The Open Recent Winners: The Last 10 Champions
Want to know who wins The Open? Study who already has. The Claret Jug’s recent roll of honour is the best filter in major-championship betting: it tells you the profile, the form line and the price range the winner tends to come from. Here are the last ten champions — and the patterns that matter for Royal Birkdale 2026.
The Last 10 Open Champions
| Year | Champion | Venue | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Scottie Scheffler | Royal Portrush | −17 |
| 2024 | Xander Schauffele | Royal Troon | −9 |
| 2023 | Brian Harman | Royal Liverpool | −13 |
| 2022 | Cameron Smith | St Andrews | −20 |
| 2021 | Collin Morikawa | Royal St George’s | −15 |
| 2019 | Shane Lowry | Royal Portrush | −15 |
| 2018 | Francesco Molinari | Carnoustie | −8 |
| 2017 | Jordan Spieth | Royal Birkdale | −12 |
| 2016 | Henrik Stenson | Royal Troon | −20 |
| 2015 | Zach Johnson | St Andrews | −15 |
No Open was played in 2020 (pandemic). Playoffs: Zach Johnson (2015) won a three-man playoff; every champion since has won in regulation.
How They Won
Scheffler (2025) arrived as the world number one in imperious form and simply out-classed Portrush — the win-the-week-you-should-win template. Schauffele (2024) closed with a bogey-free 65 at Troon in filthy weather, one of the great final rounds of the modern Open era. Harman (2023) was the outsider nobody saw coming — until you noticed he led the field in putting and never missed a fairway that mattered at Hoylake. Smith (2022) shot 30 on the back nine of the Old Course on Sunday. Morikawa (2021) won on his Open debut — the exception that proves the rule, built on the best iron play in golf.
Different prices, different stories — the same underlying data: every one of them ranked among the field’s elite tee-to-green that summer. That’s the filter. Run it on the current Leaders table and the Trending page as Birkdale approaches.
What the Roll of Honour Tells You About 2026
- Experience wins. Morikawa aside, every recent champion had multiple Opens (and usually an Open top-25) behind them before lifting the Jug. Filter your shortlist accordingly — our best links players ranking does it for you.
- The winning score tracks the venue and the weather. St Andrews birdie-fests (−20) and Carnoustie warfare (−8) bookend the range. Birkdale 2017 was won at −12 — expect a similar test: gettable in calm, brutal in wind.
- Mid-price winners are normal. Harman, Lowry and Spieth’s Birkdale win all came from outside the top of the market. The Open’s generous each-way terms exist precisely because 40/1+ winners are a live possibility every year.
- The defending champion angle. Scheffler goes for back-to-back Jugs — something nobody has managed since Harrington in 2008. History says it’s hard; his form says ignore history at your peril.
Open Recent Winners FAQ
Who won the last Open Championship?
Scottie Scheffler won The Open in 2025 at Royal Portrush, adding the Claret Jug to his Masters and PGA Championship titles and leaving him one US Open short of the career grand slam.
Who has won The Open in the last 10 years?
The recent champions are Scottie Scheffler (2025), Xander Schauffele (2024), Brian Harman (2023), Cameron Smith (2022), Collin Morikawa (2021), Shane Lowry (2019), Francesco Molinari (2018), Jordan Spieth (2017), Henrik Stenson (2016) and Zach Johnson (2015). The 2020 Open was cancelled due to the pandemic.
Who won The Open last time it was at Royal Birkdale?
Jordan Spieth won at Royal Birkdale in 2017, finishing 12 under to beat Matt Kuchar by three after his famous recovery from the practice ground on the 13th hole of the final round.
Has an Open champion ever successfully defended the Claret Jug recently?
Not in the last decade — the most recent back-to-back Open champion remains Padraig Harrington (2007–2008). Scottie Scheffler will attempt to change that at Royal Birkdale in 2026.
Do favourites win The Open?
Sometimes — Scheffler (2025) and Schauffele (2024) were at or near the head of the market — but The Open has a long tradition of bigger-priced winners with elite links games, like Brian Harman in 2023 and Shane Lowry in 2019. The common thread is not price, it is tee-to-green form and links pedigree.