11 most memorable moments in Open Championship history

The Open Championship has produced more indelible images than any other major, and the best of them feel like golf’s version of folklore.

The sport’s oldest major dates to 1860 in Scotland, the birthplace of golf. The unique seaside links settings feature undulating terrain, firm fairways and deep pot bunkers.

One thing remains clear about the Open: chaos, creativity and resilience usually matter more than textbook ball striking. The championship keeps rewarding players who can improvise, survive bad bounces and keep swinging when the wind, the bunkers and the pressure turn against them.

The 154th edition of The Open Championship begins early in the morning stateside on Thursday, July 16, at Royal Birkdale. Streaming coverage begins at 1:30 a.m. ET on Peacock. USA Network offers TV coverage from 4 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET.

MORE: 8 reasons Royal Birkdale turns ordinary golf fans into Open Championship diehards

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler and 2014 winner Rory McIlroy are the favorites in a stacked 156-player field. European contenders Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood and Jon Rahm are nipping at their heels.

The big names are primed to produce another unforgettable week of links golf.

MORE: The Open vs. every other major: Why Royal Birkdale’s week is golf’s purest test

When the wind starts kicking up over the dunes and a leaderboard full of stars and complete unknowns starts to wobble, you know you are watching something that is going to live on in grainy highlight packages forever.

Here are 11 of those memorable moments, the ones that still define what this championship is all about.

11. St. Andrews breaks Rory’s heart, crowns Cameron Smith (2022)

The 150th Open at St. Andrews in 2022 had the feel of a Rory McIlroy homecoming story until Cameron Smith rewrote the script over the back nine. McIlroy started Sunday tied for the lead, controlled off the tee and in position to end his major drought at the place that carries more weight than any other in this championship.

While McIlroy played smart and mostly conservative golf, Smith went out in 34 and came home in a flurry, ripping off a run of birdies that included a nervy make on the Road Hole and a closing birdie at the 18th. His putter turned red hot at the exact moment the Old Course started asking the hardest questions, and McIlroy could not find a way to answer.

10. Zach Johnson survives the Old Course playoff (2015)

The 2015 Open at St. Andrews seemed destined to end in a Jordan Spieth coronation, but instead turned into Zach Johnson’s moment. In a Monday finish after heavy wind delays, Johnson posted a clutch final-round 66 that got him into a three-man playoff with Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen.

In the four-hole aggregate, Johnson mixed steady pars with a timely birdie and let the Old Course handle the rest. He emerged with a second major and a claret jug that few would have predicted for him at the start of the week, showing again how the Open can reward patience and ball striking as much as raw power.

9. Phil Mickelson’s Sunday charge at Muirfield (2013)

Phil Mickelson’s history at the Open had been full of frustration until 2013, when he produced one of the great closing rounds at Muirfield. Coming from several shots back, he navigated the brutal setup and hard-running fairways to shoot a brilliant 66, finishing ahead of a field that had been grinding to make pars.

His approach into the 72nd green and the birdie putt that followed gave him a score that looked like it might be one short, right until the course and the pressure claimed everyone behind him. The claret jug he had chased for years finally belonged to him, and he did it on a day when most players were just trying to avoid disasters.

8. Henrik Stenson vs. Phil Mickelson at Troon (2016)

Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson turned the 2016 Open at Royal Troon into a two-man show that drew comparisons to the Watson–Nicklaus duel nearly 40 years earlier. Stenson closed with a 63 to finish at 20 under, Mickelson shot 65, and they left the rest of the field in the dust.

Their final-round head-to-head had everything: long birdie putts, momentum swings and the sense that both players were locked into a different gear than everyone else. Stenson’s putt on 15, the long-range bomb that essentially sealed the deal, still stands out as the moment the championship finally tilted his way after a day of relentless pressure from Mickelson.

7. Tom Watson’s ageless run at Turnberry (2009)

At 59 years old, Tom Watson nearly pulled off the most improbable major win in history at the 2009 Open, again at Turnberry. He outplayed younger contenders all week and walked to the 72nd tee in need of a par to win a sixth claret jug. For four days, it looked like time had frozen.

