Senior Open Championship Winners and History

The Senior Open Championship dates to 1987, when it was known as the Senior British Open. Run by the Royal and Ancient, it typically is held the week after the Open Championship. The Senior Open Championship is an official event on by the PGA TOUR Champions and the European Seniors Tour. Since 2002, it has been recognized as a major championship on the Champions Tour schedule.

The Senior Open field consists of 144 players aged fifty or older. A hundred and twenty  typically are exempt; the remainder qualify on the Monday before the tournament.

Exemptions for the Senior Open:

• Any past winner of The Senior Open Championship
• Past winners of any of the major championships or The Players Championship
• Winners of the European Tour Order of Merit (now Race to Dubai) in first five years of age eligibility
• Winners of the BMW PGA Championship in first five years of age eligibility
• Top 30 from the previous year’s European Senior Tour Order of Merit
• Top 50 from the European Senior Tour all-time money list as of the start of the tournament
• Top 30 from the previous year’s PGA Tour Champions money list
• Top 50 from the PGA Tour Champions all-time money list as of the start of the tournament
• Top 15 finishers, plus ties, from the previous year’s Senior Open Championship
• Winners of official events on the European Senior Tour and PGA Tour Champions in the previous two years (starting with the first tournaments after The Senior Open Championship of two years prior)
• Winners of official events on the European Tour, PGA Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia, Japan Golf Tour, and Sunshine Tour in first year of age eligibility
• Past members of Ryder Cup orPresidents Cup teams in first year of age eligibility
• Winners of the last five editions of all other events recognised as majors by PGA Tour Champions (Senior Players Championship, The Tradition, U.S. Senior Open, Senior PGA Championship)
• Current holder of the Japan PGA Senior Championship
• Current Japan Senior Open champion
• Top four players, not already exempt, in the top 40 of the current year’s European Senior Tour Order of Merit as of the start of the tournament
• Top eight players, not already exempt, in the top 75 of the current year’s PGA Tour Champions money list as of the start of the tournament
• Current Seniors Open Amateur Champion
• Current U.S. Senior Amateur champion
• Leading amateur in the previous year’s Senior Open Championship who completed 72 holes
• The Championship Committee may award special exemptions.

A list of Senior Open Championship Winners follows:

Year	Winner	Venue	Score	Margin
The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex
2024	KJ Choi	Carnoustie	278 (-10)	2 strokes
2023	Alex Cejka	Royal Porthcawl	289 (+5)	Playoff
2022	Darren Clarke	Gleneagles	270 (-10)	1 stroke
2021	Stephen Dodd	Sunningdale	267 (-13)	1 stroke
2020	COVID
2019	Bernhard Langer (4)	St. Andrews	274 (-12)	2 strokes
2018	Miguel Angel Jimenez	Royal Lytham & St Annes	276(-12)	1 stroke
2017	Bernhard Langer (3)	Royal Porthcawl	280 (-4)	3 strokes
2016	Paul Broadhurst	Carnoustie Golf Links,  Scotland	277 (-11)	2 strokes
2015	Marco Dawson	Sunningdale Golf Club,  England	264 (−16)	1 stroke
2014	Bernhard Langer (2)	Royal Porthcawl Golf Club,  Wales	266 (−18)	13 strokes
2013	Mark Wiebe	Royal Birkdale Golf Club,  England	271 (−9)	playoff
The Senior Open Championship
2012	Fred Couples	Turnberry  (Ailsa Course),  Scotland	271 (−9)	2 strokes
2011	Russ Cochran	Walton Heath Golf Club,  England	276 (−12)	2 strokes
The Senior Open Championship presented by MasterCard
2010	Bernhard Langer	Carnoustie Golf Links,  Scotland	279 (−5)	1 stroke
2009	Loren Roberts (2)	Sunningdale Golf Club,  England	268 (−12)	Playoff
2008	Bruce Vaughan	Royal Troon Golf Club,  Scotland	278 (−6)	Playoff
The Senior Open Championship presented by Aberdeen Asset Management
2007	Tom Watson (3)	Muirfield Golf Links,  Scotland	284 (E)	1 stroke
The Senior British Open Championship presented by Aberdeen Asset Management
2006	Loren Roberts	Turnberry  (Ailsa Course),  Scotland	274 (−6)	Playoff
2005	Tom Watson (2)	Royal Aberdeen Golf Club,  Scotland	280 (−4)	Playoff
The Senior British Open Championship presented by MasterCard
2004	Pete Oakley	Royal Portrush Golf Club,  Northern Ireland	284 (−4)	1 stroke
Senior British Open presented by MasterCard
2003	Tom Watson	Turnberry  (Ailsa Course),  Scotland	263 (−17)	playoff
2002	Noboru Sugai	Royal County Down,  Northern Ireland	281 (−3)	2 strokes
2001	Ian Stanley	Royal County Down,  Northern Ireland	278 (−6)	playoff
2000	Christy O’Connor Jnr (2)	Royal County Down,  Northern Ireland	275 (−9)	2 strokes
Senior British Open
1999	Christy O’Connor Jnr	Royal Portrush,  Northern Ireland	282 (−6)	3 strokes
1998	Brian Huggett	Royal Portrush,  Northern reland	283 (−5)	playoff
1997	Gary Player (3)	Royal Portrush,  Northern Ireland	278 (−10)	playoff
1996	Brian Barnes (2)	Royal Portrush,  Northern Ireland	277 (−11)	3 strokes
1995	Brian Barnes	Royal Portrush,  Northern Ireland	281 (−7)	playoff
1994	Tom Wargo	Royal Lytham & St. Annes,  England	280 (−8)	2 strokes
1993	Bob Charles (2)	Royal Lytham & St. Annes, England	291 (+7)	1 stroke
1992	John Fourie	Royal Lytham & St. Annes,  England	282 (−2)	3 strokes
Seniors British Open
1991	Bobby Verwey	Royal Lytham & St. Annes,  England	285 (−1)	1 stroke
Volvo Seniors British Open
1990	Gary Player (2)	Turnberry  (Ailsa Course),  Scotland	280 (E)	7 strokes
1989	Bob Charles	Turnberry  (Ailsa Course),  Scotland	269 (−11)	1 stroke
1988	Gary Player	Turnberry  (Ailsa Course),  Scotland	272 (−8)	1 stroke
Seniors British Open
1987	Neil Coles	Turnberry  (Ailsa Course),  Scotland	279 (−1)	1 stroke