Winning a major championship is the zenith of professional golf.
Reaching that mountaintop is a signal that you are among the best golfers to ever play. And if you look at the players who have won at least two majors in their career, it’s hard to find anyone who could be described as overrated.
However, one of golf’s great mysteries is that some of the best players never win a major. Those players win repeatedly on their respective tours and are admired as one of the game’s top performers—but a major victory never comes their way.
These players are rare. If you look at golf history, the game’s best are almost automatically major champions. The odds stack in their favor because there are four opportunities per year—five on the women’s side—so a golfer could easily have upwards of 80 to 100 chances at winning.
The data says that winning around nine PGA Tour titles should come with one major. That doesn’t always happen, though.
For whatever reason, these players never won a major. Now they are on this list.
10. Kenny Perry
There are others on this list who have better major records. Perry had only six top-10 finishes in 52 major starts so he wasn’t involved in the top events too often.
However, Perry won 14 times on the PGA Tour and was among the great drivers of the ball we’ve ever seen. He could really heat up in a hurry, twice winning Colonial by six strokes or more. Perry finished in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking five different years, proving he was a strong player during the 2000s.
He also had two heartbreaking major close calls. In the 1996 PGA Championship at Valhalla (in his home state of Kentucky), Perry made a closing bogey on the par-5 18th and watched Mark Brooks make a 72nd-hole birdie to force a playoff. Famously, Perry decided to go up to the TV booth and watch Brooks on air rather than hitting practice balls.
About 13 years later, Perry had an even better shot during the 2009 Masters. Perry made a back-nine Sunday charge to take a two-stroke lead with two holes remaining—but he gave it away after misplaying two chips on the final two holes. He would then lose in a playoff against Angel Cabrera.
For that reason, I think he deserves to be on this list.
9. Jane Blalock
Nobody has more LPGA wins (27) without winning a major than Jane Blalock.
The LPGA rookie of the year in 1969, Blalock won 24 times in the 1970s. She also captured the Dinah Shore prior to it being upgraded to a major.
Blalock finished runner-up in the Women’s PGA Championship twice (1972 and 1980) and also got into contention at the the 1971 and 1976 U.S. Women’s Open. Alas, she never broke through for a major victory.
8. Scott Hoch
An 11-time PGA Tour winner who won 23 times around the world and captured the Vardon Trophy in 1986, Hoch is best known for kicking away the 1989 Masters against Nick Faldo. Hoch missed an extremely short par putt on the first playoff hole that would have won him the green jacket. He would lose to a Faldo birdie on the next hole.
Hoch had 14 other top-10 finishes in majors throughout his career but he never would never record anything better than a T5.
Although he never reached the top 10 in the world, Hoch was still a very good player who could have won a major.
7. Steve Stricker
I think people forget that Stricker was a world-class player for seven consecutive years where he was a fixture in the top 10 of the world rankings.
Stricker won 12 times on the big Tour and then 18 times on the Senior Tour (including seven major titles). He was also very respectable in majors, recording 13 top-10 finishes.
He’s light on close calls but Stricker did have a great battle in the 1998 PGA Championship at Sahalee. He was one stroke back of Vijay Singh with two holes to play, ultimately falling two strokes shy.
6. Matt Kuchar
I was surprised how strong of a case Kuchar has for being on this list.
He won a Players Championship, a WGC-Match Play Championship and a FedEx Cup playoff event. Factoring in his U.S. Amateur title, his pedigree is ahead of most others in his category.
Kuchar also had eight consecutive years of finishing in the top 20 of the world rankings which is hard to do.
I thought Kuchar wasn’t great in majors but he did have 12 top-10 finishes and came dangerously close to winning the 2017 Open Championship. If not for Jordan Spieth magic late in that event, Kuchar would have certainly won the claret jug.
Debates can be had but he’s around the discussion for sure.
5. Judy Rankin
Known for her outstanding broadcast career, Rankin was also an incredible player.
Twice the LPGA player of the year (1976 and 1977), Rankin won the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average three times. She won 26 LPGA titles, easily making her one of the legends of the ’70s era in women’s golf.
While Rankin won two events that were later upgraded to major status, she isn’t credited with any major wins. She was a four-time runner-up in majors, narrowly missing out on that elusive victory.
A World Golf Hall of Famer (inducted in 2000), Rankin is certainly among the best players to never win a major.
