Every year The Masters kicks off a new golf season, and the 2024 edition is shaping up to be one for the ages. It seems like forever since Jon Rahm lifted the 2023 championship trophy, while his departure from the PGA Tour to join LIV at the end of the season brought on a seismic shift in the landscape of professional golf.
Jon Rahm: Reigning Masters Champion
In addition to his Masters victory, Rahm recorded 9 Top-10’s in 2023 including 3 more Tour wins, a T2 at the Open Championship and a T10 at the U.S. Open. Since joining LIV, Jon has played 5 events with 3 Top-5’s and 2 Top-10’s—so he’s primed and ready to defend his Masters title this weekend.
Scottie Scheffler, the 2022 Masters Champion, will be standing in his way, however—and when you look at the way Scheffler finished the 2023 season along with the incredible year he’s had thus far in 24’, Mr. Rahm will need every bit of his A game if he hopes to repeat at Augusta.
Scottie Scheffler: Current World Number 1
In his last 11 starts of 2023, Scottie recorded 9 Top 10’s including a T2 at The PGA and 3rd at the U.S. Open (for the year he made 23 of 23 cuts with 17 Top-10’s and 2 wins). Scottie’s 2024 season has been even more remarkable, with 7 Top-10’s in eight starts and 2 more wins including The Players Championship.
Let’s get ready to rumble!
Supporting Cast
Rory McIlroy has had a dismal season, but showed signs of life last week when he closed with a 66 to record his first Top 10 of the year. If Rory is on his game and making a few putts, even Scheffler and Rahm will have their hands full trying to hold him off—and he wants nothing more than to add a Green Jacket to his major championship profile page.
Rory McIlroy: Four Time Major Winner
After such a tough loss at The Players, Xander Schauffele has to be laser focused on landing that first major championship. Xander has 6 Top 10’s in 8 starts without missing a cut (42 in a row going all the way back to 2022)—so he is definitely due.
Xander Shauffele
Hideki Matsuyama had a forgettable 2023 season where he was making cuts (22 of 26), but recorded only 2 Top 10’s. That was last year—in only 9 starts so far this year Hideki has 3 Top 10’s including a win at The Genesis in LA and T6 at The Players. Keep in mind that Matsuyama already owns a Green Jacket (2021 Champ) and he’s coming off a strong showing (T7) at the Valero last week—look for him among the leaders heading into Sunday.
Hideki Matsuyama
Another player to keep an eye on is Wyndam Clark (reigning U.S. Open Champ). Wyndam recorded a win at Pebble Beach in the AT&T back in February, and had back-to-back runner-up finishes in March (Palmer Invitational and The Players). Clark crushes it, so if he’s dialed in this week listen for some pretty loud noise around the leaderboard come the weekend.
Wyndam Clark
Young Guns
Ludvig Aberg
This year’s Masters field will include perhaps the most talented group of young players ever assembled at Augusta National. Nick Dunlap (20), Akshay Bhatia (22), Ludvig Aberg (24), and. Sahith Theegala (26).
Akshay Bhatia
At only 20 years old, Nick Dunlap became the first amateur to win a Tour event since Phil when he held off a strong field including Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele at the American Express in January. At 22, Akshay Bhatia has already won twice on Tour, including a gutsy win at the Valero last week—and with his power you can look for a ton of wedges at Augusta. Ludvig Aberg, by way of Sweden and Texas Tech, picked up his first Tour win at the RSM last Fall, and with his power and ball striking the wins will pile up fast when the putter comes around.
Sahith Theegala
A 3-time All-American at Pepperdine, Sahith Theegala has already recorded 17 Top-10’s including a win and a T-9 at the ’23 Masters—he’ll break out at a major more sooner than later, and Augusta suits his eye. Check out the current top 75 players on GolfDay’s 2024 Power Rankings.
The LIV Contingent
Brooks Koepka: 5 Major Championships
LIV will be sending 13 players to the Masters this year, and Jon Rahm is not the only one with a solid chance to don the Green Jacket on Sunday. Joaquin Niemann leads the LIV Power Rankings after winning 2 of the 5 events played thus far in 2024—and that is with Jon Rahm barking at his heels. Of the top 5 finishers at the 2023 Masters, 4 are currently playing on LIV—so it’s a pretty good bet that a few will be lurking among the leaders on Sunday. Remember that before he won the PGA last year, Brooks Koepka was lapping the field at Augusta through 3 rounds until Rahm chased him down. Don’t forget about DJ either—he recorded a LIV win earlier this year. And as long as Cameron Smith has a putter in his hands, he’s extremely dangerous—particularly on the immaculate greens at Augusta National. Probably not likely that Phil has another rabbit hidden under his hat like the one he pulled last year to finish runner up, but you never know. In any event, there’s no doubt the LIV group will make their presence felt.
Betting Odds
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Scottie Scheffler is the man to beat at (+400 to win)—but a few names of interest are included below (as of Wednesday evening).
Rory McIlroy +1000.
Jon Rahm +1100
Xander Schauffele at +1400
Brooks Koepka +1800
Hideki Matsuyama +2000
Jordan Spieth+2200
Joaquin Neimann +2800
Ludvig Oberg+3300
Wyndham Clark +4000
Patrick Cantlay+4000
Cameron Smith +5000
Sahith Theegala +5000
Max Homa +7500
Akshay Bhatia +11000.
Tiger Woods +15000
Phil Mickelson +27000
History
Augusta National has provided some of the greatest moments in golf history—from Jack’s magical victory at 46 years old in ’86, to Tiger’s win in ’01 that completed the “Tiger Slam.” And of course, who can forget Greg Norman’s monumental collapse at the ’96 Masters, or when Fred Couples’ tee shot on 12 miraculously defied gravity, clinging to the slope above Rae’s Creek as he went on to win. And then there was Phil’s leap, following his birdie on 18 to win his first major, and the amazing approach on 13 from the pine straw when he took home his third green jacket in 2010.
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After his performance at The Masters, there was no question that Brooks Koepka was back and would be a force at the PGA Championship. At Augusta Brooks dominated early, jumping out to a big lead—but faltered in the final round. The PGA, however, was a different story. Koepka started slowly, gradually building momentum each day before bringing the hammer down on Sunday afternoon.
After posting 2 over in the first round, Brooks lurked in the shadows, 6 shots off the lead held by Bryson DeChambeau at -4. On Friday he glided through the front nine at even par, slowly moving up the leaderboard on the immensely difficult Donald Ross layout at Oak Hill.
And then Brooks kicked it, pouring in 5 birdies on the back nine for 31 and a second round 66, climbing to fifth—3 shots behind the leaders as the championship headed into the weekend.
Oak Hill Country Club: The Ultimate Grind
As if Oak Hill wasn’t tough enough already, Saturday’s weather for the third round featured continuous rain, making the already nasty rough that much more difficult and taking the opportunity to post a low number out of the equation.
It was the perfect storm for Koepka though, who loves nothing more than a hellishly difficult golf course combined with horrendous conditions and maximum pressure. Again, Brooks quietly glided through the front nine with a 1 under 34, and then battered the back with 3 birdies for another 66—going into Sunday with a 1 shot lead over young Victor Hoveland.
Brooks Koepka: 5 Major Championships
Unlike Sunday at The Masters, Koepka put his foot on the gas right out of the box with 3 birdies in the first 4 holes, extending his lead to 3 shots. Hoveland wouldn’t quit though, pulling to within a shot on the sixth hole and staying right there until a double on 16, combined with yet another Koepka birdie, ended his chances.
The win was Koepka’s fifth major championship, one more than Rory McIlroy, and the same number reached by Byron Nelson, Seve Ballesteros and Peter Thomson. It will be hard to bet against Brooks at the Los Angeles Country Club for the U.S. Open Championship in June—although Jon Rahm and Scotty Scheffler won’t just step aside and hand it to him.
On the other hand, Koepka will no doubt relish the competition—and we can look forward to the kind of gunfight not seen at a major championship in a long time.
DJ: Holding onto #1
LIV Power Ranking Update
Players have been rated and ranked on the basis of events played, average finish, wins, runner up, Top-5 and Top-10 finishes–as well as performance at the 2022 and 2023 major championships (LIV Player Rankings).
