Blog Archives
Tiger Woods and Golfers with the Most (British) Open and Back-to-Back Championships
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.
Follow me on Twitter @VinGetz.
GOLFERS: MOST OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
| 1. | Harry Vardon | 6 | Jersey | 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914 |
| 2. | James Braid | 5 | Scotland | 1901, 1905, 1906, 1908, 1910 |
| 2. | John Henry Taylor | 5 | England | 1894, 1895, 1900, 1909, 1913 |
| 2. | Peter Thomson | 5 | Australia | 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965 |
| 2. | Tom Watson | 5 | United States | 1975, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983 |
| 6. | Tom Morris, Sr. | 4 | Scotland | 1861, 1862, 1864, 1867 |
| 6. | Tom Morris, Jr. | 4 | Scotland | 1868, 1869, 1870, 1872 |
| 6. | Willie Park, Sr. | 4 | Scotland | 1860, 1863, 1866, 1875 |
| 6. | Walter Hagen | 4 | United States | 1922, 1924, 1928, 1929 |
| 6. | Bobby Locke | 4 | South Africa | 1949, 1950, 1952, 1957 |
| 11. | Jamie Anderson | 3 | Scotland | 1877, 1878, 1879 |
| 11. | Bob Ferguson | 3 | Scotland | 1880, 1881, 1882 |
| 11. | Bobby Jones | 3 | United States | 1926, 1927, 1930 |
| 11. | Henry Cotton | 3 | England | 1934, 1937, 1948 |
| 11. | Gary Player | 3 | South Africa | 1959, 1968, 1974 |
| 11. | Jack Nicklaus | 3 | United States | 1966, 1970, 1978 |
| 11. | Seve Ballesteros | 3 | Spain | 1979, 1984, 1988 |
| 11. | Nick Faldo | 3 | England | 1987, 1990, 1992 |
| 11. | Tiger Woods | 3 | United States | 2000, 2005, 2006 |
| 20. | Bob Martin | 2 | Scotland | 1876, 1885 |
| 20. | Willie Park, Jr. | 2 | Scotland | 1887, 1889 |
| 20. | Harold Hilton | 2 | England | 1892, 1897 |
| 20. | Arnold Palmer | 2 | United States | 1961, 1962 |
| 20. | Lee Trevino | 2 | United States | 1971, 1972 |
| 20. | Greg Norman | 2 | Australia | 1986, 1993 |
| 20. | Pádraig Harrington | 2 | Ireland | 2007, 2008 |
GOLFERS: BACK-TO-BACK OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
| Tom Morris, Sr. | Scotland | 1861, 1862 |
| Tom Morris, Jr. | Scotland | 1868-1870, 1872* |
| Jamie Anderson | Scotland | 1877-1879 |
| Bob Ferguson | Scotland | 1880-1882 |
| John Henry Taylor | England | 1894, 1895 |
| Harry Vardon | Jersey | 1898, 1899 |
| James Braid | Scotland | 1905, 1906 |
| Bobby Jones | United States | 1926, 1927 |
| Walter Hagan | United States | 1928, 1929 |
| Bobby Locke | South Africa | 1949, 1950 |
| Peter Thompson | Australia | 1954-1956 |
| Arnold Palmer | United States | 1961, 1962 |
| Lee Trevino | United States | 1971, 1972 |
| Tom Watson | United States | 1982, 1983 |
| Tiger Woods | United States | 2005, 2006 |
| Pádraig Harrington | Ireland | 2007, 2008 |
* There was no Open in 1871
Photo: newspaper.li
Summer Olympics: Top 20 Countries with the Most Boxing Medals
Muhammad Ali and Teofilo Stevenson, Olympic Gold Medalists for the USA and Cuba, Respectively
So, which countries are the most pugilistic?
The United States, Cuba and the Soviet Union have the most Summer Olympics Boxing medals of any country. The U.S. and Cuba are also way ahead of the pack in terms of Olympic gold.
Here are the top 20 countries with the most Olympic Boxing medals.
Surprises? How about Great Britain and Italy rounding out the top five in total and gold medals? France and South Korea in 12th? And, towards the bottom, Kazakhstan and Thailand making the list?
