Who was the last amateur to win The Open?

Bobby Jones was the last amateur to win The Open. He achieved the feat at St Andrews in 1930, defeating the era’s leading professionals while still competing without professional status.

Jones’s 1930 victory was his third Open title, following wins in 1926 and 1927. That season formed part of his remarkable “Impregnable Quadrilateral”: victories in the U.S. Open, The Open, the U.S. Amateur and the British Amateur, all completed as an amateur.

Earlier amateurs such as John Ball and Harold Hilton also won The Open, but Jones is the most recent amateur champion. He retired from competitive golf later in 1930 at age 28. The modern championship remains open to qualified amateurs, but professional golfers have dominated the winner’s list ever since.