While seventy-five players have participated in one or more tournaments since the inaugural event in London last year, we’ve included only the top forty-eight. With Brooks Koepka’s win at the PGA and Cam Smith recording a Top 10, a big bite has been taken out of Dustin Johnson’s lead in the Power Rankings—and if either were to win this weekend at Trump National in DC, Johnson may find himself knocked from his perch.
Top 3
No. 1 Dustin Johnson: 95.4 Rating Dustin is still the only player with a Top 10 average finish (9.6). He has also recorded the most wins (2) and the most top 10’s (7).
Unfortunately, DJ wasn’t sharp at The Masters (T48), and after firing a 67 in the first round of the PGA he followed up with 3 consecutive rounds of 74 to finish far back at T55.
Dustin will have to pick up his game to keep Koepka and Smith at bay—perhaps he’ll put it in gear over the weekend in DC.
Cam Smith: Open Champ plus Two Major Top 10’s
No. 2 Cameron Smith: 89.7 Rating
With a T10 in Singapore, runner-up in Tulsa and final round 65 at the PGA to record a Top 10, Cameron Smith has moved back up into the No. 2 position. If Cam takes home the trophy in Washington and DJ were to finish back in the pack, he can vault past Johnson and grab the top spot.
No. 3 Brooks Koepka: 87.2 Rating 2023 is shaping up to be a monster year for Brooks Koepka. His second LIV win at Orange County National/Orlando in early April was immediately followed by the fantastic performance at the Masters where he made it clear that the injuries were in the past and his game was back.
Following the runner up at The Masters, Brooks finished 11th at Adelaide, 3rd in Singapore and 5th at Tulsa—and then came his magnificent PGA Championship victory.
It will be fun to see if Brooks keeps the peddle to the metal at Trump National in DC this weekend—and the field better take cover if he does.
Pat Reed: Masters T4 and PGA Top 20
Notables
Patrick Reed: No. 5—73.5 Rating While Reed is still looking for his first LIV win, he has recorded 5 Top 5 finishes in 12 starts, including a runner up and 3 third place finishes. Patrick is also second only to DJ in average finish at 12.5.
Reed also followed up his T4 at The Masters with a top 20 finish at the PGA—perhaps this is his week to nail down that first win.
Bryson DeChambeau: Before and After
Bryson DeChambeau: No. 15–52.5 Rating With only one Top 10 finish in his first 11 LIV events, Bryson was treading water in the middle of the pack—and then he recorded a 5th place finish two weeks ago at Cedar Ridge Country Club in Tulsa and followed that up with a T4 at the PGA Championship.
Bryson decided to shed much of his bulk toward the end of 2022, and it seems he now feels comfortable in the new slimmed down version of himself—look to see him start packing on more LIV Top-10’s and make some noise at the U.S. Open in LA.
Phil: 100 Major Championship Cuts
Phil: No. 31—40.3 Rating
Phil is an enigma, no doubt about it. In thirteen LIV events he has recorded only one Top-10—but let him step foot on Augusta National and suddenly he fires a 65 in the final round and adds another runner-up to his amazing major championship record.
And making the cut in the PGA at Oak Hill, as an army of pros half his age packed up and headed home, was yet another milestone in Phil’s illustrious career—the 100th time he made the cut in a major championship.
Only Jack (131) and Gary Player (102) are in front of him—so Phil has a chance to tie Player for second before the year is over.
Now if only he’d stop fooling around and put up some numbers in the regular LIV events…
Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester NY
PGA Championship: Summary
Brooks Koepka
WIN
Bryson DeChambeau
T4
Cameron Smith
T9
Patrick Reed
T18
Mito Pareira
T18
Harold Varner III
T29
Thomas Pieters
T40
Dean Burmester
54
Dustin Johnson
T55
Phil Mickelson
T58
Sihwan Kim
T62
Pablo Larazabal
T65
Joaquin Nieman
MC
Taylor Gooch
MC
Abraham Ancer
MC
Anirban Lahiri
MC
Trump National Washington D.C.
2023 Upcoming LIV Schedule
DC Trump National Golf Club, Washington (May 26-28)
To the surprise of many, twelve of the eighteen LIV players who were invited to Augusta for The Masters made the cut. On top of that, three finished in the Top 5 (Phil and Brooks Koepka tied for runner-up, while Patrick Reed landed a T4). Young Joaquin Niemann also had a solid week, finishing among the Top 20 (T16).
The big story of the 2023 Masters was Koepka, dominating the field through the first three days of rain interrupted play. When the third round was halted through 6 holes on Saturday, Brooks appeared to be unstoppable in pursuit of his 5th major championship, standing at 13 under par with a 4-shot lead over Jon Rahm.
And as play resumed on Sunday, with both Phil and Pat Reed rocketing up the leaderboard, it looked like the PGA Tour’s worst nightmare was about to unfold.
The golf pundits had universally been saying that the LIV players would have a rough time because they were not used to stiff competition, and LIV tournaments were only 3 rounds. Phil (at 52 years old) closed with a fourth round 65 and Reed fired a 68—both finishing in the top 5 and putting a stopper on that theory.
Although Brooks faltered on Sunday and Rahm was able to overtake him, he exhibited a degree of humility and class worthy of a four-time major champion. There is no question that Koepka is back, and you can expect to see him among the leaders at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill in May.
Dustin Johnson: Giving some Ground
LIV Power Ranking Update
Players have been rated and ranked on the basis of events played, average finish, wins, runner up, Top-5 and Top-10 finishes–as well as performance at the 2022 and 2023 major championships (LIV Player Rankings).
While seventy-five players have participated in one or more tournaments since the inaugural event in London last year, we’ve included only the top forty-eight. Not surprisingly, Dustin Johnson has dominated pretty much from day one. With his T4 at The Masters, however, Patrick Reed continues to move closer to DJ, and Brooks Koepka is beginning to bull his way toward the top with his second LIV win and runner-up at Augusta National.
Top 3
No. 1 Dustin Johnson: 81.9 Rating After opening with an 8th place finish at the initial event in London, Dustin recorded a T3 in at Pumkin Ridge Portland, a T2 in Bedminster and then won the fourth event in Boston. In the ten stroke play tournaments held thus far, DJ has recorded a win, a runner-up, three top 5’s and two top 10’s with an average finish of 9.1.
While DJ made the cut at Augusta, his T48 finish was very forgettable—and allowed Reed and Koepka to close the gap quite a bit in the LIV Player Rankings.
Patrick Reed: Masters T5
No. 2 Patrick Reed: 67.6 Rating Reed recorded a T3 in his first LIV event in Portland, and finished among the top 5 in four of the ten events he’s played (including a T3 at Orange County National in March). Patrick is also among the top echelon for consistency with an average finish of 12.4.
On the heels of his Top 5 finish at the Masters, Reed will look to carry the LIV banner through each of the remaining majors in 2023.
No. 3 Brooks Koepka: 67.0 Rating After a slow start in 2022, Brooks recorded a T8 at Bangkok and followed that up with a win in his next event (Jeddah). After mediocre finishes in the first two events of 2023, Koepka recorded his second win in Orlando last week—making him the only LIV player with multiple wins thus far.
While his Sunday stumble at Augusta was no doubt a major let down for Brooks, he certainly sent a message that he’s far from done—and Rahm will have his hands full at the PGA this year.
Cameron Smith: Looking to Heat Up at the PGA
Notables
Cameron Smith: No. 7–60.6 Rating After a fast start, Cameron Smith has tumbled from No. 2 at the conclusion of ‘22 to No. 7 after finishing 24th at The Gallery Golf Club in Tucson, 26th in Orlando, and a disappointing T34 at The Masters.
He will be a force at the PGA, however, should he brandish the wand as he did at The Open Championship last year.
Joaquin Niemann: Young Gun
Joaquin Niemann: No. 9–57.3 Rating At 24 years old, Joaquin Niemann is one of the brightest young stars in golf. After joining the PGA Tour at 19, Niemann recorded 22 Top-10’s including 2 wins in 5 years–making the cut in just under 80% of the events he entered while reaching the Tour Championship in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Joaquin had an excellent Masters with a T16 finish, but we won’t see him at another major until the U.S. Open at The Los Angeles Country Club in June—where you can expext him to make some noise with his precision ball striking.
