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Harry Vardon

Jersey · born , Grouville, Jersey · died

7major championships

Summary

  • First major 1896 The Open
  • Last major 1914 The Open
  • Runner-up in majors 6 times

Wins

  1. 1896 The Open Muirfield · 316 · won a playoff against J.H. Taylor
  2. 1898 The Open Prestwick Golf Club · 307 · by 1 stroke from Willie Park Jr
  3. 1899 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · 310 · by 5 strokes from Jack White
  4. 1900 U.S. Open Chicago G.C. · 313 · by 2 strokes from J.H. Taylor
  5. 1903 The Open Prestwick Golf Club · 300 · by 6 strokes from Tom Vardon
  6. 1911 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · 303 · won a playoff against Arnaud Massy
  7. 1914 The Open Prestwick Golf Club · 306 · by 3 strokes from J.H. Taylor

Near misses

  1. 1894 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished T5 · 334
  2. 1895 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T9 · 338
  3. 1897 The Open Royal Liverpool Golf Club · finished 6 · 320
  4. 1900 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · runner-up to J.H. Taylor · 317
  5. 1901 The Open Muirfield · runner-up to James Braid · 312
  6. 1902 The Open Royal Liverpool Golf Club · runner-up to Sandy Herd · 308
  7. 1904 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished 5 · 302
  8. 1905 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T9 · 329
  9. 1906 The Open Muirfield · finished 3 · 305
  10. 1907 The Open Royal Liverpool Golf Club · finished T7 · 319
  11. 1908 The Open Prestwick Golf Club · finished T5 · 306
  12. 1912 The Open Muirfield · runner-up to Ted Ray · 299
  13. 1913 U.S. Open The Country Club · runner-up to Francis Ouimet · playoff: 18 holes; Ouimet 72
  14. 1913 The Open Royal Liverpool Golf Club · finished T3 · 313
  15. 1920 U.S. Open Inverness Club · runner-up to Ted Ray
  16. 1922 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished T8 · 307

Rivals

Beat him

Beaten in finals and playoffs

Next in the chain: J.H. Taylor's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1896 Open The 36-hole playoff was delayed a day because both Vardon and Taylor had entered a tournament at nearby North Berwick.
  2. 1896 Open Old Tom Morris played his 34th and final Open and withdrew after failing to break 100 in any of his first three rounds.
  3. 1898 Open This Championship saw the first 36-hole cut in Open history.
  4. 1898 Open Park missed a putt of about four feet on the 72nd green to tie; he later said spectators gave him wrong information about Vardon's score.
  5. 1899 Open Vardon became the first three-time champion since Bob Ferguson in 1882.
  6. 1899 Open He was the first player in the 72-hole era to lead or share the lead after every round.
  7. 1903 Open Harry and Tom Vardon finished first and second, the third pair of brothers to do so.
  8. 1903 Open Harry Vardon's 300 broke the Championship record by five strokes.
  9. 1911 Open Massy reached the 72nd green in two and two-putted to force a playoff with Vardon.
  10. 1911 Open Ten strokes down after 34 playoff holes, Massy conceded on the 35th, saying "I cannot play this damn game."
  11. 1914 Open A photographer broke Taylor's concentration at the 3rd hole of the final round, and he dropped a stroke.
  12. 1914 Open At the 4th Taylor found the water and took 7 to Vardon's 4, and Vardon went on to a record sixth title.

Records and firsts

  1. 1896 Open largest 18-hole comeback · 11 behind
  2. — Open most titles · 6 (1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914)
  3. 1896 Open First Open champion from: Jersey

Results by championship

    Best day

    1896 The Open

    Muirfield · 316 · won a playoff against J.H. Taylor (Vardon 157 (78-79); Taylor 161 (80-81))

    The 36-hole playoff was delayed a day because both Vardon and Taylor had entered a tournament at nearby North Berwick.

    Old Tom Morris played his 34th and final Open and withdrew after failing to break 100 in any of his first three rounds.

    Record: largest 18-hole comeback · 11 behind

    Record: Jersey

    Chosen by rule: the major win our record tables single out. Year page: 1896.

