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British Open

Most Times Runner-up

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Total	Player	Years Runner-up
7	Jak Nicklaus (USA)	1964, 1967-68, 1972, 1976-77, 1979
6	J. H. Taylor (England)	1896, 1904-07, 1914
4	Willie Park, Sr. (Scotland)	1861-62, 1865, 1867
4	James Braid (Scotland)	1897, 1902, 1904, 1909
4	Harry Vardon (Jersey)	1901-03, 1912
4	Sandy Herd (Scotland)	1892, 1895, 1910, 1920
3	Old Tom Morris (Scotland)	1860, 1863, 1968
3	Bob Kirk (Scotland) *	1869-70, 1878
3	Willie Fernie (Scotland)	1882,1884, 1890
3	Andrew Kirkaldy (Scotland) *	1879, 1889, 1891
3	Peter Thomson (Australia)	1952-53, 1957
3	Dai Rees (Wales) *	1953-54, 1961
3	Ernie Els (South Africa)	1996, 2000, 2004

* Indicates player never won the Open | Up to and including 2025
A further 20 players finished runner-up on two occasions.

J. H. Taylor (above) is the only man to have finished runner-up in four successive years .He finished first or second in the Open a record 11 times.

Fernie finished joint second with Andrew Kirkaldy in 1891 but lost the 18-hole play-off to establish second and third place. Fernie lost.

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