Mito Pereira: No. 12—55.3 Rating Virtually unknown in the U.S. prior to bursting onto the scene with a T3 at the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, Pereira’s outstanding play came as no surprise to golf fans in his native Chile. After winning multiple junior titles, including a victory on the Chilean Professional Tour in 2013 as an Amateur, Mito climbed to number 5 in the official World Amateur Golf Rankings in 2015 at twenty years old.
Mito made the cut and had a solid week at Augusta, and we’ll see him at the PGA Championship in May. Like his fellow Chilean, Joaquin Niemann, look for Mito to have a solid season at the majors in 2023.
Phil: Masters Runner-Up
Phil: No. 37–34.6 Rating While Mickelson’s LIV career could only be described as a lead balloon thus far, leave it to Phil to pull a giant rabbit out of his hat when you least expect it. The stunning 65 that he fashioned in the final round at Augusta was a flashback to his incredible PGA win in 2021.
While the Masters runner-up finish propelled Phil from No. 46 to No. 37 in the LIV Player Rankings, it also appears to have ignited a flame as we head toward the PGA (Phil fired a solid 2 under round of 70 in the first round at Adelaide in Australia this week, and followed up with 65 in the second round to move into the Top 10).
Could Phil pull off another bit of magic at Oak Hill? We’ll have to wait and see….
The Masters: 12 of 18 Make the Cut PGA Tour (https://www.pgatour.com/)
The Masters: Summary
Brooks Koepka T2
Phil Mickelson T2
Patrick Reed T4
Joaquin Nieman T16
Harold Varner III T29
Cameron Smith T34
Talor Gooch T34
Abraham Ancer T39
Mito Pareira T43
Dustin Johnson T48
Thomas Pieters T48
Charl Schwartzel T50
Sergio Garcia MC
Bryson DeChambeau MC
Jason Kokrak MC
Bubba Watson MC
Louis Oosthuizen WD
Kevin Na WD
The Grange Golf Club: A Greg Norman Design
2023 Upcoming LIV Schedule
Adelaide The Grange Golf Club, Australia (April 21-23)
With the 2022 LIV season in the rearview, the first three events of 2023 completed, and eighteen players headed to The Masters, let’s take a look at who tops the charts after the first ten events.
Players have been rated and ranked on the basis of events played, average finish, wins, runner up, Top-5 and Top-10 finishes–as well as performance at the 2022 major championships (LIV Player Rankings).
While seventy-five players have participated in one or more tournaments since the inaugural event in London last year, we’ve included only the top forty-eight. Not surprisingly, Dustin Johnson has dominated pretty much from day one. With his T3 at Orlando last week, Patrick Reed moved from No. 5 at the close of 2022 to No. 2 heading into The Masters, and Brooks Koepka has muscled his way from No. 9 to No. 3.
After a fast start, Cameron Smith has tumbled from No. 2 at the conclusion of ‘22 to No. 8 after finishing 24th at The Gallery Golf Club in Tucson and 26th in Orlando last week—perhaps Augusta National will get his juices flowing again.
Top 5
No. 1 Dustin Johnson: 80.9 Rating After opening with an 8th place finish at the initial event in London, Dustin recorded a T3 in at Pumkin Ridge Portland, a T2 in Bedminster and then won the fourth event in Boston. In the ten stroke play tournaments held thus far, DJ has recorded a win, a runner-up, three top 5’s and two top 10’s with an average finish of 9.1.
Patrick Reed: Moving Closer to DJ
No. 2 Patrick Reed: 62.6 Rating Reed recorded a T3 in his first LIV event in Portland, and finished among the top 5 in four of the ten events he’s played (including a T3 at Orange County National last week). Patrick is also among the top echelon for consistency with an average finish of 12.4.
Brooks Koepka: 2 LIV wins
No. 3 Brooks Koepka: 62.0 Rating After a slow start in 2022, Brooks recorded a T8 at Bangkok and followed that up with a win in his next event (Jeddah). After mediocre finishes in the first two events of 2023, Koepka recorded his second win in Orlando last week—making him the only LIV player with multiple wins thus far.
Don’t be surprised if Koepka makes some noise at Augusta this week.
Uihlein and Wolf: Moving up the Board
No. 4 Peter Uihlein: 61.6 Rating After a 4-0 record as a member of the 2009 Walker Cup team and then winning the U.S. Amateur in 2010, Uihlein struggled to make it on the PGA Tour, flying largely under the radar with stints on the European Tour (where he recorded a win) and the Korn Ferry Tour (recording 2 wins).
Since joining LIV in 2022, however, Peter’s game has fulfilled the promise of his early career. After opening with a T3 in London, Uihlein recorded five additional Top-10’s including runner-up finishes in Chicago, Jeddah and Mayakoba.
No. 5 Matt Wolf: 61.1 Rating At 22 years old, Matt Wolf is one of the brightest young stars in golf. After joining the PGA Tour at 19, Wolf recorded a win at the 3M Championship in his rookie year, a runner up at the 2020 U.S. Open and a T4 at the 2020 PGA Championship.
In nine LIV events, Matt has finished among the Top 10 six times, including a runner-up at Trump Bedminster in ’22 and a T5 in Orlando last week. Wolf also has the best average finish behind DJ at 11.9 for players who have participated in at least 5 LIV events.
Carlos Ortiz and Charles Howell III
Notables
Carlos Ortiz: No. 7—60.1 Rating Ortiz opened with a runner-up in his first LIV event in Portland last year and has finished among the Top-10 in five of the nine events he’s played. Thus far in 2023, Carlos has recorded a T7 in Mayakoba, a runner-up in Tucson and a T8 last week in Orlando. He is also tied with Matt Wolf with an average finish of 11.9, just behind DJ.
Charles Howell, III: No. 9–57.3 Rating Charles won his first LIV event at Mayakoba in February with a dominating four stoke margin over Peter Uihlein, and has finished among the Top-10 in four of the eight events he has played.
Only five players were better than Howell’s average finish of 13.7.
Phil: Poised for a run in 2023
Phil (No. 46—29.6 Rating) Mickelson’s LIV career has not been memorable to say the least, dropping even further to No. 46 (he finished 2022 at No. 38).
And Phil’s T41 last week in Orlando, his worst showing ever at an LIV event, does not bode well for Augusta this week—but you never know, perhaps the familiar surroundings and past success will boost him into the weekend.
Ernie Els was 42 years old back in 2012, and it had been ten years since he won The Open in 2002. He had missed the cut in 3 of the 4 major championships in 2011, with only a single Top 10 finish on the PGA Tour in 21 starts. And although Els recorded 5 consecutive Top-10’s at Augusta National from 2000 through 2005 (including 2 runner-up finishes), he had dropped out of the top 50 in the World Golf Rankings, and The Masters Committee declined to offer him a special exemption—so he missed the Masters for the first time in 17 years.
As the sting of missing The Masters receded, Ernie’s game began to get in gear with a runner-up at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in late April, and he started looking very much like the Els of old with a Top 10 at the U.S. Open in June at the Olympic Club.
The 2012 Open was played at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club, and Ernie got off to a solid start with a 67 in the first round—but Adam Scott fired a brilliant 64 and he was 3 shots off the lead. Els continued to play well in the second and third rounds to stand at 5 under, but Adam was playing even better, and as the final round got under way on Sunday Scott had opened up a 6-shot lead.
It didn’t get any better for Ernie through the first 9 on Sunday as he posted a 2 over 37, including a bogey at the ninth, and Scott’s lead remained at 6 shots going to the back—with seemingly little hope that Els would lift the Claret Jug for a second time.
Although Ernie got hot and birdied 3 out of the first 5 holes on the back nine, he still trailed Scott by 4 with only 4 holes to play. But anything can happen down the stretch at an Open Championship.
Scott struggled on the closing holes, finishing with 4 consecutive bogies to finish at 6 under. Els made par at 15, 16 and 17, and then hammered a perfect tee shot down the middle on the last. After a crisp wedge that came down 20 feet from the pin, Ernie drilled the putt for birdie to shoot 31 on the back and a 68, posting 7 under to become the 2012 Champion Golfer in one of the greatest comeback victories of all time.
