Top 10 British Open Moments of All-Time

As the sun rises on the 2011 British Open, it's time to be reflective of the past championships.

The spirit of the game ebbed out of St. Andrews and the Open Championship.  There have been extraordinary finishes, and time capsules of history that will forever shape the game.  

But the history of the Open Championship really starts with Old Tom Morris and his son, Tom Morris, Jr. Between them, they were the oldest and youngest winners of the Open Championship, each winning it four times between 1861 and 1872.  

As the 2011 British Open Championship sets to begin, here is a look back at some of the most endearing moments, spectacular finishes, and historical standards.

And while we can only anticipate a beautiful sunrise in Sandwich, England, the weather may have other plans....

10. The Claret Jug Replaces the Challenge Belt

At the first Open in 1860, the Duke of Ellington presented the winner of the Open Championship the Challenge Belt.  The belt had an ornate buckle with a picture of a golfer.  

The Challenge Belt was replaced by the Claret Jug in 1872.  One of the finest trophies in all of sports, it will be given to the champion on Sunday.

9. Bobby Jones: Rips Up Scorecard in 1921, Grand Slam in 1930

Bobby Jones had been leading all the amateurs in the third round of the 1921 Open Championship, but a bitter crosswind came over the St. Andrews links on day three. 

Jones shot 46 on the front nine and proceeded to move to the 10th hole.  He double-bogeyed the 10th hole, then could not escape the cavernous bunker on the 11th, and ripped up his scorecard.  

Hardly the sportsmanship moment we remember from the player that won the Grand Slam just nine years later.

8. Constantino Rocca and the Putt

Constantino Rocca did birdie the 72nd hole to force a playoff in 1995, but it was how it was accomplished that was memorable.  

Rocca chunked his wedge into the valley of sin, then rolled in one of the greatest putts in Open history. The curling 100-foot putt sent Rocca to his knees in exultation.  It was the 1995 Open Championship, and he almost had his mitts on the Claret Jug. That is, until the 72nd hole.  

John Daly earned the Jug, and his second major championship in a playoff.

7. Jack Nicklaus: The Missed Putt & Playoff in 1970 & the Final Farewell in 2000

Doug Sanders stood over a three-footer to win the Open Championship.  He hesitated, bent down, and removed a tiny fleck of grass. He rushed his putt, and there was a playoff with none other than the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus.  

Nicklaus eventually edged Sanders with a rocket-like tee shot that went over the green on the 18th hole in the playoff.  The picture (left) represents the Golden Bear's final pass over the Swilken Bridge in 2000.  

6. Lee Trevino Wins Back to Back (Birkdale and Muirfield) 1971 & 1972

Lee Trevino was at the top of his game, and the Merry Mex took it to the Open Championship by identical 278-scores and single stroke victories over Lu Liang Huan (1970) and Jack Nicklaus (1971).  His shot-making ability was built for the Open, and it showed.

5. Ole: Seve Ballesteros Battles Tom Watson (1984)

Only a Spaniard with a hard-charging game kept Tom Watson away from the Claret Jug in 1984.

Ballesteros managed a par on the Road hole, and then threaded a drive within shouting distance of Watson, playing the 17th hole.  The enthusiastic crowd made Watson's approach over the green, two feet from the wall.  Watson made bogey on 17, and Ballesteros birdied 18 for a dramatic win. 

It was his second Open Championship, having won the Open at Royal Lytham in 1979. Ballesteros died earlier this year.

4. Tiger Slam

The 2000 British Open completed the second leg in what would be a storied run of golf by Tiger Woods, now known as the "Tiger Slam". It will forever go down in British Open lore as the culmination of a great run of golf.  

Was it the Grand Slam? No.  But when all four trophies are in the closet, it's close.  

He completed the Tiger Slam by taking the PGA Championship in August, 2000, and then earned a Masters victory the following April, 2001.  At St. Andrews, he finished 19 under (par) and eight strokes clear of the field.

3. Turnberry in 1977: Aka. the Duel in the Sun

Jack and Tom, Watson and Nicklaus.

Since this battle at Turnberry, golfing fans worldwide have been clamoring for another rivalry mano v. mano on any soil. This tournament had the ebb and flow of a heavyweight prize fight without the fisticuffs.  

Watson eventually outlasted Nicklaus by one stroke in the tournament, which turned into a match-play spectacle.

2. Jean Van De Velde: Car Wreck @ Carnoustie

It was a foregone conclusion that Jean Van de Velde would win the 1999 Open Championship.  

That was until they were yelling fore off the 18th tee box.  Van de Velde's tee shot went right, and a series of bad decisions followed.  He was able to get up and down out of the greenside bunker to force a playoff.  

It will go down as one of the most monumental collapses in golf history. The three-hole playoff was won by Paul Lawrie.

1. Tom Watson

Whether it's his five British Opens, or just his wide toothed smiled and aw-shucks Huck Finn looks.  It doesn't matter - Tom Watson almost played the most timeless Open Championship in 2009. He was flawless shot after shot until the final hole.  His putt on the 72nd hole slid away and he had to watch fellow American Stewart Cink do his aw shucks impression - he learned from Watson.  At age 59, Watson had one of the greatest tournaments in golf history.  It was just a single stroke short of his sixth Claret Jug.