Follow Olympic coverage at Sports List of the Day and me on Twitter @VinGetz.
| COUNTRY | TOTAL | GOLD | SILVER | BRONZE | |
| 1. | United States | 108 | 48 | 23 | 37 |
| 2 | Cuba | 63 | 32 | 19 | 12 |
| 3. | Soviet Union | 51 | 14 | 19 | 18 |
| 4. | Great Britain | 48 | 14 | 11 | 23 |
| 5. | Italy | 44 | 15 | 13 | 16 |
| 6. | Poland | 43 | 8 | 9 | 26 |
| 7. | Germany | 28 | 5 | 12 | 11 |
| 8. | Romania | 25 | 1 | 9 | 15 |
| 9. | Argentina | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 10. | Hungary | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 |
| 10. | Russia | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 |
| 12. | South Africa | 19 | 6 | 4 | 9 |
| 12. | France | 19 | 4 | 7 | 8 |
| 12. | South Korea | 19 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| 15. | Bulgaria | 17 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
| 15. | Canada | 17 | 3 | 7 | 7 |
| 17 | Finland | 14 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 18. | Kazakhstan | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| 18. | East Germany | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| 18. | Thailand | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
Photo: miamiherald.com
MLB: Lou Gehrig, Hack Wilson and the Top 20 Players with the Most RBI in a Single Season
Hack Wilson – Most RBI in a Single Season
At the midpoint, the Texas Rangers‘ Josh Hamilton has knocked in 76 runs. The Detroit Tigers‘ Miguel Cabrera has knocked in 73.
Those are some serious numbers before the second half of the season. We’re looking at upwards of 140 RBI for the year if these guys keep it up.
But such a number still can’t touch baseball’s all-time RBI seasons, listed below, and dominated by the Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig, who appears four times. His Yankee teammate, you might have heard of him, Babe Ruth, appears thrice.
But it’s the Chicago Cubs‘ Hack Wilson who tops everyone with his (unbreakable?) 191 RBI in 1930.
1930 was quite a year in baseball. Four of the greatest RBI seasons ever occurred that year – Wilson (191), Gehrig (174), Chuck Klein (170) and Al Simmons (165). They all made the list.
Manny Ramirez is the only modern player in the list. His 165 RBI in 1999 was the most for a player since 1938.
Follow me on Twitter @VinGetz.
| 1. | Hack Wilson | 191 | 1930 | Chicago Cubs | R |
| 2. | Lou Gehrig | 184 | 1931 | New York Yankees | L |
| 3. | Hank Greenberg | 183 | 1937 | Detroit Tigers | R |
| 4. | Jimmie Foxx | 175 | 1938 | Boston Red Sox | R |
| 4. | Lou Gehrig | 175 | 1927 | New York Yankees | L |
| 6. | Lou Gehrig | 174 | 1930 | New York Yankees | L |
| 7. | Babe Ruth | 171 | 1921 | New York Yankees | L |
| 8. | Hank Greenberg | 170 | 1935 | Detroit Tigers | R |
| 8. | Chuck Klein | 170 | 1930 | Philadelphia Phillies | L |
| 10. | Jimmie Foxx | 169 | 1932 | Philadelphia A’s | R |
| 11. | Joe DiMaggio | 167 | 1937 | New York Yankees | R |
| 12. | Sam Thompson | 166 | 1887 | Detroit Wolverines | L |
| 13. | Lou Gehrig | 165 | 1934 | New York Yankees | L |
| 13. | Manny Ramirez | 165 | 1999 | Cleveland Indians | R |
| 13. | Al Simmons | 165 | 1930 | Philadelphia A’s | R |
| 13. | Sam Thompson | 165 | 1895 | Philadelphia Phillies | L |
| 17. | Babe Ruth | 164 | 1927 | New York Yankees | L |
| 18. | Jimmie Foxx | 163 | 1933 | Philadelphia A’s | R |
| 18. | Babe Ruth | 163 | 1931 | New York Yankees | L |
| 20. | Hal Trosky | 162 | 1936 | Cleveland Indians | L |
Photo: fromdeeprightfield.com