Ernie Els: 2012 Open Championship
Number 9: 1995 PGA Championship– Steve Elkington
Seventeen years before his dramatic comeback victory at The Open, Ernie Els began the final round of the 1995 PGA Championship at Riviera Country Club with a 3 shot lead over Mark O’Meara and Jeff Maggert, 5 shots over Colin Montgomerie, and a 6 shot margin over Steve Elkington and Craig Stadler.
Ernie was at the top of his game in 1995, having recorded 4 major Top-10’s and a U.S. Open title between 1992 and 1994. The only player among the leaders with a major victory was Craig Stadler, and his win at The Masters had come almost twenty years earlier in 1976—so it seemed inevitable that Els would raise the Wanamaker Trophy when play concluded on Sunday.
Steve Elkington, however, was on a mission. With perhaps the greatest swing of all-time, Elk was at the top of his game with a T5 at Augusta in April and a T6 at The Open Championship in July. And although he was again battling the severe sinus problems that plagued him throughout his career, Elkington knocked down stick after stick on Sunday to post a magnificent final round 64—overcoming a 6 shot deficit to finish in a tie with Montgomerie at 17 under par.
When his birdie putt dropped on the first playoff hole, Elkington had won the PGA Championship—and completed one of the greatest comebacks in history.
Phil Mickelson: 2013 Open Championship
Number 8: 2013 Open Championship– Phil Mickelson
Phil had suffered yet another devastating U.S. Open loss at Marion in June, his sixth runner-up finish at the championship he so much wanted to win, so it seemed unlikely that Lefty could bounce back and make a serious run at the Claret Jug in July.
Mickelson, however, continued to push by sharpening his links game while winning the Scottish Open in the week leading up to The Open Championship at Muirfield.
While Phil got off to a good start with a 69 in the first round, he disappeared from the leader board completely with a second round 74—so it seemed highly unlikely that lefty would make The Open his 5th major championship. Muirfield was proving a tough test, however, and Phil fought his way back with a solid 72 in the third round, but still found himself 5 shots off the pace set by leader Lee Westwood heading into the final round.
As the wind started to blow on Sunday, Phil uncharacteristically went to his 3 wood and fashioned a masterful closing round 66 to finish at 3 under par—one of the greatest performances of his illustrious career. And when Westwood faltered with a closing 75, and the other players at the top of the leaderboard succumbed to the weather, Phil won going away with a 3 shot victory in one of the most memorable comebacks in major championship history.
Nick Faldo: 1996 Masters
Number 7: 1996 Masters– Nick Faldo
In the fifteen Masters championships Norman had played heading to August National in 1996, Greg had recorded 2 runner-up finishes, 2 third place finishes, 2 top-5’s and a top 10. And when he opened with a dominating 63 in the first round, it appeared that 1996 would be the year that Norman would slip the green jacket over his shoulders at last.
Norman continued to play solid golf on Friday and Saturday, posting rounds of 69 and 71 for a 54-hole total of 13 under and a commanding 6-shot lead over Nick Faldo going to Sunday.
With his customary laser focus, Faldo applied the pressure in the final round by posting 2 under on the front nine as Norman began to disintegrate with 3 bogeys and a lone birdie—a 4 shot swing that left Faldo only 2 behind going to the back nine.
While Norman imploded completely with 41 on the back, Faldo kept his foot firmly on the gas with a 33 on the closing nine, a final round 67, and a 5 shot victory. Most remember the 1996 Masters for Norman’s colossal collapse, but Faldo’s magnificent final round was stunning—and one of the all-time comebacks in major championship history.
Padraig Harrington: 2007 Open Championship
Number 6: 2007 Open Championship– Padraig Harrington
Sergio Garcia fired a sizzling opening round 65 in pursuit of his first major championship at Carnoustie Golf Links in the 2007 Open Championship, jumping out to a 2 shot lead over Irishman Paul McGinley. At 27 years old, Garcia had recorded 12 major Top-10’s in his career without a win, and it was looking like this would be the week when he finally broke through.
Sergio increased his lead through 54 holes with rounds of 71 and 68 on Friday and Saturday as he climbed to 9 under par going into the final round on Sunday—and it seemed he would just need to hold off Steve Stricker, who had pulled within 3 shots with a brilliant 64 on Saturday.
With all eyes focused on Garcia and Stricker, another Irishman, Padraig Harrington, who had begun the day six shots back at 3 under, slowly began creeping up the leaderboard with birdies on the 3rd, 6th and 9th holes. Meanwhile, Garcia began to stumble with 3 bogeys and a birdie on the front, so his lead had shriveled to a single shot over Harrington.
When Padraig made birdie at 11 and then eagle at 14, he moved to 9 under par and the outright lead. At the 18th hole, however, it suddenly appeared that Padraig’s gutsy charge had come to an end when his approach found the water—resulting in a disastrous double that dropped him once again to a shot back of Sergio’s lead.
Garcia, however, was unable to make par at 18, and his bogey gave Harrington a reprieve as they both finished at 7 under par and headed to a 4-hole playoff.
Padraig made the most of it, playing the extra holes in even par to defeat Sergio by a shot— completing.one of the most exciting finishes (and greatest comebacks) in major championship history.
Payne Stewart: 1989 PGA Championship
Number 5: 1989 PGA Championship– Payne Stewart
Payne Stewart opened the 1989 PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes Golf Club with a 74, 8 shots behind Mike Reid, who fired a flawless round of 66. And although Stewart came back strong in the second round with a 66 of his own, he picked up only a single shot as Reid followed up with another great round of 67.
Reid began to back up a bit with a 70 in the third round on Saturday, but again Stewart picked up only one shot while recording a solid round of 69, so Payne found himself six shots back of the lead going into Sunday. On top of that, there were four major champions on the leaderboard between he and Reid (Craig Stadler, Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam, and reigning back-to-back U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange).
Having recorded 10 Top-10’s in his previous 17 major championships and coming up empty, Stewart refused to be denied once again. After playing the front nine at even par, Payne birdied 5 holes on the back without a bogey for 67, a tounamnet toal of -12, the first of his 3 major championship wins, and a comeback victory that continues to bring a smile to the face of everyone who witnessed his magnificent performance all those years ago.
John Mahaffey: 1978 PGA Championship
Number 4: 1978 PGA Championship– John Mahaffey
John Mahaffey had a solid career on the PGA Tour with 10 wins, but his performance at the 1978 PGA Championship would become his defining moment. Opening with a first round 75 at historic Oakmont Country Club, Mahaffey began the final 54 holes in a very deep hole—eight shots behind Hall of Famer Tom Watson, who had posted a 67.
Mahaffey began to claw his way back into contention with a 67 on Friday, but still found himself six shots behind going into the weekend. And although he backed it up with an outstanding round of 68 on Saturday, he actually lost ground to Watson, who fired a third round 67 and stood at -10 heading into Sunday, 7 shots clear of Mahaffey who was at 3 under par.
But when Tom faltered on Sunday with a 73, Mahaffey maximized his opportunity by carding a magnificent 66, erasing a 7 shot deficit to force a 3-man playoff with Watson and Jerry Pate.
When Mahaffey birdied the second playoff hole, he claimed the Wanamaker Trophy and recorded the biggest Sunday comeback in PGA Championship history.
Gary Player: 1978 Masters
Number 3: 1978 Masters– Gary Player
Gary Player had already won at Augusta twice before with 11 Top-10’s when play got under way at The Masters in 1978. With even par rounds of 72 on Thursday and Friday, Player appeared to be treading water while waiting to make a move, and trailed the leaders (Rod Funseth and Lee Trevino) by 5 shots going to the weekend.
Although Gary kicked it up a notch with a 69 on Saturday, it seemed he had waited just a bit too long as Hubert Green fired a 65 in the third round for a 54-hole total of -10, opening up a 3 shot lead on the field, and a whopping 7 shot margin over Player.
As Sunday’s final round began to heat up, Player crept closer to Green with 3 birdies and a bogey on the front, but Hubert was playing solidly at even par and Gary was still 5 shots behind him going to the back nine.
Since it appeared that Green would not be giving anything away, and Tom Watson had made eagle at 13 to join the lead at 10 under, Player decided it was time to light the afterburner.
