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
Gene Sarazen won the tournament a year after completing the career Grand Slam
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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
Peter Thomson won the title three times over a span of 19 years
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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
Bobby Locke was the first South African to win the title
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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…
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