The 150th Open

Everything Has Led To This

A truly special milestone will be reached when St Andrews, the Home of Golf, plays host to The 150th Open from 10-17 July 2022.

Ahead of the landmark Championship, TheOpen.com will be examining golf's incredible journey from The 1st Open at Prestwick in 1860 to the present day, and celebrating the great Champions who have lifted the Claret Jug.

All of our best content on The 150th Open can be viewed on this page, with much more to come before the world's greatest players compete on the iconic Old Course.

Decades of The Open

The Open's rich history dates back to 1860 and the very first Championship at Prestwick. As we count down to The 150th Open, we will explore the main storylines from each of the past 16 decades.

The 1860s

Old Tom Morris and his son, Young Tom Morris, won six of the first 10 Opens between them, but the inaugural Championship in 1860 resulted in success for Willie Park Snr.

The 1870s

The second decade of The Open featured tragedy, controversy and a significant expansion of golf's original Championship.

The 1880s

The 1880s was the last decade in The Open's history to produce exclusively Scottish Champion Golfers.

The 1890s

There were three successes for amateurs at The Open in the 1890s, a decade that also witnessed the emergence of the Great Triumvirate.

The 1900s

James Braid won four Opens to match the tallies of J.H. Taylor and Harry Vardon in a decade that also featured the first overseas Champion Golfer

The 1910s

Harry Vardon became the most prolific Champion in Open history with two further triumphs in the 1910s

The 1920s

A transformative decade in Open history saw American dominance of the Championship for the first time

The 1930s

Americans continued to dominate at The Open in the early part of the 1930s, before Henry Cotton led an English revival in golf's original Championship

The 1940s

After a six-year hiatus due to World War II, The Open crowned four iconic Champions in the 1940s

The 1950s

Peter Thomson with the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale in 1954

Two international players dominated The Open in the 1950s, with Peter Thomson and Bobby Locke claiming seven titles between them

Latest on The 150th Open

Relive one of the most famous Opens at St Andrews by listening to our podcast, The Story of 1984, featuring contributions from the stars at the centre of the drama.

It's the Home of Golf ... and there's something special about that town. Sir Nick Faldo Our guide to the Old Course

The third hole at the Old Course

The iconic Swilcan Bridge on the final hole

The Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole