Who holds the record for seven runner-up finishes at The Open?

Who holds the record for seven runner-up finishes at The Open? Jack Nicklaus holds that record.

Nicklaus finished second at The Open seven times: in 1964, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1977 and 1979. Those near-misses sit alongside three victories, at Muirfield in 1966, St Andrews in 1970 and St Andrews again in 1978.

His record is remarkable because it reflects sustained excellence rather than a single brief peak. Between 1970 and 1980, Nicklaus recorded 11 consecutive top-five finishes in the championship, and he was outside the top six only once during that span. The Open was also central to his career Grand Slam, completed with his 1966 victory.

Tom Watson is often guessed because he won The Open five times and became one of its most celebrated specialists. Gary Player and Arnold Palmer were also major rivals, but neither matched Nicklaus’s seven second-place finishes. The statistic counts runner-up or joint-runner-up results.