With 6 birdies on the back (7 in his last 10 holes), Player charged to the clubhouse with a 30 on the back nine for a final round 64 and a 72-hole total of 11 under par—a shot ahead of the field, and biggest comeback ever at Augusta National.
The 54-hole leaderboard at the 1973 U.S. Open included many of the all-time greats in the history of golf, including Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player (tied for ninth, 4 shots back at +1), Lee Trevino and Bob Charles (tied for 6th, 2 shots back at -1), and Tom Weiskopf (alone in 5th, 1 shot back at -2). The co-leaders at -3, included Arnold Palmer and Julius Boros, as well as two unheralded tour pros–Jerry Heard and John Schlee.
With so many great players at the top of the leaderboard, it would be pretty much impossible for anyone more than four shots back to win the championship, since even if all of the co-leaders were to falter, one of the other legends who were lurking in the wings was likely to post a low score.
Johnny Miller was seven shots behind the leaders at +4 when play began on Sunday, and to win the championship he would have to go extremely low. Making it even more improbable, the ’73 Open was being played at famed Oakmont Country Club, one of the toughest U.S. Open venues in the rotation.
But Miller did exactly that, firing laser-like approach shots to record 9 birdies on his way to a record setting 63 and the U.S. Open Championship trophy in one of finest rounds ever played, and one of the greatest comebacks in history.
What most remember when thinking back on the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie is Jean Van de Velde’s disastrous triple bogey on the 18th hole—and that was certainly a difficult and painful moment for the Frenchman who fought so hard throughout the week.
What is less often talked about is the fantastic final round played by Paul Lawrie. Carnoustie, one of the most difficult courses in the Open Championship rotation, had played particularly tough all week with no one in the field under par when play began on Sunday.
Lawrie began the day in a tie for 14th place at +10, ten shots behind Van de Velde. In one of the greatest rounds ever recorded at a major on Sunday, Lawrie navigated the yawning pot bunkers and gnarly rough through gusting winds to post a magnificent four under round of 67. In the entire field, only 3 other players were able to break 70 (Davis Love, Scott Verplank, and Steve Allen—who each shot 69).
When Lawrie defeated Van de Velde and Justin Leonard in a playoff to claim the Claret Jug, his charge from ten shots off the lead became the biggest Sunday comeback in the history of major championship golf.
Major championship performance and PGA Tour wins are the biggest factors in determining where players stand in the history of golf, but making cuts and Top-10 finishes are also important for identifying excellence and consistency.
In deriving our ratings, major championship wins carry the most weight, followed by major runner-up finishes and Tour wins. Top-5 and Top-10 finishes at the majors are also given strong consideration, along with wins on the DP World Tour and to a lesser degree, wins on other recognized Tours (Japan Tour, Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour, etc.).
Making cuts and Top-10 finishes are calculated on the basis of percentage in relation to total starts at PGA Tour sanctioned events through age 49 (when players become eligible for the Champions Tour). Top 10 percentage is given considerable weight, and cut percentage is also a factor in the rating a player receives.
Cuts and Top-10 percentage are overstated as a measure for Byron Nelson and Walter Hagan because fields were limited when they were playing–but this is offset by the fact that Nelson lost prime years in his career due to WWII (Nelson was 29 in 1941), and Hagan had fewer major championship opportunities because he was 42 years old when the first Masters was played in 1934.
While Bobby Jones is certainly among the top 5 players in history with 4 U.S. Open and 3 Open Championship titles, he chose to remain an amateur and therefore has no PGA record for reference–and has not been included in our player ratings. Harry Vardon is also among the greats of the game, with 6 Open Championship titles and a win at the US Open in 1900 (plus his famous runner-up to Francis Ouimet in 1913)—but like Jones, he has no professional record for reference and has not been included in our ratings.
The Top 5 in Volume I included Nicklaus (361), Woods (346), Snead (335), Hogan (281) and Palmer (265).
In Volume II we’ll take a look at the next five on the list of all-time greatest players to round out the Top 10.
On top of his 9 major championship wins, Gary Player recorded 35 major Top-10’s (6 runner-up’s, 8 Top-5’s and 21 Top-10’s). The Black Knight also won 15 PGA Tournaments and had 95 additional world-wide wins. Player made the cut in close to 90% of his starts and finished in the top ten over 45% of the time. He competed with Jack and Arnie head-to-head throughout his prime between 1961 and 1971—playing a substantial role in building the PGA Tour, while elevating the global popularity of the game.
Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus serve as the honorary starters at The Masters each year, and they were joined by Lee Elder in 2022.
Byron Nelson: 11 Consecutive Wins
Number 7: Byron Nelson (227)
Byron Nelson won 5 major championships and 47 PGA tournaments. He also recorded 6 major runner-up’s and finished in the top 5 another 10 times. In 1945 Nelson set the record for wins in a season with 18, including 11 in a row. After the 1946 season, at 34 years old, Nelson retired from the regular tour playing only The Masters (where he finished in the top 10 every year from 1947-1951), as well as a limited number of additional Tour events (including The Colonial in Ft. Worth).
In 1968 The Byron Nelson Classic was launched in Dallas Texas, and it continues to be one of the most popular venues on the PGA Tour.
Walter Hagan is the only player to make the cut in every tournament he played through the entirety of his career, and he finished among the top 10 in three out of every four events he entered. Hagan won 11 major championships (third behind Jack and Tiger) with 22 additional top 10 finishes, and he recorded 34 PGA tournament wins.
Hagan is considered the first American professional golfer. In the first half of the twentieth century, he and Bobby Jones were the towering figures of U.S. golf, forming the foundation for the game as we know it today.
Phil Mickelson: Wins PGA at 50
Number 9: Phil Mickelson (216)
Phil the thrill won 6 major championships, most recently at Kiawah in 2021 for his second PGA Championship at age 50 (the oldest player in history to win a major championship). Mickelson also recorded 11 runner-up finishes at the majors, second only to Jack, along with 11 Top-5’s and 11 Top-10’s.
In addition to his record at the majors, Phil won 39 PGA Tour events, making the cut in 82.3% of the tournaments he entered with a top 10 percentage of 31.5%.
Phil went up against with Tiger throughout his prime between 1996 and 2006, as well going to head-head with Ernie Els and Vijay Singh (each among the top 15 all-time).
Number 10: Tom Watson (211)
Tom Watson nearly did the impossible in 2009, when he came inches from recording his 6th Open Championship at Turnberry at the age of 58. Perhaps it should not have been such a surprise, however, when you consider Watson’s record of excellence and consistency throughout his career.
From his second full year on Tour in 1974 at age 23, through 1998 at age 48 (a quarter of a century), Watson recorded at least 4 top 10 finishes every year.
In total, Watson won 8 major championships with an additional 38 major top 10’s (including 8 runner-up and 10 top 5’s), along with 31 PGA Tour wins.
Tom made the cut in 83.9% of the tournaments he entered, and recorded top 10 finishes in just under 40% of his starts.
Gene Sarazen: No. 11
Keep an eye out for Greats of the Game Volume III, where we will take a look at Gene Sarazen (No. 11), Billy Casper (No. 12, Ernie Els (No. 13), Greg Norman (No. 14) and Vijay Sing (No. 15).
Major championship performance and PGA Tour wins are the biggest factors in determining where players stand in the history of golf, but making cuts and Top-10 finishes are also important for identifying excellence and consistency.
In deriving our ratings, major championship wins carry the most weight, followed by major runner-up finishes and Tour wins. Top-5’s and Top-10’s at the majors also receive strong consideration, along with wins on the DP World Tour and to a lesser degree, wins on other recognized Tours (Japan Tour, Asian Tour, etc.).
Making cuts and Top-10 finishes are calculated on the basis of percentage in relation to total starts at PGA Tour sanctioned events through age 49 (when players become eligible for the Champions Tour). Top 10 percentage is given considerable weight, and cut percentage is also a factor in the rating a player receives.
Cuts and Top-10 percentage are overstated as a measure for Snead and Hogan, because fields were limited–but this is offset by the fact that each lost prime years in their career due to WWII (they were both 29 in 1941).
While Bobby Jones is certainly among the top 5 players in history with 4 U.S. Open and 3 Open Championship titles, he chose to remain an amateur and therefore has no PGA record for reference–and is not included below.
