Nick Faldo stands head and shoulders above all other British golfers in the modern game in terms of Majors, having won six in a stellar career.

Between 1987 and 1996 he won the Open three times and the Masters three times, topping the world rankings in the process and earning a reputation as a fearsome competitor.

Never blessed with the easy charm or natural ability of a Severiano Ballesteros, Welwyn Garden City-born Faldo set about constructing a near-faultless game that stood up to intense conditions.

His technique worked, and indeed the white-hot heat of the Majors brought out the best in him - not so for his opponents, who were intimidated by his metronomic shot-making.

There have been other Major winners from the ranks of British golf in the last 50 years, some of them prodigiously talented, like Sandy Lyle (2), Tony Jacklin (2) and Ian Woosnam.

However, for numbers closer to Faldo we have to go back a very long time, to the beginning of the 20th century and then beyond, even to the origins of the Open in Scotland.

The search would take us past Henry Cotton (3) to Harry Vardon, who sits atop the pile with seven Majors, James Braid and JH Taylor (both 5), Jim Barnes, Willie Anderson, Willie Park and Old and Young Tom Morris (all 4).

Jersey-born Vardon, acknowledged as one of the all-time greats, was the most illustrious of the 'Great Triumvirate' along with Braid and Taylor, and won a record six Opens between 1896 and 1914.

In 1900 he achieved international celebrity status when he toured the US, capping his visit by winning the US Open. The familiar, overlapping 'Vardon grip' is named after him and he holds iconic status within the game.