We take a look at some of the greatest golfers to hail from Scotland.
14 Of The Best Scottish Golfers Of All Time
Scotland is a country that has helped make golf what it is today and it is the spiritual home of the game. As a result it not only has some of the most iconic golf courses in the world, but it has also had some incredibly famous players hail from its lands. Here are 14 of the best.
In no particular order we start with iconic Open champion and legendary course designer Old Tom Morris.
Old Tom Morris
Born: 1821
Tour Wins: 4
Majors: 4
Old Tom Morris in 1880 (Getty Images)
Old Tom Morris is a legendary figure in the world of golf in more ways than one. Born in St Andrews, Morris started playing golf as a junior and went on to win four Open Championships in a seven year period. The effect and influence Old Tom Morris has had on the game of golf design also cannot be understated with many of his layouts making up the Open Championship rota and elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
Allan Robertson
Born: 1815
Tour Wins: N/A
Majors: None were formed during his career.
Allan Robertson was deemed to be one of the world’s first professional golfers and after his death The Open Championship was formed. During his playing career he was seen as the best player so after his passing Prestwick Golf Club created a tournament as a way of selecting the next Champion Golfer. This would become The Open Championship.
Young Tom Morris
Born: 1851
Tour Wins: 4
Majors: 4
Young Tom Morris wearing the British Open belt which he won four times (Getty Images)
Young Tom Morris learned the game from his father and also went on to win four Open Championships in a row (there was no tournament in 1871). This ultimately meant he kept the Championship belt and the Claret Jug was then used as the trophy for the winner of The Open Championship. Sadly he died at just 24.
Willie Park Sr
Born: 1833
Tour Wins: 4
Majors: 4
Like the two Morris’ above, Park Senior would also win four Open Championships including the first event in 1860.
James Braid
Born: 1870
Tour Wins: 19
Majors: 5
Golfer James Braid in action (Getty Images)
A member of the Great Triumvirate, Braid won five Open Championships in a ten year period which is the most of any Scottish golfer ever. He would then scale back his playing career and became head professional at Walton Heath before embarking on an immensely successful career in golf course design.
Willie Anderson
Born: 1879
Tour Wins: 9
Majors: 4
Born in North Berwick, Willie Anderson utterly dominated the US Open at the start of the 20th century. He won his first in 1901 and would win three more over the next four years.
Colin Montgomerie
Born: 1963
Tour Wins: 54
Majors: 3 Senior Major titles
Montgomerie holds up the Ryder Cup in 2010 (Getty Images)
Montgomerie was one of the world’s best golfers and a winning machine during the 1990’s and 2000’s. He won 31 times on the European Tour and won the Order of Merit a remarkable eight times. He also played in eight Ryder Cup teams, winning five times and captained a winning team at Celtic Manor in 2010. He is one of the most successful Ryder Cup players ever.
Jamie Anderson
Born: 1842
Tour Wins: 3
Majors: 3
From a young age Anderson caddied at St Andrews and took up golf as a youngster too. However he would not find success until his mid-30s as he won his first Open Championship in 1877, at the age of 35. He then won the next two Open Championships.
Catriona Matthew
Born: 1969
Tour Wins: 11
Majors: 1
Matthew holds the Solheim Cup aloft in 2019 (Getty Images)
Catriona Matthew secured her sole Major title at the 2009 Women’s British Open hosted at Royal Lytham & St Annes. She has also been a part of 10 Solheim Cup teams culminating in her 2019 captaincy which was a remarkable win that went right down to the wire. Captains pick Suzann Pettersen holed a seven-foot putt on the 18th to ensure victory.
Bob Ferguson
Born: 1846
Tour Wins: 3
Majors: 3
Ferguson was another golfer who won three Open Championships before his playing career was cut short by typhoid.
George Duncan
Born: 1883
Tour Wins: 22
Majors: 1
Duncan poses before playing at Hoylake in 1924 (Getty Images)
At one point Duncan was a carpenter and also turned down the chance to be a professional footballer to become a professional golfer. He would win one Open Championship in 1920 but his finest moment came at the 1929 Ryder Cup in which he captained the Great Britain team to a famous win. The match is best remembered for Duncan destroying American captain Walter Hagen 10&8 in the singles.
Sandy Lyle
Born: 1958
Tour Wins: 32
Majors: 2
Sandy Lyle wins The Masters in 1988 (Getty Images)
Lyle was part of the European golf boom along with the likes of Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo in the 1980’s and 1990’s. He would win two Major titles, one Open Championship at Royal St Georges, and one Masters title at Augusta. Seve once said Lyle during his peak was; “The greatest God-given talent in history. If everyone in the world was playing their best, Sandy would win and I’d come second.”
Bernard Gallacher
Born: 1949
Tour Wins: 22
Majors: 0
Bernard Gallacher posing with his clubs (Getty Images)
Gallacher was a prolific winner on the European Tour in the 1970’s and 1980’s, played in eight Ryder Cups and was a non-playing captain in three Cups. He was on the winning side just once, in 1995 at Oak Hill Country Club.
Paul Lawrie
Born: 1969
Tour Wins: 15
Majors: 1
Paul Lawrie holds the British Open trophy in 1999 (Getty Images)
Best remembered for his final-round 67 at Carnoustie at the 1999 Open Championship, Lawrie then went and secured victory in the playoff as you can see above. He also played a key role in the Miracle of Medinah at the 2012 Ryder Cup as he beat Brandt Snedeker 5&3 in the final-day singles. Europe would come back to win in historic fashion.
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