    Career line, 1894–1922

    U.S. Open
    1900 U.S. Open: won1913 U.S. Open: runner-up to Francis Ouimet1920 U.S. Open: runner-up to Ted Ray
    The Open
    1894 The Open: finished T51895 The Open: finished T91896 The Open: won1897 The Open: finished 61898 The Open: won1899 The Open: won1900 The Open: runner-up to J.H. Taylor1901 The Open: runner-up to James Braid1902 The Open: runner-up to Sandy Herd1903 The Open: won1904 The Open: finished 51905 The Open: finished T91906 The Open: finished 31907 The Open: finished T71908 The Open: finished T51911 The Open: won1912 The Open: runner-up to Ted Ray1913 The Open: finished T31914 The Open: won1922 The Open: finished T8
    190019101920

    23 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Runner-up
    • Top 10

    Harry Vardon was born on May 9, 1870, in Grouville, Jersey. Vardon won 7 major championships: 1 U.S. Open (1900) and 6 Open Championships (1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914).

    See Harry Vardon in our rooms: U.S. Open, The Open and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (7)

    1. 1896 The Open Muirfield · 316 · won a playoff against J.H. Taylor (Vardon 157 (78-79); Taylor 161 (80-81))
    2. 1898 The Open Prestwick Golf Club · 307 · by 1 stroke from Willie Park Jr
    3. 1899 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · 310 · by 5 strokes from Jack White
    4. 1900 U.S. Open Chicago G.C., Wheaton, IL · 313 · by 2 strokes from J.H. Taylor
    5. 1903 The Open Prestwick Golf Club · 300 · by 6 strokes from Tom Vardon
    6. 1911 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · 303 · won a playoff against Arnaud Massy (Vardon 138 (74-64 through 34 holes); Massy 148 (79-69 through 34 holes))
    7. 1914 The Open Prestwick Golf Club · 306 · by 3 strokes from J.H. Taylor

    Near misses

    Top-10 finishes are listed for The Open, the one championship with a full top 10 every year.

    1. 1894 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished T5 · 334
    2. 1895 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T9 · 338
    3. 1897 The Open Royal Liverpool Golf Club · finished 6 · 320
    4. 1900 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · runner-up to J.H. Taylor · 317
    5. 1901 The Open Muirfield · runner-up to James Braid · 312
    6. 1902 The Open Royal Liverpool Golf Club · runner-up to Sandy Herd · 308
    7. 1904 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished 5 · 302
    8. 1905 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T9 · 329
    9. 1906 The Open Muirfield · finished 3 · 305
    10. 1907 The Open Royal Liverpool Golf Club · finished T7 · 319
    11. 1908 The Open Prestwick Golf Club · finished T5 · 306
    12. 1912 The Open Muirfield · runner-up to Ted Ray · 299
    13. 1913 U.S. Open The Country Club · runner-up to Francis Ouimet · playoff: 18 holes; Ouimet 72
    14. 1913 The Open Royal Liverpool Golf Club · finished T3 · 313
    15. 1920 U.S. Open Inverness Club · runner-up to Ted Ray
    16. 1922 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished T8 · 307

    U.S. Open top-10 finishes in his career: 3 (GNN U.S. Open room data).

    Records and firsts

    Rows from our record tables that name this player, worded as the tables word them.

    1. 1896 Open largest 18-hole comeback · 11 behind
    2. — Open most titles · 6 (1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914)
    3. 1896 Open First Open champion from: Jersey

    Sources

    Elsewhere: DBpedia.

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. Britannica
    2. R&A player
    3. DBpedia: Harry Vardon
    4. R&A 1896
    5. GC 1896
    6. R&A 1898
    7. GC 1898
    8. R&A 1899
    9. GC 1899
    10. GNN U.S. Open room (champions data)
    11. R&A 1903
    12. GC 1903
    13. R&A 1911
    14. GC 1911
    15. R&A 1914
    16. GC 1914
    17. R&A 1894
    18. Golf Compendium 1894
    19. R&A 1895
    20. R&A 1897
    21. R&A 1904
    22. Golf Compendium 1904
    23. R&A 1905
    24. Golf Compendium 1906
    25. R&A 1907
    26. R&A 1908
    27. R&A 1913
    28. R&A 1922
    29. R&A comebacks
    30. Perry Golf
    31. Topend Sports