Even the most dominant golfers are perpetually vulnerable. Every favorite had a difficult time at Oakmont during the U.S. Open, and all of golf’s greats have had to withstand a few nail-biters to build their legacies.
Scottie Scheffler, however, has not looked vulnerable at the 2025 Open Championship.
Scheffler took control at Royal Portrush in Saturday’s third round and quickly expanded his lead early in Sunday’s final round, putting a potentially historic amount of distance between himself and the rest of the leaderboard as he pursued his fourth major championship.
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Here’s a look at where Scheffler could rank among the largest margins of victory at The Open and majors in general.
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Largest margin of victory at British Open
Old Tom Morris set the record for largest margin of victory at the British Open more than 160 years ago, winning by 13 strokes in 1962.
| Year | Player | Margin of victory |
| 1862 | Old Tom Morris | 13 strokes |
| 1870 | Young Tom Morris | 12 strokes |
| 1869 | Young Tom Morris | 11 strokes |
| 1900 | John Henry Taylor | 8 strokes |
| 1908 | James Braid | 8 strokes |
| 1913 | John Henry Taylor | 8 strokes |
| 2000 | Tiger Woods | 8 strokes |
No player has won The Open by more than eight strokes since 1870, remarkably. The only player to even win by eight over the last century is Tiger Woods, who finished 19-under par to just about lap the field at historic St Andrews.
Since Woods’ 2000 victory, the greatest margin of victory belongs to Louis Oosthuizen, who won by seven strokes in 2010. Scheffler’s lead stretched to as large as eight strokes during Sunday’s final round.
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Largest margin of victory in a major
Tiger Woods set the record for largest margin of victory in a major in 1997, when he won the U.S. Open by 15 strokes
| Year | Player | Tournament | Margin of victory |
| 2000 | Tiger Woods | U.S. Open | 15 strokes |
| 1862 | Old Tom Morris | Open Championship | 13 strokes |
| 1870 | Young Tom Morris | Open Championship | 12 strokes |
| 1997 | Tiger Woods | Masters | 12 strokes |
| 1869 | Young Tom Morris | Open Championship | 11 strokes |
| 1889 | Willie Smith | U.S. Open | 11 strokes |
A major has been won by double-digit strokes only six times, including just twice since 1900. No one other than Woods has done it since 1900, as the golf legend won by 15 strokes at the 2000 U.S. Open and by 12 at the 1997 Masters, when he was just 21.
The PGA Championship is the only major that hasn’t been won by double-digits, as Rory McIlroy’s eight-stroke victory in 2012 is the high-water mark.
