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by Matt Kupec

April 14, 2019

Watching Tiger Woods win the Master’s Golf Tournament this past weekend was a magical moment!  I don’t know about you, but I was captivated by Tiger’s play and his remarkable return to the winner’s circle at Augusta National to capture his 5th Master’s title.  I couldn’t pull myself away from the television throughout the entire final round.  And the celebration after the 18th hole was pretty cool – it was great to see a golfer show so much emotion!!

With Tiger’s 15th major golf tournament won, it brought back all the talk about his chase of Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 major championships.  As the pundits rambled on about this subject, I decided to take a deep look at the PGA Tour Players who have won the most major championships.

But we added a twist to our analysis. Professional golf is unlike the Olympic sports tradition where “champions” are recognized by a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finish, winning either a gold, silver or bronze medal.  Golf is now an Olympic sport so we thought we would also add in a column showing the number of second place finishes (or silver awards) that these the major champions have earned over the years.

Some interesting stuff as it is widely known that Jack Nicklaus has won the 18 major tournaments.  But as not nearly as widely known is that Jack finished second a whopping 19 times.  Jack’s 37 wins and 2nd place finishes (gold and silver) are dramatically higher than Tiger Woods at 2nd place with 21 wins of either 1st or 2nd place.

Let’s take a look at the winners:

Most Major Tournament Wins

Rank Golfer Country Year Won Masters US Open British Open PGA Total
1 Jack Nicklaus United States 1962-1968 6 4 3 5 18
2 Tiger Woods United States 1997-2019 5 3 3 4 15
3 Walter Hogen United States 1914-1929 0 2 4 5 11
4 Ben Hogan United States 1946-1953 2 4 1 2 9
5 Gary Player South Africa 1959-1976 3 1 3 2 9
6 Tom Watson United States 1975-1983 2 1 5 0 8
7 Harry Vardon Jersey 1896-1914 0 1 6 0 7
8 Bobby Jones United States 1923-1930 0 4 3 0 7
9 Gene Sarazen United States 1922-1935 1 2 1 3 7
10 Sam Snead United States 1942-1954 3 0 1 3 7
11 Arnold Palmer United States 1958-1964 4 1 2 0 7
12 Lee Trevino United States 1968-1984 0 2 2 2 6
13 Nick Faldo England 1987-1996 3 0 3 0 6
14 James Braid Scotland 1901-1910 0 0 5 0 5
15 John Henry Taylor England 1894-1913 0 0 5 0 5
16 Bryon Nelson United States 1937-1945 2 1 0 2 5
17 Peter Thomson Australia 1954-1965 0 0 5 0 5
18 Seve Bailesteros Spain 1979-1988 2 0 3 0 5
19 Phil Mickelson United States 2004-2013 3 0 1 1 5
36 26 56 29 147

Facts about Most Wins

  • Did you know that Harry Vardon’s country of Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands between England and France. A self-governing dependency of the United Kingdom, with a mix of British and French cultures it’s known for its beaches, cliffside walking trails, inland valleys  and historical castles.  Plus, Harry brought home 7 major championships (1 US Open, 6 British Opens)
  • Bobby Jones was one of the most influential figures in the history of golf who founded and helped design the Augusta National Golf Club, and co-founded the Masters Tournament.
  • Three of the all-time winners – James Braid, John Henry Taylor and Peter Thomson – only won the British Open, albeit five times each!
  • 12 of the 19 major champions are from the United States.

Most Second Place Finishes of the Major Winners

Rank Golfer Country Year Won 2nd Place
1 Jack Nicklaus United States 1962-1968 19
2 Phil Mickelson United States 2004-2013 11
3 Arnold Palmer United States 1958-1964 10
4 Tom Watson United States 1975-1983 8
5 Sam Snead United States 1942-1954 8
6 John Henry Taylor England 1894-1913 7
7 Tiger Woods United States 1997-2019 6
8 Ben Hogan United States 1946-1953 6
9 Gary Player South Africa 1959-1976 6
10 Harry Vardon Jersey 1896-1914 6
11 Bryon Nelson United States 1937-1945 6
12 Gene Sarazen United States 1922-1935 4
13 James Braid Scotland 1901-1910 4
14 Walter Hogen United States 1914-1929 3
15 Nick Faldo England 1987-1996 3
16 Seve Bailesteros Spain 1979-1988 2
17 Bobby Jones United States 1923-1930 0
18 Lee Trevino United States 1968-1984 0
19 Peter Thomson Australia 1954-1965 0
109

Facts about 2nd Place Finishes:

  • Jack Nicklaus also has a significant lead in number of 2nd place finishes, eight more than Phil Mickelson who has been the runner-up eleven times.
  • Phil Mickelson is 2nd in number of 2nd place finishes compared to his 19th place standing for number of Major Championships.

Most Combined Wins and Second Place Finishes

Majors 2nd
Rank Golfer Country Year Won Won Place Total
1 Jack Nicklaus United States 1962-1968 18 19 37
2 Tiger Woods United States 1997-2019 15 6 21
3 Arnold Palmer United States 1958-1964 7 10 17
4 Tom Watson United States 1975-1983 8 8 16
5 Sam Snead United States 1942-1954 7 8 15
6 Ben Hogan United States 1946-1953 9 6 15
7 Gary Player South Africa 1959-1976 9 6 15
8 Phil Mickelson United States 2004-2013 5 11 14
9 Walter Hogen United States 1914-1929 11 3 14
10 Harry Vardon Jersey 1896-1914 7 6 13
11 John Henry Taylor England 1894-1913 5 7 12
12 Bryon Nelson United States 1937-1945 5 6 11
13 Gene Sarazen United States 1922-1935 7 4 11
14 James Braid Scotland 1901-1910 5 4 9
15 Nick Faldo England 1987-1996 6 3 9
16 Seve Bailesteros Spain 1979-1988 5 2 8
17 Bobby Jones United States 1923-1930 7 0 7
19 Lee Trevino United States 1968-1984 6 0 6
19 Peter Thomson Australia 1954-1965 5 0 5
147 109 255

Facts about Combined Wins:

  • 12 of the 19 all-time Major Champions have won more titles than they have finishing second.
  • Lee Trevino and Peter Thomson combined for 11 major victories and no second place finishes.

Final Thoughts

Tiger Woods victory at Augusta National Club this past weekend to earn his 5th Master’s Championship was one of the most memorable – epic was the word most often used – golf tournaments of all-time.  As CBS’s Jim Nantz said, “Tiger’s comeback is one of the most remarkable comebacks – if not the most remarkable – in ALL of sports history.  We agree with Jim Nantz.  A truly captivating Master’s!!