A brief history of Opens at St Andrews

Great champions

On claiming his first Claret Jug in 1970, Jack Nicklaus famously said: “If you’re gonna be a player that’s gonna be remembered, you must win at St Andrews.”

The calibre of recent champions at the Old Course certainly backs up that statement.

Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have each won twice at St Andrews in back-to-back appearances, cementing their positions among the game’s greats.

In addition, Sam Snead, Bobby Locke, Peter Thomson, Seve Ballesteros and Sir Nick Faldo have all prevailed at the home of golf since 1946, making for an astonishing list of champion golfers.

In all, St Andrews’ 12 post-war champions hold a remarkable 67 major titles between them.