The British Open: A quiz

The British Open – known simply as “The Open” by its organizers, by its presenters on TV and among anglophiles of parochial vision – has been around for a century and a half. So there’s plenty of history, tradition and memorable moments to it.

How well do you know your British Open history? To test that knowledge, here’s a 10-question quiz. At the risk of stating the obvious, no fair looking up the answers on the internet. That’s an honor system issue.

Almost every great player in history at one point or another did something at the Brit.

Between 1896 and 1914, Harry Vardon won a record six Opens, establishing himself as the world’s premier golfer for two decades.

Perhaps surprisingly, although 10 players have won the Open four or more times, neither Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer or Tiger Woods have done so. Palmer won in 1961 and 1962, Nicklaus in 1966, 1970 and 1978, and Woods in 2000, 2005 and 2006.

In theory, Woods could still join that list of four-time winners.

Probably the most-heralded player to never win the Open was Byron Nelson. Why? Because he almost never competed. Nelson tried the Open in 1937 when he was at the height of his game. In miserable weather at Carnoustie, Nelson – who only played because he was already in England for the Ryder Cup – finished fifth, three shots behind Henry Cotton.

Enriched to the tune of about 40 pounds sterling for his effort, Nelson elected not to return until making one last go of it in 1955. By then largely a ceremonial entrant, he tied Cotton and Tom Halliburton for 32nd.

With that as a background, here’s the quiz.

Question 1. Prior to 2020, the Open had been cancelled over three previous periods. Two were for the World Wars. The third occurred back in 1871, only a bit more than a decade after the tournament’s creation. Why was it not held in 1871?

They couldn’t agree on trophy

Lack of interest among the competitors

A fight over where the event would be held