Andrew Keites is chairman of the Harry Vardon Trust, which was set up in 1984 to support young golfers in Jersey, where Vardon was born.
He is not convinced Vardon gets the respect his achievements deserve.
“It’s easy to forget. Obviously there’s a recency bias and people take note of what they see on the television,” he said.
“Vardon was one of three [players] rather grandly known as the great triumvirate.
“There was an Englishman John Henry ‘JH’ Taylor, and a Scotsman, James Braid, and they dominated the professional golfing scene, especially the Open Championship for about 20 years, from the mid-1890s through to the mid-1910s,” he said.
Vardon’s major wins came at The Open in 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911 and 1914, along with one US Open win in 1900.
Given that Vardon died in 1937, Keites says it is “remarkable that he came from this little island and still holds that record”.
McIlroy has previously called it “an amazing honour”, external to have his name mentioned alongside Vardon.