Harry Vardon

Born in Grouville, Jersey, in 1870, Harry Vardon rose from modest beginnings to become one of the defining golfers of his age. He turned professional in the late 1880s and built a reputation for calm, accurate play at a time when competitive golf was growing quickly.

Vardon won The Open Championship six times, a record that still stands, and also captured the U.S. Open in 1900. Along with J. H. Taylor and James Braid, he was part of the celebrated “Great Triumvirate,” the trio that dominated British golf around the turn of the 20th century.

He was admired not only for winning, but for the lasting mark he left on technique and style. The overlapping hold known as the Vardon grip became standard for generations of golfers, and his international tours helped turn top players into public figures. He died in 1937, but he remains one of the sport’s most important early champions.