernie Els stun Adam Scott and win the tournament. He would finish seven-under 273 to finish one stroke clear of his rival. However, it was not the way he would have hoped to win. Scott who was leading the tournament till the final phases, failed to preserve his lead. His failure at the 16th and 17th holes played a big role in his loss from a very winning position.
This turned out to be Els’ second triumph at the Open Championship, with his first coming a decade ago in 2002. He had previously finished as a runner-up in 2004 through play-off rounds. He is one of the very few who can call themselves a multi-time Open champion.
2013: Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson has been established as one of the charismatic personalities of golf. The 53-year-old veteran has conquered it all (except the US Open) in his career. The Lefty shot three-under 281 to finish three strokes clear of Henrik Stenson. With this win, he opened up his chance to complete the exclusive grand slam. However, things have not worked out well for him and he is still one major short of it.
This was his fifth major triumph. He had to wait another eight years to claim his sixth major title. As of 2023, Mickelson is a key face of the LIV Golf and continues to stand beside the Saudi-funded tour.
2014: Rory McIlroy

One of the most renowned and famous names in golf is Rory McIlroy. The North Irishman has emerged as one of the greats of golf. In 2014, he was at the height of his powers and won the Open, finishing two strokes ahead of Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia. He finished 17-under 271 to claim his third major championship back then.
Since then McIlroy has been unable to repeat his 2014 heroics. Right now he is mixed up with the PGA-LIV merger. Fans would be hoping he can keep this aside and finally grab another major in his illustrious career.
2015: Zach Johnson

The 2015 Open was as close as it gets. This is the only tournament in the last ten years where the winner was decided by a playoff round. American international Zach Johnson emerged victorious from a three-way playoff round by beating Australia’s Marc Leishman and South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen. All three golfers had a great tournament but the winner was decided on Monday.
Johnson would eventually edge out his rivals to claim his second major title. His first was the 2007 Masters. Johnson is still going strong in 2023 and s currently the team captain of the US Ryder Cup squad.
2016: Henrik Stenson

The 145th Open saw another European claim the top prize. Sweden’ Henrik Stenson. Ranked number six back then he went head-to-head with one of golf’ greats Phil Mickelson. This was the reverse of the final standings in the 2013 Open. The final duel between the duo is well-loved by the fans of golf. He shot eight-under 63 to finish 20-under 264, to finish three strokes clear of his American counterpart.
His ten birdies made it the 29th time a player had shot 63 or under in the final round. Though they were criticized for the slow play, it turned out to be a spectacular watch for the fans of this ever-lasting sport.
2017: Jordan Spieth

This victory by Jordan Spieth in 2017 was a great example of how you cannot be at your very best but still win. In the first three days, the Texan golfer had made four bogeys. By the time the event reached its conclusion, he had made another three. His three-shot lead had narrowed down to win and he almost choke it. However, he managed to get his composure back.
The then 23-year-old would eventually finish at 12-under 268 to win the event by three strokes. Runner-up Matt Kucher tried his best to topple him down but was unable to do so and had to settle for a second-place finish.
2018: Francesco Molinari

The 2018 event was one of the most competitive ones. A huge pack of four players finished tied for second place. Kevin Kisner, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy, and Xander Schauffele all finished as runners-up. The man who topped them was Francesco Molinari. He became the first Italian to win the prestigious event and took home the top prize.
He was able to produce two-under 69 in the final round to win the tournament. The Italian faced off some strong windy conditions to finish eight-under to knock down his challengers. To make things more interesting, Tiger Woods and Jordan Speith both finished with five-under. This is enough to prove the competitive level that year.
2019: Shane Lowry

As the event did not take place in 2020 due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, Shane Lowry managed to hold on to his Open championship triumph for two years. The then 32-year-old Irishman claimed the biggest victory of his career when he won the tournament. Despite the weather conditions against him, he was determined to get the job done.
He managed one-over-par 72, to finish six strokes ahead of runner-up Tommy Fleetwood. He was left extremely emotional after the win and cracked down while celebrating his win. Lowry went on to dedicate this win to his parents by positing a final score of 15-under 269.
2021: Collin Morikawa

One person who took the golf world by storm in 2021 was Collin Morikawa. Two years before in 2019, he was ranked out of the top 1000 players in the world. In the span of two years, he improved drastically. Having won the PGA Championship on his debut, he would go on to stun the world, by winning the Open on his first try as well.
It was however not as simple as it sounds. He entered the final day, trailing the leader, Louis Oosthuizen by three strokes. Morikawa managed to land three straight birdies and toppled him. He eventually went on to win the event, two strokes ahead of runner-up Jordan Speith.
2022: Cameron Smith

Starting high on this list is the defending champion, Cameron Smith. The Australian international has emerged as a big name in the past few months. He will head into the greens at Royal Liverpool with sky-high confidence. His recent victory at the LIV Golf London is a key reason for it. His recent performance has made him one of the favorites to win this year’s event and successfully defend his crown.
Last year Smith shot eight-under-par 64 to record 20-under 264 for the competition. This was the lowest score at St Andrew’s and broke the previous record set by Tiger Woods. He would fend off the likes of Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young to win the Claret Jug.
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Vinay Dave
(1846 Articles Published)