The Australian Open is one of the most beloved tournaments in the game, having been established in 1904, when English amateur Michael Scott beat Leslie Penfold Hyland in his homeland.
Nowadays, it is the oldest tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia and its most prestigious. Among the greats of the game to heap praise on the event are 18-time Major winner Jack Nicklaus and four-time Major champion Rory McIlroy, who have each said they regard it as the fifth Major.
Anyone who doubts the historical importance of the the tournament need only look at the long list of household names who have lifted the Stonehaven Cup through the years. Here are 11 of the biggest names to win the Australian Open.
Gene Sarazen
- 1936
American legend Gene Sarazen had already won the last of his seven Majors by the time he added the Australian Open to his long list of honors. In 1936 at Melbourne’s Metropolitan Golf Club, Sarazen eased to victory by four over amateur Harry Williams.
His one win at the event came the year after his famous Masters victory that included the “shot heard 'round the world,” when he made an albatross on the 15th at Augusta National on the way to completing his career Grand Slam.
Peter Thomson
- 1951, 1967, 1972
Unlike Sarazen, Peter Thomson hadn’t won any of his five Major titles when he first claimed victory in his national open. The first of his three titles came in 1951, three years before his maiden Major win at The Open.
In his first success, Thomson beat compatriot Norman Von Nida by four. He then had a 16-year wait for his second title, when he beat another Australian, Col Johnson, by seven before following that up with his third Australian Open win five years later in 1972, when he got the better of yet another Australian, David Graham, in a playoff.
Bobby Locke
- 1955
Bobby Locke became the first South African to win the title in 1955 when Von Nida was again the runner-up, along with Kel Nagle, who finished one behind the winner in the event at Gailes Golf Club in Queensland. Two years later, Locke claimed his fourth and final Open title.
Gary Player
- 1958, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1974
While Locke had the honor of the being the first South African to win the Australian Open, Player is the star from the country whose name is most associated with it.
No one has won the event more times than Player. His first title came in 1958, with six more following, with the last of them coming in 1974. Most notably, the nine-time Major winner claimed victory three years out of four between 1962 and 1965. The last of those set a new record score of 264 as he beat Jack Nicklaus and Frank Phillips by six.
Jack Nicklaus
- 1964, 1968, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1978
Nicklaus was the defending champion when Player beat him in 1965, with his first Australian Open victory coming after a playoff with Bruce Devlin. Four years later he got revenge on Player by one shot at Lake Karrinyup Country Club. He went on to win the event four more times, in 1971, 1975, 1976 and 1978, when Ben Crenshaw was his closest challenger, six shots adrift.
Arnold Palmer
- 1966
Palmer, who finished his career with seven Major titles, had a debut Australian Open to remember in 1966 when, for the third time, Ken Nagle missed out on the trophy as runner-up. Palmer beat the Australian by five to take the title for the only time in his career.
Greg Norman
- 1980, 1985, 1987, 1995, 1996
Both Player and Nicklaus finished their careers with more titles than Norman at the tournament, but he remains the Australian with the most victories with five. His first title came in 1980, when he beat Brian Jones by one, with further wins following in 1985 1987, 1995 and 1996.
Norman’s 1987 win against Sandy Lyle was one of the biggest in the history of the tournament, by 10 shots. It also took him back to the top of the world rankings ahead of Seve Ballesteros.
His last Australian Open title saw him beat Wayne Grady by eight. That came seven months after his famous capitulation at the Masters, when he relinquished a six-shot lead in the final round.
Tom Watson
- 1984
American Tom Watson claimed his one Australian Open title at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 1984, when he beat Bob Stanton by one despite his rival’s impressive final round of 69.
It was Watson’s sixth win of a stunning year, although he didn’t claim one of his eight Major titles during that 12 months. Afterwards, he described the achievement as "like putting the chocolate sauce on the ice cream.”
Adam Scott
- 2009
Four years before Scott claimed the Green Jacket at The Masters, he won his national open by five shots over compatriot Stuart Appleby at New South Wales Golf Club.
He’s come close to a second title on three occasions since, finishing runner-up in 2013, 2015 and 2022, but for now, it remains his one Australian Open win.
Rory McIlroy
- 2013
When Rory McIlroy won the Australian Open in 2013, he was a 22-year-old who’d already sealed two Major titles. Two more came the following year, but in between, he denied Adam Scott by one at Royal Sydney Golf Club, enhancing his growing reputation as a generational talent.
Even though he has yet to win the tournament again, McIlroy clearly still holds it in the highest regard. In 2024, he suggested the Australian Open could become golf’s “fifth Major” as part of his “dream scenario” of a world tour.
Jordan Spieth
- 2014, 2016
Speith had yet to claim a Major title when he won the Australian Open for the first time in 2014, but his impressive six-shot victory over Rod Pampling enhanced the notion that it would only be a matter of time.
By the time Spieth won the tournament for the second time in 2016, this time in a playoff against Ashley Hall and Cameron Smith, he had two Majors to his name, with a third coming the following year at The Open.