4. Harry Cooper
“Lighthorse Harry” Cooper (given the nickname because of his quick pace of play) won 30 PGA Tour events and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.
No golfer has more Tour victories without winning a major.
Cooper, who won mostly in the 1930s, finished runner-up in majors four times. He famously said he never envisioned himself in the winner’s circle during majors, citing some form of mental hang-up about getting over that hurdle.
In the 1936 U.S. Open, Cooper put together a record score but was bested by Tony Manero. Manero was allegedly receiving advice from Gene Sarazen over the final nine—but advice exchanged between players was permitted at the time.
There is no doubt Cooper is among the top players who just couldn’t break through on the biggest stage.
3. Doug Sanders
The name “Doug Sanders” usually brings up the image of him missing a short putt that would have won him the 1970 Open Championship at St Andrews.
Sanders missed that putt and then lost by one stroke in an 18-hole playoff against Jack Nicklaus.
Most people only remember his name for that moment but Sanders actually had a strong career. He won 20 times on the PGA Tour, beating the likes of Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Lee Trevino along the way.
The only two players who have 20 or more wins without a major are the aforementioned Cooper and Macdonald Smith (see honorable mentions below). I rated him above those two based on the era he played in having more depth of competition.
Sanders had four runner-up major finishes and eight top-five finishes total, making him one of the best players to never win a major.
2. Colin Montgomerie
Mr. Montgomerie, I am sorry to put you near the top of another MyGolfSpy list. This one is at least more of a compliment.
Montgomerie is fourth all-time in European Tour victories (31). He won that circuit’s Order of Merit seven consecutive times, quite an accomplishment. The Scot also has 23.5 Ryder Cup points, three senior majors and a boatload of other accolades.
The fact that he never won a major—he was runner-up five times including when he lost two major playoffs—is one of the bigger letdowns in golf history. A closing double bogey in the 2006 U.S. Open is also haunting.
Montgomerie never won in the U.S. at all which is a big argument why he shouldn’t be considered the best player to have never captured a major. He also only had six top-five finishes, half that of the man who is No. 1 on this list.
Still, Monty’s major-less career is difficult to believe.
1. Lee Westwood
I have Westwood in the top spot because his major record is superior to anyone else here.
The Englishman had a remarkable 12 top-five finishes in majors including a few bitter close calls. The 2008 U.S. Open, 2010 Masters and 2013 Open Championship are a few that come to mind. He was constantly involved in majors.
That high rate of being in contention without winning is likely unmatched in modern golf.
Westwood won 25 European Tour titles and a pair of PGA Tour events. He reached No. 1 in the world and had 24 Ryder Cup points. He did virtually everything except win a major.
It was an outstanding career—but a balky putter froze several times down the stretch in major championships.
If it didn’t, he would be talked about in a completely different light.
Honorable mention
- Miguel Angel Jiménez: He won 21 times on the European Tour and was a decent major performer with nine top-10 finishes but he never seriously contended for a major title.
- Bruce Lietzke: Often cited as a player who could have won a major, Lietzke won 13 times on Tour but never really came close in majors. His best finish was a distant runner-up in the 1991 PGA Championship that John Daly won.
- Jay Haas: Haas won nine Tour titles across 15 years and was a very good player. He also had a surprising nine top-five finishes in majors although I couldn’t find much evidence that he had a realistic shot to win any of those.
- Rickie Fowler: You could definitely include him here. He has six Tour titles, including the Players. And he had a few good runs at majors in 2014 although the PGA was the only one he really had a great shot to win.
- Viktor Hovland: If you are going for active players in their prime who are likely to get a major at some point, Hovland would be my choice. He’s come close in the past two PGA Championships and is clearly among the top players.
- Luke Donald: He did reach No. 1 in the world but Donald only won five Tour titles and wasn’t much of a factor in majors throughout his career.
- Macdonald Smith: Scotland’s Smith dominated much of the 1920s and 1930s on the PGA Tour, winning 25 times. He was a consistent contender in the majors during that era, registering 12 top-five finishes despite only getting to play in one Masters. There is a bit of revisionist history here, however, as Smith won the Western Open three times—that event was considered one of the top tournaments at the time.
Who would you put in the top spot? Let me know below in the comments.
Top Photo Caption: Lee Westwood takes the top spot for best player to never win a major. (GETTY IMAGES/Warren Little)
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