Scottie Scheffler isn't just going to win The Open Championship for the first time — he's basically lapping the field at Royal Portrush on his way to lifting the Claret Jug. We've seen Scheffler, the No. 1-ranked player in golf, dominate the PGA Tour and other events, but seeing him assert this level of excellence at The Open, the major he's historically struggled the most with in his career, has been nothing short of mesmerizing.
He started the final round with a four-shot lead over the closest challenger at the 2025 Open Championship, Haotong Li, and only added to that. Not only did Li fall back a bit early on as he was trying to push the leading Scheffler, but the likely winner kept adding to it with three birdies in his first six holes. Before we knew it, the lead had grown to seven strokes.
And with that type of lead and so much golf left to be played — along with Portrush looking mighty getable — golf fans were wondering what the largest margin of victory in Open Championship and major championship history were.
Largest margin of victory at The Open Championship
The largest margin of victory in Open Championship history was 13 strokes all the way back in 1862 when Old Tom Morris captured the win at Prestwick. However, it's worth noting that, at the time and the early stages of the tournament's formation, the victory came on three rounds as a 12-hole course and with only eight players in the entire field.
Subsequently, the modern record that his mostly recognized for the largest margin of victory at The Open came in 2000 when Tiger Woods dominated the field at 19-under par to win by eight strokes. Thomas Bjorn and Ernie Els finished second, but it completed Tiger's run of pure dominance in winning three majors in 2000, and then going on to complete the Tiger Slam by winning The Masters the following year.
Largest margin of victory in any major championship
Tiger Woods also holds the golf record for largest margin of victory in any major, winning by 15 strokes in the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Again part of the famed Tiger Slam, the 2000 U.S. Open is widely considered to be one of the greatest golf tournaments ever played by an individual. Not only did Tiger win by 15 shots, he finished the tournament at 12-under while no one else in the field, including runners-up Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ernie Els at +3, finished under par.
Prior to that U.S. Open, Old Tom Morris' record from 1862 was technically the largest margin of victory in any major championship, but Tiger had also set the modern record with a 12-shot win at the 1997 Masters.
Lowest winning scores at The Open
Since 1963 in the modern era of The Open Championship, Henrik Stenson in 2016 at Royal Troon and Cameron Smith in 2022 at St. Andrews hold the record for the loewst scores in relation to par, both finishing the tournament at 20-under in order to hold the Claret Jug. Stenson also holds the record for the lowest cumulative score in The Open, posting a 264 at the Par-71 Royal Troon.