Harry Vardon Won the Most Open Championships – 6

Tiger is in the hunt. After three rounds at the 2012 Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St Annes, Tiger Woods sits in fourth at -6. Woods will need to make a charge to win his fourth Open. He last won the British major in 2006 at Royal Liverpool.

Australian Adam Scott, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell and the United States’ Brandt Snedeker hold the top three positions. Scott and Snedeker are looking for their first major win. McDowell took the 2010 U.S. Open for his only major.

Here’s a twofer for today. First a look at golfers with the most Open Championship wins (everyone with at least two), followed by a look at those who won it back-to-back.

The Open is one of the most prestigious and oldest continuously-running sporting events in the world. Though there were only eight golfers competing, the first officially-recognized Open occurred over 150 years ago in 1860. Willie Park, Sr. defeated Old Tom Morris by two strokes at Prestwick Golf Club in that first tournament.

Many of the best Open golfers, by number of titles, played back in the wee days of the sport. Harry Vardon won six times, the most, in the late 1800′s and early 1900′s. He and other contemporaries played against smaller fields and weaker competition than today’s golfer. They reign amongst golfers with the most Open titles.

But, generally, up and down the entire list, there is a good mixture between the original ambassadors of the game (pre-1950) and the modern player (post-1950).

Sixteen of the 26 multiple winners have back-to-back victories to their credit.

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GOLFERS: MOST OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

GOLFERS: BACK-TO-BACK OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

* There was no Open in 1871

Photo: newspaper.li