Then the final hole unraveled, with Watson’s approach bouncing hard over the green and his chip coming up short. A bogey dropped him into a playoff with Stewart Cink, who went on to win, but the image that lingered was Watson walking up 18 to a standing ovation that felt like golf fans trying to will one last miracle into existence.

6. Jean van de Velde’s collapse at Carnoustie (1999)

The most painful finishing hole in major history might still belong to Jean van de Velde at Carnoustie in 1999. Standing on the 18th tee with a three-shot lead, he needed anything better than a triple bogey to win. Instead, he hit driver into the right rough, flirted with the Barry Burn, hit a shot off the grandstand and bounced his way into one of golf’s great disasters.

He briefly considered playing a shot out of the burn with his shoes off before taking a drop, then finished with a triple that dropped him into a playoff he would go on to lose. The sequence turned into a cautionary tale about decision-making under pressure and the cruelty of links finishing holes with water, thick rough and pot bunkers waiting for even slightly wayward shots. Paul Lawrie ended up winning the three-way playoff against van de Velde and Justin Leonard for the only major championship of his career.

5. Ben Hogan’s lone Open at Carnoustie (1953)

Ben Hogan only played the Open once, and of course he won it. In 1953, still not that far removed from the car accident that nearly ended his career, Hogan crossed the Atlantic and took apart Carnoustie to finish four shots clear of the field.

The week is remembered for the way he learned the course and the conditions on the fly, then used that preparation to execute a plan most others could not match. His control with the irons in the wind, especially on what became known as the “Hogan’s Alley” hole, turned into a piece of Open lore that still gets referenced generations later.

4. Seve’s fist pump at the home of golf (1984)

Seve Ballesteros winning the 1984 Open at St. Andrews gave the championship one of its most enduring images. His curling birdie putt on the 72nd hole, the quick double fist pump, and the grin that looked like it might split his face in half are part of every Open highlight montage for a reason.

He outdueled a loaded group that included Tom Watson, who was chasing yet another Claret Jug. But it was Seve’s creativity and flair around the greens that separated him. He turned up-and-downs that looked impossible into ho-hum par saves, then capped it with that birdie on 18 that sent the crowd into a roar. It was the perfect marriage of player, stage and moment.

3. Tiger Woods’ total domination at St. Andrews (2000)

Tiger Woods did not just win the 2000 Open at St. Andrews, he dismantled the Old Course in a way that felt almost unfair. Still in the middle of his peak, Woods avoided every bunker for the week and finished at 19-under par, completing the career Grand Slam and beating the field by eight shots.

The way he plotted his way around the course stood out. Tiger throttled down off the tee, played to smart spots and then picked apart pins with his irons while the rest of the field fought both the conditions and their own mistakes. It was as clinical as links golf can look, and it reinforced the idea that when Tiger was locked in, the only real drama was the size of the margin.

2. Arnie brings the Open back at Royal Birkdale & Troon (1961-62)

Arnold Palmer’s back-to-back Open wins in 1961 and 1962 did more than give him another couple of trophies. They essentially reintroduced the championship to an American audience that had drifted away from it. Palmer first came over in 1960, finished runner-up, then returned to win at Royal Birkdale in 1961 and Royal Troon in 1962 with his aggressive style and charisma on full display.

He played links golf like it was meant to be played, carving low shots through the wind and attacking pins most players wanted no part of. His success and star power convinced more American pros to make the trip across the Atlantic, and the Open slowly returned to its place as a true global major instead of a mostly British affair.

1. The Duel in the Sun: Watson vs. Nicklaus at Turnberry (1977)

Two legends went shot for shot in the heat at Turnberry in 1977, and the final round felt less like a major and more like a 36-hole match between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus with the rest of the field playing a different tournament. They separated from everyone, trading birdies and body blows until Watson’s birdie at the 72nd hole edged Nicklaus by a single stroke.

The images are burned into golf history: Watson stuffing irons, Nicklaus charging back late, and both players walking off together with a sense that they had just defined an era. For many fans and players, it remains the textbook example of what a Sunday at the Open is supposed to look and feel like.