Quiz: The ultimate Open Championship test of knowledge
By NCG
How many can you score in our ultimate Open Championship quiz, by Alun Evans? The amount of points awarded for each question can be found in brackets. Like golf, it’s self-policing, so jot down your score then head to the next page to go through the answers…
Round 1: Open history
1. In which year was the first Open Championship held? (1)
2. Who was the first Champion Golfer? (1)
3. Which course hosted the first 12 Opens? (1)
4. Who won four Opens between 1868 and 1872 by the age of 21? (1)
5. Where and when was the first Open not held in Scotland? (2)
6. Who played in 34 of the first 36 Opens, his last at Muirfield in 1896 when he was 75? (1)
7. Who were the Great Triumvirate? (3)
8. Who was the first national-born American to win the Open? (1)
9. Arthur Havers won in 1923, but who was the next British Champion after him? (1)
10. Who in 1939 began the longest stretch as Open Champion? (1)
11. What happened to The Open in 1951 for the only time, to date? (1)
12. Who, in 1959, became the youngest Open Champion of the century until Seve Ballesteros in 1979? (1)
13. Who missed a three-foot putt to win the Open in 1970? (1)
14. Which venue, in 1977, became the latest to host The Open? (1)
15. Where in 1987 did Nick Faldo win his first Open title? (1)
16. Who won the Open in 1993 with a low total of 267, the record score until 2016? (1)
17. Which feature at Carnoustie was the undoing of Jean Van de Velde in 1999? (1)
18. Who featured in a play-off against Padraig Harrington in the 2007 Open? (1)
19. Who beat 59-year-old Tom Watson in a play-off to win in 2009? (1)
20. Which multiple Major champion won his only Open in 2013? (1)
Round 2: Birkdale and the Open
21. In which year did Birkdale host its first Open? (1)
22. Who was the first Open winner there? (1)
23. Which legendary golfer along with Fred Hawtree Sr turned Birkdale into a course fit for the Open during the 1930s? (1)
24. Who finished runner-up both in 1954, and in 1961 when behind Arnold Palmer? (1)
25. Peter Thomson’s fifth and final Open win was also at Birkdale in 1965. His total was one short of the record held by which of the Great Triumvirate? (1)
26. In 1965, apart from the Open, which other major event was held at Birkdale? (1)
27. Who won the Open in 1971 when it was next at Birkdale? (1)
28. Which Taiwanese golfer finished second in 1971? (1)
29. What particular landmark was achieved with the 1971 Open? (1)
30. At Birkdale in 1976, who lifted the Claret Jug? (1)
31. The 1976 joint runner-up, a future champion, was just 19. Name him. (1)
32. Also in 1976, the 1932 champion played in his last Open, aged 74. Who was he? (1)
33. In 1983, Tom Watson won his fifth and final Open. Why was his Birkdale win different? (1)
34. The next Birkdale Open (1991) was won with a final 36-hole total of 130. Which one-time major winner shot this? (1)
35. Which current Sky Sports presenter in the 1991 Open freakishly broke his leg driving off the 5th tee in Round Three when in contention? (1)
36. Which player, without a major win before 1998, won the Open at Birkdale that year, having won the Masters in April? (1)
37. Also in the 1998 Birkdale Open, which 17-year-old amateur tied fourth, after failing to qualify for the 1995 event, aged 14? (1)
38. With the 2008 Birkdale Open, which player by winning scored back-to-back Opens, and would go on to win back-to-back Majors by collecting the PGA title later in the year? (1)
39. Who finished third in 2008, aged 53, on a golfing honeymoon? (1)
40. The Open was due for its Birkdale debut 14 years before the actual first, but was scrapped. Why? (1)
Round 3: Experts only
41. How many Opens were won by the Great Triumvirate? (1)
42. 2017 sees the tenth hosting of the Open by Royal Birkdale – seventh on the list. Which six venues have hosted more? (6)
43. Why in the Open of 2001, was Ian Woosnam penalized when in a share of the lead at the start of the final round? (1)
44. After the events on the 72nd at Carnoustie in 1999, who was in the three-way play-off with Paul Lawrie and Jean Van de Velde? (1)
45. Who won the 1964 Open only to be killed two years later after finishing 34th in the PGA Championship? (1)
46. Who won the 1947 Open, and what was his particular link to the 2014 Champion? (2)
47. Which two US golfers, and when, and where, given no chance in consecutive recent Opens, gained shock victories? (6)
48. Which one of three golfing brothers won the Open in 1938? (1)
49. Which Commonwealth golfer won the Open four times between 1949 and 1957? (1)
50. Which two players, in an unbroken period between 1877 and 1882, each collected three consecutive Claret Jugs? (2)
So how did you get on in our ultimate Open Championship quiz? Head over to the next page to find out…