Nicklaus: Still the Greatest
Number 1: Jack Nicklaus (361)
In addition to his 18 major championship wins, Jack recorded 55 Top-10 finishes at the majors (19 runner-up’s, 19 Top-5’s and 17 Top-10’s)–by far the most of any player in history. The Golden Bear also recorded 55 Tour wins along with his major championships for a total of 73, and he had the highest Top-10 percentage (60.2%) and cut percentage (93.6%) of any modern-day player.
Tiger: Closing in on Jack
Number 2: Tiger Woods (346)
Tiger is second to Jack with 15 major championship wins, a close second in Top-10 percentage (91%) and just behind Nicklaus in cut percentage as well at 54.9%. With his 67 Tour wins, Tiger is tied with Sam Snead for the most wins in history (82), and also added 8 wins on the DP world Tour. At 46 years old, Tiger still has a number of years with which to add additional wins and Top-10 finishes—so Jack’s position at No. 1 is by no means a certainty when all is said and done.
Sam Snead recorded 7 major championship victories along with 75 wins on Tour, setting the mark of 82 total wins (tied by Tiger.) Snead made the cut in 391 of the 394 tournaments he entered (99%), and recorded Top 10 finishes in 75% of those events. When you include 8 runner-up finishes, 15 Top-5’s and 18 Top-10’s at the major championships, Snead comes up at No. 3—just behind Tiger.
Ben Hogan won 9 major championships along with 55 PGA events. He made the cut in 97.8% of the tournaments he played, and finished in the top 10 close to 80% of the time. After his near fatal auto accident in 1949 at age 36, Hogan never played more than 6 tournaments in any year—yet won 6 more major champions and recorded an additional 15 top 10’s at the majors (including 4 runner-up’s).
Number 5: Arnold Palmer (265)
Arnie’s career spanned 55 years from 1949 through his last appearance at The Masters in 2004, and while Tiger has had a huge impact on the popularity of golf in the last 25 years, Palmer brought the game to prime-time—and set the stage for the global appeal that golf currently enjoys. And he was perfect for the role. Photogenic with a big personality, tremendous power and ability combined with a go-for-broke style of play that endeared him to millions—commonly known as “Arnie’s Army.”
Throughout the course of his career, Arnie won 7 major championships and recorded 55 wins on tour. When Jack burst onto the PGA Tour in 1962, Palmer was still in his prime at 32 years and had just won The Masters and The Open Championship—and while Arnie added only one more major win (1964 Masters), he recorded an additional 7 major runner-up’s and 7 Top-10’s through 1970.
Palmer also made the cut in 90% of the tournaments he entered, with a Top-10 percentage of 43.5%.
Byron Nelson: No. 6
Keep an eye out for Greats of the Game Volume II, where we will take a look at Gary Player (No. 6), Byron Nelson (No. 7), Walter Hagan (No. 8), Phil Mickelson (No. 9) and Tom Watson at No. 10.
Freddie entered the final round at Shoal Creek two shots off the lead held by Wayne Grady. After playing flawless golf through the first twelve holes, including 4 birdies, he found himself leading by a shot with five holes to play. While Freddie has never been known for his putting, what followed was particularly painful for so many of us who love to watch him swing a golf club—bogies on 4 of his last 5 holes, including 3 missed par putts from inside 5 feet to lose by 3. Of course, if Freddie could putt, who knows how many more Tour wins and major championships he would have won. Still, this one was particularly tough…
Number 9: 2009 Open Championship—Tom Watson
When Tom Watson, at 59 years old, teed it up for the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry, he had already been a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame for more than a decade with 9 Major Championships and 39 PGA Tour wins. His last Tour win had come at Colonial in 1998, and his 5th and final Open Championship victory had come more than a quarter century before at Royal Birkdale in 1983.
Watson was playing solid golf on the Champions Tour in ’09 with 7 Top 10’s in the 12 events he played, including a 4th place finish at the Senior PGA in May, where he closed with a final round 66. The notion that a man of near 60 could win The Open Championship against players of half his age, however, was simply out of the question.
Yet there he was, leading The Open as he stepped to the tee on the 18th hole on Sunday. Watson had fired rounds of 65, 70 and 71 to begin the day as the 54-hole leader by a shot, and he fought tooth and nail to maintain that lead on Sunday, including a brilliant birdie at the 17th hole to reach -3 and the outright lead over Stewart Cink who finished at -2 after making birdie on 18.
Watson hit a perfect drive to the center of the fairway on 18, and flushed his 8-iron approach directly at the stick—but he hit it so well that it carried too far and trickled over the back of the green leaving an extremely difficult downhill putt from against the collar. When Tom was unable to get up and down for par, he and Cink were headed to a 4-hole playoff.
It was clear that Tom had given everything he had through 72 holes, and there was nothing left in the tank for the playoff against a 36-year-old Cink. Stewart played brilliantly, with 2 birdies and 2 pars on the playoff holes, and claimed the Claret Jug as Champion Golfer for 2009.
Had Watson been able to make par at 18 on Sunday, it would have been a victory of epic proportion—but his play at the ’09 Open will be remembered as one of the great performances in the history of golf. And one of the toughest losses as well.
Tom Watson
Number 8: 1966 U.S. Open—Arnold Palmer
As the 1966 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club got under way; Arnold Palmer had already achieved legendary status with 47 PGA Tour wins, including 7 Major Championships. When Arnie began the final round with a 3 shot lead over Billy Casper (and 4 shots ahead of Jack), it seemed a sure thing that he would raise the trophy for his 8th major at the end of the day. And when Palmer came out of the chute with birdies on the first two holes and a front nine 32 to open up a 7-shot lead over Casper, it appeared to be all but over.
Even when Arnie made bogey on 10 and his lead dipped to 6, there was still no cause for concern, because he came back with a par at 11 and a birdie on 12 to retain his commanding lead. The wheels began to wobble a bit on 13 with another bogey, but after making par on 14 he still held a 5 shot lead with only 4 holes to play—so what could possibly happen?
Nothing is a sure thing in golf, particularly major championship golf—and even the greats of the game can succumb to the suffocating pressure of closing at a U.S. Open. Arnie made bogey on 3 of the 4 final holes, while Casper birdied 15 and 16, and suddenly what seemed an insurmountable lead was completely erased as Palmer and Casper each finished at -2, forcing an 18-hole playoff on Monday.
Casper defeated Palmer in the playoff with a brilliant 69, capping off one of the greatest comebacks in major championship history. It was also the most catastrophic loss of Arnie’s illustrious career.
Phil won the 2005 PGA and the 2006 Masters, so he was going for 3 majors in a row when play began at Winged Foot for the 2006 U.S. Open Championship. And with a T4 at The Memorial in early June and a Top 20 at the Barclays the previous week, his game was firing on all cylinders to finally take home that illusive U.S. Open crown (he finished runner up in 1999, 2002 and 2004).
Lefty visited Winged Foot weeks in advance, spending many hours practicing and analyzing the course to give himself the best opportunity to win. And it seemed that the time had been well spent as Phil held a share of the lead with Kenneth Ferrie at +2 going into the final round on Sunday, a shot ahead of Geoff Ogilvy. While Winged Foot bared its teeth through the first three rounds, on Sunday the fangs came out and par was proving to be a titanic struggle.
Mickelson fought his driver throughout the round, hitting only 2 of 14 fairways, but he clawed and scrambled to stay in the hunt, and after making birdie at 11, he found himself in the lead at +3, a shot ahead of Ogilvy and Colin Montgomerie. And when Phil reached the 18th tee, he was still holding the lead by a shot, needing only a par to raise the U.S. Open trophy at last. He decided to go to the well one more time with the diver, and again it failed him as he blocked his tee shot well left into the trees. Rather than play the safe shot under the trees to the fairway short of the green and trust his short game to get up and down for par, or at worst make bogey for a playoff, Phil (being Phil) opted for a high risk shot to the green over the trees. The shot caught a tree branch and came almost straight down, leading to a double bogey and another runner-up finish for Mickelson at the U.S. Open.
Jeff Maggert had a solid career on the PGA Tour, winning 3 times, but he never notched a major victory. At the 2003 Masters, Jeff began the final round at -5, holding a 2-shot lead over Mike Weir. In the previous 11 years, Jeff had recorded 11 Top 10 finishes at major championships, so being in contention on Sunday at a major was not new to him, but at 39 years old the clock was ticking.
