The Open Slam - trivia

[Golferpaul]

I thought it would be interesting to see if anybody has won all of the significant country opens in modern times.  

 

Only Arnold and Rory have won all four

 

Seven have won three of the four.

 

 

[milesgiles]

beyond the uk and us you are going to get a lot of argument over 'significant'..

 

Scottish? South African? Spanish?

 

but Im sure you know that 

[No Gimmes]

Would be cool to know who won the most “Opens” overall. 
I remember back in the 90’s there was an event called the Sarazen World Open. You had to win a national open to qualify. Was pretty cool watching winners of the Samoan and Fiji opens tee it up with the big boys. 

[Rieflin]

21 minutes ago, No Gimmes said:

Would be cool to know who won the most “Opens” overall. 

I think Roberto de Vicenzo would have to be up there. He won 200+ pro tournaments worldwide, with   somewhere around 39 national opens.

 

Those stats are from wikipedia &

https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/Roberto-De-Vicenzo-golfer.htm

 

so I don't know they're 100% reliable but, if they're anywhere close to correct, they'd take some beating!

 

Surprised Nicklaus never won the Canadian Open.

 

Being Australian, I remember Trevino coming out here for an Australian Open at Royal Melbourne in the 70's & not being able to cope with the speed of the greens. He left in a huge huff, saying he wouldn't be back & wouldn't stop there "to buy a gallon of gas." 

 

Not his finest hour, but still one of my favourite players of all time.

[No Gimmes]

1 hour ago, Rieflin said:

I think Roberto de Vicenzo would have to be up there. He won 200+ pro tournaments worldwide, with   somewhere around 39 national opens.

 

Those stats are from wikipedia &

https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/Roberto-De-Vicenzo-golfer.htm

 

so I don't know they're 100% reliable but, if they're anywhere close to correct, they'd take some beating!

 

Surprised Nicklaus never won the Canadian Open.

 

Being Australian, I remember Trevino coming out here for an Australian Open at Royal Melbourne in the 70's & not being able to cope with the speed of the greens. He left in a huge huff, saying he wouldn't be back & wouldn't stop there "to buy a gallon of gas." 

 

Not his finest hour, but still one of my favourite players of all time.

Hahaha…… I think Trevino said the R.M greens were “the biggest joke since Watergate”. 
39 national opens would take some beating. 

[billyspan]

The Japan Open seems like a tough one to crack. Interestingly, Seve won it twice. 

[iBanesto]

Fact: Gary Player won the South African Open 13 times.

[Hawkeye77]

Like majors, Jack had a record of bridesmaid's success in Canada - 7 seconds at the Canadian Open.  He definitely tried - seconds in '84 and '85 were pretty darn good.  

 

Like that tournament, Jack was a solid supporter of the Australian Open by his presence over many years.  

 

1978 - won the tourney after dueling this!  No not the "world record" sometimes reported - it was, according to Jack, for girth and length but not weight, which is what gets you in the books, but was a darn big fish.

 

 

 

 

[Golferpaul]

14 hours ago, milesgiles said:

beyond the uk and us you are going to get a lot of argument over 'significant'..

 

Scottish? South African? Spanish?

 

but Im sure you know that 

Yes, it's highly subjective.  

 

But if you add the Scottish Open it wouldn't change much.  Nobody has won that five.

 

[Golferpaul]

8 hours ago, iBanesto said:

Fact: Gary Player won the South African Open 13 times.

 

That win might be easier than winning a college golf event.

[mat562]

Mark Calcavecchia's also a man with three of the four to his name.

[naval2006]

2 hours ago, Golferpaul said:

 

That win might be easier than winning a college golf event.

Quite a rookie comment, indeed. 

[gvogel]

On 2/7/2022 at 6:20 PM, Golferpaul said:

I thought it would be interesting to see if anybody has won all of the significant country opens in modern times.  

 

Only Arnold and Rory have won all four

 

Seven have won three of the four.

 

 

That's a nice list, and interesting, but the thing that sticks out is the guy who won a combination of 7 of the two most important ones.

[iBanesto]

16 hours ago, Golferpaul said:

 

That win might be easier than winning a college golf event.

 

[Ferguson]

Please include the Qatar Masters. 

[Golferpaul]

On 2/8/2022 at 11:49 AM, naval2006 said:

Quite a rookie comment, indeed. 

College golfers are highly skilled and the few who win a tournament could compete quite well on the South African tour.

[Golferpaul]

On 2/8/2022 at 11:19 AM, mat562 said:

Mark Calcavecchia's also a man with three of the four to his name.

Good catch !!

 

Here is the revised chart;

 

[billyspan]

@Dutch1008 @Ole3wiggle I meant to link to this thread, NOT the one from 2016.  Started working on a "full" list.  I am still working through Europe, African and Asia, but many of the "names" are accounted for.  Only showing the oldest 5 Opens and the oldest in South America, Continental Europe and Asia.  The rest of the national opens are hidden.  Honestly, this has been a wonderful study in history.  Highlights are Palmer's early wins in South America, Bobby Jones & Jack stories not getting it done in Canada,  Mario Gonzalez of Brazil, so many Spanish players, and how did these guys manage all this travel by boat or early planes!

