The World Golf Hall of Famer, who died aged 88 having suffered from Parkinson's disease for more than four years, won the first of his five Claret Jugs at Royal Birkdale in 1954.

He went on to win the Open a further four times over the next decade, a record only matched by the United States' Tom Watson and Scotsman James Braid in the 20th century, to be listed behind only the all-time record holder Harry Vardon – who registered six victories between 1896 and 1914.

"Obviously I am very saddened by his passing,
but what a legacy he has left," Spieth said.

"He looked like someone who was so proud of the Open Championship, someone who singled that tournament out as a specialty and his game certainly showed that.

RIGHT: Thomson with his trophy after winning the 1956 Open Championship at Hoylake for the third year in succession. PHOTO: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images.

"I remember seeing one picture of him hugging the Claret Jug so close to his face with a smile of pure joy.

"You don't see that, even in major championships, of guys with trophies, but you could see how much that tournament meant to him.

"Certainly he is one of, if not the, most masterful links players to play the game.

Those sentiments were echoed by the R&A, organisers of the Open Championship, who recognised one of the great champions of the sport.

"It is with great sadness that we have awoken to the news of the passing of Peter Thomson," said chief executive Martin Slumbers.

"Peter was a true gentleman and will be forever remembered throughout the world of golf as one of the great champions of our wonderful sport.

"He was a distinguished honorary member of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and will be sorely missed by all of us at the R&A.

"Peter gave me a number of very interesting and valuable thoughts on the game, how it has developed and where it is going, which demonstrated his genuine interest and love of golf.

"He was one of the most decorated and celebrated champion golfers in the history of the Open, winning the championship five times in total and becoming the only golfer of the 20th century to lift the Claret Jug on three consecutive occasions between 1954 and 1956."

Greg Norman paid his tributes to Thomson. PHOTO: Tim Clary/AFP/Getty Images.

Countryman Greg Norman, who won the Open twice, also paid tribute.

"There have been many individuals who have touched the game of golf, none more so than Peter Thomson in his era," Norman said in a statement.

"Australian golf was the benefactor of his five Open championships, which in turn paved the way for golfers like Bruce Devlin, David Graham, Ian Baker-Finch, Jason Day, Adam Scott and myself.

"With his passing, so too as an era.

"His life off the course deserves equal, having transitioned to a scribe for The Age, then politics, which is not something many golfers before or after him have accomplished.

"He will be missed. My thoughts are with (wife) Mary and his family."

Geoff Ogilvy and Aaron Baddeley also shared their memories of Thomson.

“He was a legend,” Ogilvy said. “Out here, it was Greg Norman and Steve Elkington
and all that.

"Thomson was almost too old for us when we were young to get it. But as I got better and better at golf and I talked to him a few times, I saw him and read about what he had done and the way he carried himself, it was pretty obvious he was the guy who should have been our hero. And he became that for me.
 
RIGHT: Ogilvy says that Thomson became his hero. PHOTO: Patrick Smith/Getty Images.


“He was incredibly wise and always seemingly to be in a good mood. He viewed golf with such a simplicity. I don’t even have the words, but he didn’t understand why we all made it so complicated.

“To him, it was just tee the ball up and hit it down the fairway, smile on your way to the ball, hit your ball on the green, smile on your way to the green, hole the putt and go to the next hole.

“To him, there wasn’t anything more to golf than that. I don’t know if anyone has viewed golf as simply as him. To be fair, in his time, I don’t know if there was anyone better than him, really.

“I mean, five British Opens, four in five years? Amazing. The one black mark on his record is they said he wasn’t any good in America. Then he came over for the Senior Tour in 1985 and won nine times to kind of say, ‘Well, look guys, I’m still better than you guys’. Then he went away again. Just brilliant. He could win wherever he wanted to, and he did it everywhere.”

Baddeley first met Thomson when he won his first Australian Open. PHOTO: Christian Petersen/Getty Images.

“You could see he loved the game and was a great champion,” Baddeley said. “I think I met him around the ’99 time, ’98, when I won my first Australian Open. He was super nice to me. He had a lot of nice words to say. I met him a couple of times but not multiple times, and I was actually the ambassador for Moonah Links, which he designed.

“The Shark (Greg Norman) had a great career, but he only won two (Open Championships). Peter won five, and it was something crazy, like five in 11 years. It was just really quick, really impressive. He was an incredible golfer.”