Which golfer has the most wins in the Open Championship?

Harry Vardon has won the Open Championship more times than any other golfer, claiming the title six times.

Vardon won in 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, and 1914. His sixth victory came at Prestwick just before the First World War interrupted the championship; the Open was not played again until 1920. More than a century later, his record still stands.

Vardon was one of the three members of golf's Great Triumvirate, alongside James Braid and John Henry Taylor. Braid and Taylor each won the Open five times, making Vardon's six victories especially significant. Vardon was also a major figure beyond tournament results: he popularized the overlapping grip, now commonly called the Vardon grip.

Peter Thomson, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson are all famous Open champions, but none matched Vardon's total. Nicklaus won three Opens, while Watson won five. The Open is the oldest of golf's four modern men's major championships, first played in 1860 at Prestwick.