Coming off a brilliant 66 in the 3rd round, it looked as though Maggert was finally going to break through for his first major win. He got off to a good start with par at the first two holes, but disaster struck at number 3. His tee ball found a fairway bunker and his second shot caught the lip, bounced straight back to hit him in the chest for a 2 stoke penalty, leading to a triple bogey. Suddenly Jeff found himself 2 shots behind Weir, who had made birdie at the second hole.
Maggert fought his way back with birdies at the 5th and 10th holes to get back to -4, 1 shot behind Weir and within 2 of Len Mattiace, who had taken the lead at -6 —but an even bigger disaster was waiting at the famous par 3 12th. His tee shot once again found the sand, this time behind the green, and when he caught his bunker shot a touch thin it rolled through the green and into the water—this time leading to a quadruple bogey 7, ending his hopes for a green jacket.
Jeff played 16 holes at 4 under par and 2 holes at 7 over. Had he avoided two bunkers and made par at 3 and 12, he would have finished at -9, 2 shots ahead of Weir and Mattiace, who both finished at -7 (Weir went on to defeat Mattiace in a playoff).
Maggert ended the day in a tie for 5th, his 12th Top 10 finish at a major—but this one was painful without a doubt.
Number 5:2006 U.S. Open—Colin Montgomerie
Colin Montgomerie is considered to be one of the greatest European players of all time with 31 wins on the DP World Tour, and a near flawless record at the Ryder Cup—but the major championships always eluded him. Monty had a great many opportunities, losing in a playoff to Ernie Els at the 1994 U.S. Open and again in a playoff with Steve Elkington at the 1995 PGA Championship. He also suffered a tough loss to Els at the 1997 U.S. Open. The 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, however, was no doubt the hardest loss of all.
Monty played solidly throughout the week, and after dropping a 75-foot putt for birdie on seventeen in the final round on Sunday, he was tied with Mickelson for the lead at +4 going to the last hole. With a perfect tee shot at 18, Monty was left with a 170-yard approach from the right side of the fairway. After much deliberation, Montgomerie pulled a 7 iron and caught it heavy, leaving a difficult chip from the rough short of the green. He then caught too much ball, and his chip scooted past the pin to the back of the green, leaving a treacherous downhill putt for Par—where it took 3 more to finally go down for a double bogey.
The double left Monty at +6, a shot behind Ogilvy’s winning score of +5, and Montgomerie had once again come up just short of winning a major championship.
A 21-year-old Rory McIlroy looked unstoppable through the first three rounds of the 2011 Masters Championship as he dominated the field with rounds of 65, 69 and 70 for a 12 under par total and a 4-shot lead going into Sunday.
While Rory looked a bit shaky on the front-nine with a pair of bogeys, he was still in the lead by a shot going to the back. But then the wheels came off completely with a triple bogey 8 at the 10th hole, followed by a bogey at 11 and a double at 12 in route to a back nine 43 and final round 80—dropping him all the way down to a tie for 15th.
Although it was a devastating loss, Rory would come back to win the U.S. Open a few months later, win the PGA Championship the following year and add two more majors in 2014 (The Open Championship and another PGA).
At the time it seemed inevitable that McIlroy would one day don a green jacket, but thus far the Masters is the only major championship that has eluded him.
Greg Norman was a dominating force in golf throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, racking up twenty wins on the PGA Tour and 18 more on the DP World tour. Finishing at major championships, however, would become Norman’s Achilles heel. He suffered difficult losses at the Masters in ‘86 and ‘87, tough defeats at the U.S. Open in ‘84, ‘86, and ‘95, and a particularly painful loss at the Open Championship in 1989.
But his collapse at the 1996 Masters was by far the worst. After a brilliant opening round 63, Norman was cruising at -13 and a 6-shot lead over Nick Faldo going into the final round on Sunday. Things began to go wrong immediately, however, with a bogey at the first hole—and it only went down-hill from there as Greg carded 4 more bogeys and 2 doubles in route to a 78, finishing 5 shots back of Faldo who played a flawless final round of 67.
The 11-shot swing between Norman and Faldo on Sunday at the ’96 Masters was truly astounding, and certainly the hardest loss of Greg’s distinguished career.
On the twentieth anniversary of Greg Norman’s famous collapse at Augusta, it seemed ironic that Jordan Spieth should suffer a similar fate. Jordan was dominating the PGA Tour, having won both the Masters and U.S. Open with a runner-up at the PGA and a T4 at the Open Championship the previous year.
While Spieth held a slim 1 shot lead over Smilie Kauffman at the start of the final round on Sunday, 5 birdies on the front with only 1 bogey brought him to 7 under par and a seemingly insurmountable 5 shot lead over Danny Willett heading to the back nine. His lead, however, began to shrink with bogeys at 10 and 11—and disappeared completely when Jordan put two balls in the water on the 12th hole for a triple bogey 6.
Suddenly Jordan found himself a shot behind Willett, and although he tried to come back with birdies at 13 and 15, the disastrous 3 hole stretch from 10-12 where he was 5 over par was too much to overcome, and Jordan finished runner-up, 3 shots behind Willet.
While the 2016 Masters was a tough loss for Jordan, he came back to win the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
Number 1:1999 Open Championship—Jean Van de Velde
Jean Van de Velde was not a household name when he teed it up at Carnoustie for the 1999 Open Championship, but he certainly became famous after the final hole on Sunday.
Carnoustie Golf Links, generally recognized as the most difficult of the courses in the Open Championship rotation, was playing particularly tough as no one in the field could come close to breaking par. Van de Velde, an unheralded French pro, was the only player in the field who was able to tame the course at even par, and he held a 5 shot lead over Justin Leonard and Craig Parry going to the final round.
Carnoustie began to yield a bit on Sunday, and Paul Lawrie was able to post an outstanding 4 under round of 67, and get to +6 for the tournament. Justin Leonard also played extremely well, posting a 72 to also finish at +6. In the meantime, Van de Velde was struggling, but fought his heart out to hold a 3 shot lead going to the last, needing only a double bogey or better to claim the Claret Jug as the 1999 Champion Golfer of the year.
Curiously, Van de Velde opted to go with driver from the tee at the 18th hole, and although he sprayed it to the right, somehow avoided trouble and was left with a lengthy approach from the rough. Even more curiously, Jean decided to go for the green, rather than lay-up short where he could pitch on and guarantee a bogey (or no worse than double) and win the championship.
Van de Velde pushed his approach and the ball struck the stands to the right of the green, bounding some 30 yards backward into knee high grass short of the green. He couldn’t make a clean strike from the difficult lie, and his pitch found the water short of the green. After taking a drop, he caught his chip shot heavy and came up short in a bunker—so incredibly he would now need to get up and down from the sand just to get into a playoff with triple bogey 7.
To his credit, Jean holed a lengthy putt for triple and joined the playoff with Lawrie and Leonard, but went down to defeat as Lawrie matched par in the 4-hole playoff and claimed the championship.
But it has to be the toughest loss ever at a major championship…
As The Open headed into the back nine on Sunday at St. Andrews, the engraver prepared to etch Rory McIlroy’s name on the Claret Jug. McIlroy stood at 17 under par, having opened up a 3 shot lead over young Victor Hoveland, and he was in complete control of his game. Rory had already recorded a runner-up at the Masters, T8 at the PGA and a T5 at the U.S. Open—and it seemed a certainty that his long awaited fifth major championship was at hand.
Anything can happen, however, on the back-nine of an Open Championship on Sunday, particularly at St. Andrews.
St. Andrews: The Old Course
When a thunderous cheer suddenly erupted from the 11th green, the name to be inscribed on the oldest Trophy in golf would have to wait a bit. Cameron Smith had just rolled in another putt, making consecutive birdies to get within 2 shots of McIlroy. Rory was on cruise control, bombing drives and hitting greens—but making no putts (his only birdie on the back nine came when he drove the green on 10, and 2-putted for a 3). Cam Smith, on the other hand, was making everything. At the 12th hole he drove it to the very front of the green, leaving a difficult eagle putt from over 70 feet—and drained an 11-footer for birdie to pull within 1 shot of Rory. On the 13th, Cam rolled in another birdie, this time from nearly 20-feet, to pull even with McIlroy at 18 under par. And on the Par 5 14th hole Smith completed a stretch of 5 consecutive birdie’s by knocking in a 5-footer that brought him to 19 under par, and the outright lead.
