Why is the winner of The Open Championship called the Champion Golfer of the Year?

The Open Championship is one of the four men's golf majors, but it is also the oldest active golf tournament in the world. It is an event full of traditions that make it especially attractive to players from any country.

One of the most notable traditions of The Open Championship is the name given to the winner: Champion Golfer of the Year. It is a name that has a deeply historic origin.

To understand why the winner of The Open is called Champion Golfer of the Year, one must go back to the tournament's roots. It all began with the death of a professional golfer named Allan Robertson.

Robertson was not just any golfer, he was widely considered to be the best in the world in the mid 1800's (remember, golf was just beginning to be played outside of what is now the United Kingdom). His statistics were never recorded, but tradition has it that he never lost a golf match played for money.

As it happened, Robertson died in 1859, so the president of Prestwick Golf Club devised a championship to determine the new "champion golfer" to replace Robertson.

The event was played at Prestwick itself in 1860 and was open only to professionals. From then on, the term "Champion Golfer" became inescapably associated with The Open Championship.

Since 1872, the Claret Jug has been awarded to the winner of The Open Championship. The trophy bears the inscription "The Golf Champion Trophy", reinforcing the use of the term, "Champion Golfer of the Year".

The growth of the event began the following year, when it was declared that it would be open to all players in the world. Logically, given the historical moment (second half of the 19th century), the expansion of the Open Championship took time.

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A look at the greatest champions of The Open Championship

The first 29 winers of The Open Championship were Scottish and the first 46 were from the British region. The first non-British Champion Golfer of the Year was Frenchman Arnaud Massy (1907), and the first non-European was American Jock Hutchison (1921). As of 2024, players from 15 nations have won the title at least once.

Although the first American to win The Open came 61 years after the event's inception, the United States is the country with the most Champions Golfers of the Year. 32 Americans have won the tournament 47 times.

The event's all-time leading winner is Harry Vardon, who won six titles between 1896 and 1914. Four players have lifted the Claret Jug five times, including 8-time major champion Tom Watson.

With four titles, are five legendary players (Old Tom Morris, Young Tom Morris, Willie Park Sr., Walter Hagen and Bobby Locke). Nine players have won three times, including one still active, Tiger Woods.

Woods is not the only multi-time Golfer of the Year winner still playing professionally. Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els each won the Claret Jug twice and are still stars on the senior tours.