The Open: Silver Medal winners

Maintaining its strong connection to the amateur game, The Open has awarded the Silver Medal to the leading amateur who plays all 72 holes ever since 1949.

The Open Silver Medal winners

Most successful Silver Medal winners

Any amateur good enough to win the Silver Medal at The Open is probably good enough to turn professional; as such, nobody has won the prize more than once since Peter McEvoy in 1978 and 1979.

Since then, Jose Maria Olazabal became the first continental European to take the Silver Medal in 1985, going on to record a pair of top-five finishes at The Open as well as winning the Masters twice and forming the most iconic pairing in Ryder Cup history alongside compatriot Seve Ballesteros.

Tiger Woods brought his outstanding amateur career to an end in 1996 but not before winning the Silver Medal at Royal Lytham & St Annes, winning the Masters in his first professional major start the following year. Woods would go on to record the second most majors in history with 16 over a 22-year winning span.

Justin Rose memorably took the Silver Medal in 1998 en route to a T4 finish having been one off the lead going into the weekend. Although Rose is yet to win the Claret Jug, he's a two-time runner-up at The Open and won the US Open in 2013.

Rory McIlroy announced himself to the world in 2007, occupying third place at Carnoustie after the first round, turning pro a couple of months later. McIlroy would win his first major four years after turning pro in 2011, demolishing the field at the US Open, going on to take his first Claret Jug in 2014. Despite winning four majors in four years, McIlroy had to wait until 2025 to claim a fifth, finally completing the career Grand Slam at the US Masters.

Matt Fitzpatrick took the Silver Medal in 2013, enjoying further amateur success later that year by winning the US Amateur at Brookline. Nine years later, returning to Brookline, Fitzpatrick won the US Open

Liam Williams

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