About this chart race
Willie Park Sr. won the first Open in 1860, and Old Tom Morris became the first to win four in 1867. Harry Vardon went ahead alone in 1903 and finished on seven. Walter Hagen passed him in 1926 and ended on 11.
Jack Nicklaus matched Hagen's record in 1972 and passed it in 1973. He finished on 18. Tiger Woods is second with 15, and Hagen is still third.
This animated ranking shows how men's major championships won changed across 47 series between 1860 and 2026. The bars re-order themselves as the years advance, so overtakes are visible as they happen rather than hidden inside a table. Use the list on the left to choose exactly who competes, drag the slider to jump to any year, or open the table view to read the underlying numbers.
As of 2026, Jack Nicklaus leads with 18.
Included in this race
Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Walter Hagen, Gary Player, Ben Hogan, Tom Watson, Sam Snead, Harry Vardon, Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Nick Faldo, Lee Trevino, Seve Ballesteros, Peter Thomson, John Henry Taylor, James Braid, Byron Nelson, Brooks Koepka, Young Tom Morris, Willie Park Sr., Willie Anderson, Scottie Scheffler, Raymond Floyd, Old Tom Morris, Jim Barnes, Ernie Els, Bobby Locke, Vijay Singh, Tommy Armour, Ralph Guldahl, Payne Stewart, Pádraig Harrington, Nick Price, Larry Nelson, Julius Boros, Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Demaret, Jamie Anderson, Henry Cotton, Hale Irwin, Denny Shute, Cary Middlecoff, Bob Ferguson, Billy Casper.
Source
Data from Wikipedia: List of men's major championships winning golfers. Check the stated period and methodology. Animated transitions between source observations are visual interpolation, not additional measurements.
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