What Is The Largest Margin Of Victory At The Open Championship?

The Open Championship is golf's oldest Major and, throughout its 152 editions, there have been some incredible finishes and memorable moments.

A number of the game's best have picked up the Claret Jug and, whether it was via a playoff, or through a dominant showing, calling yourself a Champion Golfer of the Year is reserved for the very best.

As of writing, Scottie Scheffler leads The 153rd Open Championship going into Sunday, with the World No.1 four shots clear heading into the final day at Royal Portrush.

Looking to claim a fourth Major, and first Open Championship, Scheffler already has a number of convincing victories by sizeable margins, with the American winning all three of his Majors by at least three shots.

Although he leads by four strokes going into the final day in Northern Ireland, Scheffler will have to go some lengths to set the record of the largest margin of victory in Open Championship history.

That accolade belongs to four-time championship winner, Old Tom Morris, who claimed a 13-stroke win back in 1862.

It's worth noting that his win came over 36-holes and was a record for all Majors until 2000, when Tiger Woods won the US Open by 15 strokes at Pebble Beach.

Morris' record still stands to this day but, with the current Open Championship format, which was introduced a century ago (1926), who currently has the record for the largest margin?

What Is The Largest Margin Of Victory At The Open Championship?

As of writing, Tiger Woods holds the accolade for the largest margin of victory with eight shots, with Louis Oosthuizen second with seven strokes.

• 1862 - Old Tom Morris - 13 Strokes
• 1870 - Young Tom Morris - 12 Strokes
• 1869 - Young Tom Morris - 11 Strokes
• 1900 - John Henry Taylor - 8 Strokes
• 1908 - James Braid - 8 Strokes
• 1913 - John Henry Taylor - 8 Strokes
• 1909 - John Henry Taylor - 6 Strokes

As we can see from the table above, Woods also holds the record for the largest margin of victory at an Open Championship, with the 15-time Major winner claiming the Claret Jug by eight shots in 2000.

Being staged at the Home of Golf, St Andrews, Woods carded rounds of 67, 66, 67 and 69 for a 19-under total and eight shot victory. In fact, the score was the lowest 72-hole Major score in relation to par, a record that remained for fifteen years until Jason Day broke it at the 2015 PGA Championship.

A decade on from Woods' win, Oosthuizen won by seven strokes at St Andrews, carding rounds of 65, 67, 69 and 71 to secure a seven shot win over Lee Westwood.

In total, six players have claimed six shot victories at The Open Championship, the most recent of which was Brian Harman in 2023.

One omen for Scheffler is that, in 2019, Shane Lowry secured a six-shot win at Royal Portrush, venue of this year's (2025) championship.