Rory: Top 10 at Four Majors in 2022
The Magic
The championship hung in the balance as Smith reached number 17, the famous “Road Hole,” still clinging to a 1 shot lead. A poor approach left him just under the steep faced bunker guarding the front left of the green, and the pin was tucked just behind it. With brilliant touch and steel nerve Cam pulled the putter once again, and using the contour surrounding the bunker, was able to give himself an opportunity to save par from 10 feet—and then calmly knocked it in.
The 18th hole of the Old Course at St. Andrews is reachable with a well-struck tee shot, and one of the most exciting finishing holes in golf. While all eyes were on Rory, however, a powerful young phenom, 25-year-old Cameron Young, had quietly moved back into contention, pulling within 2 shots of Smith’s lead—and they were playing together in the second to last pairing.
After Smith hit a solid tee shot just short of the green, Young unleashed a bomb that settled pin-high with a very makeable eagle opportunity from just 17 feet—a putt that would draw him even with Smith at 19 under and force a playoff. Cam was also fully aware that Rory, still only a shot back at 18 under, was likely to reach the green at 18 and have an opportunity for eagle, or a 2- putt birdie that would move him to 19 under as well.
Facing a 75-foot putt up the slope with a sharp right to left break and maximum Open pressure, Cam smoothly rolled his ball to within 3 feet, where he tapped in to finish at 20 under par, a shot ahead of Cameron Young (who indeed made his eagle putt to finish at 19 under). When Rory failed to eagle the last, Cam added his name to the illustrious group who have won The Open on the Old Course, while setting a new scoring record at St. Andrews.
Cam Smith
His Open Championship victory is the latest in a breakout year for Cam. He won the Players back in March, and followed that up with a T3 at the Masters, a T13 at the PGA and a T13 at the Memorial. Ranked 7th on Tour in putting, I suppose it should not have been much of a surprise to see him roll it so beautifully at St. Andrews, but when you consider the venue and the pressure of closing at a major, it was a truly spectacular performance.
At 28 years of age, Smith has always carried himself with the confidence and swagger of a PGA Tour veteran. And with 5 Tour wins, including a major championship and Player’s Championship under his belt, Cam is in position to secure a place in the World Golf Hall of Fame—and the putter to make it happen.
Cameron Young
At 25-years old, in only his first season on Tour, Cameron Young will be a force on the PGA Tour for many years to come. In addition to his gutsy runner-up finish at The Open, Young recorded a T3 at the PGA back in May, runner-up finishes at The Genesis and Wells Fargo Championships, and T3’s at both the RBC Heritage and Sanderson Farms Championships.
Cameron Young: Power and Putting
While Young’s primary weapon is the driver (currently ranked 6th in distance from the tee at 318 yards), Cameron is lethal on the greens as well (8th on Tour in putting). That’s a powerhouse combination, and will make him a man to keep an eye on as the season rolls toward the FedEx Cup playoffs.
LIV
The LIV contingent made their presence felt at The Open, erasing a mediocre performance at the U.S Open, and no doubt bringing a smile to Greg Norman’s face. 10 of the 23 LIV players who competed at The Open made the cut, with Dustin Johnson (-13) and Bryson DeChambeau (-12) recording Top 10’s. Abraham Ancer and Sadom Kaewkanjana both finished at -11, among the Top 20.
Their play on Sunday was particularly impressive, as both Ancer and Kaewkanjana fired closing rounds of 65, with Bryson carding a 66.
The Open Championship returns to the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland this week to crown the 150th Champion Golfer of the Year. Scotland is the birthplace of golf, with historical records of play at the Old Course going all the way back to 1414. While Open week is always special for everyone who loves golf, 2022 promises to be uniquely memorable with images of past champions at a place where golf has been played for centuries.
The History
In the 1840’s and 50’s, Allan Robertson was the greenskeeper and golf professional at St. Andrews, and universally recognized as the greatest golfer in the world at the time (he also is said to be the first golf professional). In 1848 he made the first recorded modifications to the Old Course–widening the fairways and creating the famous “double greens.” A few years earlier Robertson had laid out the original 10 holes at Carnoustie Golf Links, so he is also the first to be credited for golf course design and architecture.
In the mid-1830’s Robertson hired a youthful Tom Morris, Sr. as an apprentice, and their relationship would bring about the most famous golf tournament in the world: “The Open Championship.” Although Robertson was already unbeatable on the links (it is said that he never lost a match when money was involved), he soon saw that his young apprentice possessed an uncanny talent for golf, and since matches were often played in a two-man alternate shot format, he shrewdly enlisted Tom as his partner to create an invincible tandem. In 1851, however, Morris and Robertson had a falling out when Tom began playing a new kind of golf ball, rather than the “feather” balls that Robertson made and sold at St. Andrews. As a result, Morris left for Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire, where he laid out the course and became club pro and greenskeeper. His admiration for Robertson remained steadfast, however, and when Robertson passed away in 1859, Morris decided to organize a tournament in his honor—with the winner recognized as the “Champion Golfer.”
The first Open Championship was played at Prestwick Golf Club in 1860, and was won by Willie Park, Sr. Prestwick hosted The Open for the next 11 years, with Tom Morris, Sr. (Old Tom) and Tom Morris, Jr. (Young Tom) each winning 4 times. In 1873 The Open moved to St. Andrews, and Tom Kidd became the first to be crowned “Champion Golfer” at the Old Course. 2022 will mark the 30th Open to be contested at St. Andrews, the most by far of any course to host a major championship. And the list of winners at the Old Course includes many of the legendary names in golf history.
Champion Golfers at St. Andrews
Jack Nicklaus, acknowledged by most as the greatest golfer in history, won two of his 18 major championships at the Old Course (1970, 1978). Tiger, the greatest of all-time to those who do not think it is Jack, also won 2 of his 15 major championships at St. Andrews (2000, 2005).
Tiger and Jack
Multiple winners at St. Andrews also include John Henry Taylor (1895, 1905) and James Braid (1905, 1910). Both won the Open Championship 5 times, and each are also known for their work in golf course architecture and design.
Sir Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros
Other members of the World Golf Hall of Fame who have won the Open Championship at St. Andrews include Sam Snead in 1946, Seve Ballesteros (a 3-time Open Champion) in 1984, and Sir Nick Faldo in 1990 (also a 3-time Open Champion).
The Contenders
Coming off his victory at the U.S. Open in June, and a Top 10 last week at the Scottish Open, Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick has his game in fine form to contend at St. Andrews. Scottie Scheffler is a virtual lock to be among the leaders come Sunday, as he looks to add another major to his resume following an impressive win at the Masters and runner-up at the U.S. Open. Reigning PGA Champ Justin Thomas, enjoying an outstanding season that includes 8 Top 10’s in 17 starts on the PGA Tour this year, will also be a force as he looks to etch his name among the legends of golf who have won at the Old Course. Jon Rahm, in the midst of another stellar year where he has made the cut in 14 of 15 events with a win and 5 additional Top 10’s, will undoubtedly be lurking should the opportunity arise.
Scottie Scheffler, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Justin Thomas
Rory McIlroy, with his peerless talent, has been pounding on the door with a runner-up at Augusta, Top 10 at the PGA, and a Top 5 at the U.S. Open thus far in 2022. If the putter cooperates even a bit, Rory will be a formidable presence in the field—and perhaps this will be the week he adds that 5th major championship.
Rory McIlroy and John Rham
Tiger Woods, returning to St. Andrews where in 2000 he delivered one of the most decisive wins in Open history (an 8-stroke margin over runners up Thomas Bjorn and Ernie Els), looms large over the field. While it would seem unlikely for him to be among the leaders as The Open moves into the weekend, there has never been a player with a greater will to win than Tiger—and the Old Course has provided many magical moments through the ages.
One thing is for sure, the 2022 Open at St. Andrews, where much of golf history has been written, promises to be a championship that will be remembered for many years to come.