*anyone, please correct me were necessary and I will update when this is done.

 

 

 

[iBanesto]

Bobby Locke.

 

🇿🇦

• Open Championship - 49, 52, 57 and 59
• Canadian Open - 47
• Australian Open - 55
• South African Open - 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 46, 50, 51 and 55
• Irish Open - 38
• New Zealand Open - 38
• Dutch Open - 39
• French Open - 52 and 53
• Egyptian Open - 55
• German Open - 55
• Swiss Open - 55
• Mexican Open - 52

Edited January 22, 2023 by iBanesto

[So_Cal]

12 hours ago, iBanesto said:

Bobby Locke.

 

🇿🇦

• Open Championship - 49, 52, 57 and 59
• Canadian Open - 47
• Australian Open - 55
• South African Open - 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 46, 50, 51 and 55
• Irish Open - 38
• New Zealand Open - 38
• Dutch Open - 39
• French Open - 52 and 53
• Egyptian Open - 55
• German Open - 55
• Swiss Open - 55
• Mexican Open - 52

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Pretty amazing.  And probably would have won the 51 US Open if Hogan didn’t have a career round. 

[billyspan]

15 hours ago, iBanesto said:

Bobby Locke.

 

🇿🇦

• Open Championship - 49, 52, 57 and 59
• Canadian Open - 47
• Australian Open - 55
• South African Open - 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 46, 50, 51 and 55
• Irish Open - 38
• New Zealand Open - 38
• Dutch Open - 39
• French Open - 52 and 53
• Egyptian Open - 55
• German Open - 55
• Swiss Open - 55
• Mexican Open - 52

/cdn-cgi/mirage/af625914a30d0b0a604256c35bc83875c0c922aba5bb9d03e9c289a13f1e0ece/1280/cdn-cgi/mirage/af625914a30d0b0a604256c35bc83875c0c922aba5bb9d03e9c289a13f1e0ece/1280/https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2048/2939/files/blog_112.jpg?1707676158023527628

Nice work. Glad we both came to 24 total for Bobby Locke.  ;). Can you imagine the travel this fella did during that time!?

[billyspan]

Going down a rabbit hole for sure here.  I found the tennis majors or "Grand Slam" events were "created" by the International Tennis Federation in 1923.  Golf let the press name majors in the 60s?  I'm speculating that perhaps a similar outcome to tennis would have happened in golf if it were not for the USGA / Western Golf Association schism.  Heck the Western Open was viewed as a major by many.  Rabbit hole...

 

Per the IFT FAQ:

At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 16 March in Paris, the official ILTF ‘Rules of Tennis’ were adopted with public effect from 1 January 1924. USA became an affiliated member of the ILTF. The title World Championship was also dropped at this meeting but a new category of Official Championship was created for events in Great Britain, France, USA and Australia – today’s Grand Slam events.

[gvogel]

On 2/7/2022 at 7:09 PM, milesgiles said:

beyond the uk and us you are going to get a lot of argument over 'significant'..

 

Scottish? South African? Spanish?

 

but Im sure you know that 

The Irish Open is also important.

[wildcatden]

Seve won a lot of Open's on the Euro Tour.  For example, in 1994 he won the Benson & Hedges International Open by 3 strokes over Nick Faldo.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seve_Ballesteros

 

[billyspan]

On 1/23/2023 at 9:54 AM, gvogel said:

The Irish Open is also important.

I agree with you that today, yes. However, I dug into Irish Open history and was surprised by large gaps in holding the event. Also surprised that the first event was not until 1927.

Also of interest is the Scottish Open. Looks like the R&A squashed the first iteration of this event in the 30s.  The tournament was then brought back in 1972, played in '73, but then nothing until 1986!

[dokex]

What about the Screen Door Open?

[billyspan]

[billyspan]

McIlroy adds a Scottish Open to his record. Impressive finish today.

[mosesgolf]

On 2/7/2022 at 3:20 PM, Golferpaul said:

I thought it would be interesting to see if anybody has won all of the significant country opens in modern times.  

 

Only Arnold and Rory have won all four

 

Seven have won three of the four.

 

 

I wonder how long Gary Player will ramble if asked about his Australian Open victories.  I never knew there was one until this thread.

[TiScape]

On 2/8/2022 at 4:50 AM, Hawkeye77 said:

Like majors, Jack had a record of bridesmaid's success in Canada - 7 seconds at the Canadian Open.  He definitely tried - seconds in '84 and '85 were pretty darn good.  

 

Like that tournament, Jack was a solid supporter of the Australian Open by his presence over many years.  

 

1978 - won the tourney after dueling this!  No not the "world record" sometimes reported - it was, according to Jack, for girth and length but not weight, which is what gets you in the books, but was a darn big fish.

 

 

 

 

I’d say if you have both girth and length, weight’s not gonna matter much 😉