Lowest rounds and Open Championship scoring records: Tiger doesn't hold them all

The 153rd Open Championship is officially underway from Royal Portrush, with the best golfers in the world taking aim at arguably the most storied trophy in the sport this weekend in Northern Ireland. And it didn't take long to become clear that they were in for one heck of a test: With winds whipping off the coast and rain coming and going, it was a battle to just keep your head above water on Thursday morning.

We'll see what the weekend holds, but if conditions like that keep up, it's going to be a struggle just to avoid a crooked number, never mind take aim at the Open record book. Befitting a tournament that's more than a century and a half old, we've seen some iconic performances and some very low scores over the years. Who has the numbers to beat? Here's all you need to know about scoring records at the Open Championship, from lowest rounds to lowest 72-hole scores and everything in between.

Lowest rounds in Open Championship history

Unfortunately, Rory McIlroy wasn't actually in the Open when he set Portrush's scoring record with a 61 as a 16-year-old amateur back in 2005. If he were, he would've made history: As it stands, the lowest round in Open history came courtesy of South African Branden Grace, who shot an 8-under par 62 in the third round at Royal Birkdale back in 2017. (In fact, that was the first time anyone had shot under 63 in any of the four majors.)

Unfortunately, Grace had dug himself too deep a hole for that 62 to make much of a difference in the end. He followed it with an even-par 70 on Sunday to finish T-6, 4-under for the tournament and a whopping eight shots back of winner Jordan Spieth.

While Grace is the only man to shoot 62, several others have hit 63. Here's the full list, which includes names like McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Nick Faldo and Payne Stewart.

Lowest 72-hole score in The Open

As for the lowest 72-hole score in Open history, that honor might not be who you expect. While everyone remembers Faldo and Tiger Woods at St. Andrews, the record-holder is actually Henrik Stenson, who shot a sizzling 264 to win the 2016 tournament at Royal Troon.

No one has come within two strokes of that mark before or since; Mickelson (also 2016) and Spieth (2021 at Royal St. George's) are in a tie for second at 267.

Stenson also holds the record for best score to par in Open history, finishing at 20-under over 72 holes. That just managed to edge out Tiger's legendary performance at St. Andrews in 2000; in fact, Woods appears twice on this list, shooting 18-under at Royal Liverpool in 2006.

Largest margin of victory at The Open

We're hoping to see a white-knuckle finish at Portrush on Sunday, but while The Open has given us more than its fair share of iconic finishes over the years, that can't always be the case. To find the record for largest margin of victory at The Open, we have to go all the way back to the 19th century, when Old Tom Morris cleared the field by 13 strokes in 1862. (Even more impressive? The Open was a 36-hole event back then.)

But the Morris family wasn't done. Morris' son, Young Tom Morris (yes, seriously), won the '69 and '70 Opens by 11 and 12 strokes, respectively. No one's been able to sniff that mark since, and it's likely that no one ever will again.

Wire-to-wire winners of The Open Championship

Unsurprisingly, both Young and Old Tom Morris led their wins wire-to-wire, as was far more common back when The Open was a 36-hole championship. Since the change to 72, though, it's been far less so. In fact, only seven golfers have ever done it, and only three have done it since 1934. The most recent? McIlroy at Royal Liverpool in 2014.