The Open Championship or the British Open? The Pettiest Fight in Golf History Explored

What’s in the name, you ask. Nothing much for you and me. But when it’s about the men’s major on the other side of the pond, quite a lot is at stake. We are referring to the Open Championship, of course. Since 1850 the major hosted by Royal & Ancient has been known as the Open Championship, and they insist on it being so. 

So, where is the confusion? Well, it’s often referred to as the British Open, majorly on this side of the Atlantic, but even others on different parts of the globe sometimes refer it to as the British Open instead of the The Open. But R&A officials don’t like it one bit, and they have offered a solid reason for it. As the 152nd Open returns to Royal Troon, we take a look at the nomenclature debate.

R&A insists it’s The Open and not the British Open

R&A has forever used the name The Open Championship and wanted everyone to call this week’s major by that. Not that everyone listens. Hence, in 2016 Malcolm Booth, communications director for the R&A, told Doug Ferguson of AP, “The name of the championship hasn’t changed in 155 years. The reason we think 155 years on there is legitimacy in calling it ‘The Open Championship’ is it really was the birthplace of open competition.”

It’s the oldest golf major in the world. But if history is concerned, the U.S. Open, the Canadian Open, and the South African Open have no less a claim on golf heritage. So, sometimes R&A calling the British Open only by The Open irks some. 

But here is what gets lost in the argument. U.S. Open, South African Open, Canadian Open, Australian Open, and Spanish Open, all of them are national majors. Yes, they are not restricted to the players of the host country, but they are national majors because they are organized by a country’s golf board. The Open doesn’t consider itself the national major of Great Britain. 

R&A is a global governing body. And when the championship was established the idea was to make this an international arena. To this day, the winner is called the ‘Champion Golfer of the Year.’ Hence, R&A opposes any other name than The Open. “We don’t consider ourselves a national championship. The Open remit is to identify the champion golfer of the year,” Booth added. 

In fact, the R&A added a provision in their broadcasting deals barring the commentators from saying ‘British Open’. They are allowed to call it either ‘The Open’ or ‘Open Championship.’ But it’s not just the fans, or the commentators, even Open winners get the name ‘wrong’. 

Jack Nicklaus switches between the two names 

Jack Nicklaus is a three-time Open champion. He was part of one of the greatest Open Championship moments of all time when a young Tom Watson bested him at Turnberry in 1977. But, even Nicklaus refers to it as the British Open stateside. His rationale is simple. 

“It’s ‘The Open Championship of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.’ If it’s The Open Championship, it could be the U.S. Open, the Australian Open, the Japanese Open,” Nicklaus told AP a few years back. 

And then there is Arnold Palmer. The seven-time major champion in his autobiography, ‘A Life Well Played’, calls it the British Open. Whereas, in the book by R&A released for the 150th Open, he called it what the R&A preferred. 

Modern-day stars, like Brendan Grace, Jason Day, Colin Montgomerie, and Russell Knox (the last two are Scottish) interchange between The Open and the British Open depending on where they are. Whereas, Phil Mickelson, the 2013 Open Champion, insists both are correct. “The Earl of Airlie referred to it as the British Open when awarding Bobby Jones the Claret Jug in 1930 at Hoylake,” Lefty tweeted in 2021.

When the R&A announced the Open Championship provision in its broadcasting contract, the Wall Street Journal ran an article with the lead sentence, “The organizers of the British Open didn’t approve this sentence.” Cheeky, but shows two sides are relentless. There is no end to this debate of course. It’s the Open Championship week, after all.