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From Park to Woods: The best at the British Open

By Bill Felber

British golfer Henry Cotton (1907 - 1987), right, congratulating American player Walter Hagen (1892 - 1969) on breaking the record at the last hole at the British Open Golf Championship at Muirfield, watched by their caddies. Original Publication: People Disc - HH0235 (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
British golfer Henry Cotton (1907 - 1987), right, congratulating American player Walter Hagen (1892 - 1969) on breaking the record at the last hole at the British Open Golf Championship at Muirfield, watched by their caddies. Original Publication: People Disc - HH0235 (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images) /
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British golfer John Henry Taylor playing a shot during the 1927 British Open at St Andrews. Taylor was one of the ‘Great Triumvirate’, with James Braid and Harry Vardon, and he won the British Open five times (1894, 1895, 1900, 1909 and 1913). (Photo by Kirby/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
British golfer John Henry Taylor playing a shot during the 1927 British Open at St Andrews. Taylor was one of the ‘Great Triumvirate’, with James Braid and Harry Vardon, and he won the British Open five times (1894, 1895, 1900, 1909 and 1913). (Photo by Kirby/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images) /

Best of the British Open: #1

1. John H. Taylor, -37.08, 1893-1920

Although not as well known or highly regarded historically as Harry Vardon, Taylor has slightly the better of it statistically.

True, Vardon won six Opens while Taylor only won five. But look for a moment at those five. Throughout his career. Taylor had a peculiar trait: when he won, he ran away from the field.

Here are the margins of victory in Taylor’s five Open championships: 1894 (five strokes), 1895 (four strokes), 1900 (eight strokes…over Harry Vardon), 1909 (six strokes…over James Braid), 1913 (eight strokes…over Ted Ray.) That’s an average margin of dominance of more than five strokes…and over the greatest competitors of his generation.

Taylor complemented his five victories with six runner-up finishes, three of them narrow. In 1896 his bid for a third straight title ended when he surrendered a three-stroke lead to Vardon in the final round, creating a 36-hole playoff that Vardon won by four strokes. In 1904 lightly regarded Scottish Pro Jack White beat Taylor and Braid by a single stroke, shooting a 69 in the final round. In 1907 Frenchman Arnaud Massy held on to beat Taylor by two.

In short, Taylor missed claiming eight Open championships by a matter of a handful of strokes.

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Between his 1893 debut and his 50th birthday in 1920, Taylor played in all 23 Opens. Including his five championships and six runner-up finishes, he placed among the top five in 15 of those 23, and never finished lower than 14th.

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