Rickie Fowler during the final round of the 2023 U.S. Open. | Photo by Keith Birmingham/Getty Images
Winning a major championship is the hardest thing to do in golf. Unfortunately, these players have failed to reach that goal.
Major championships are marathons, functioning as a war of attrition between player and course.
They also serve as the barometer to measure a golfer’s greatness.
Jack Nicklaus won 18 major championships, the most of all time. Meanwhile, Tiger Woods has captured 15.
These two are widely regarded as the two greatest to ever play the game.
And yet, most professional golfers will never achieve major championship glory. But a small number of players stand above that large group.
Here are the best five players who have never won a major since 1970, ranked by SB Nation’s Playing Through:
5. Xander Schauffele
Photo by Ben Jared/PGA Tour via Getty Images
Xander Schauffele walks off the 12th green during the final round of the 2023 Tour Championship.
Tournaments Won: 10
Most Notable Victory: 2020 Summer Olympics
Xander Schauffele could easily remove himself from this list with a major championship victory in the coming years.
But as it stands now, the former San Diego State Aztec has yet to break through.
Since his major championship debut at the 2017 U.S. Open, where he tied for 5th, Schauffele has recorded 11 top-10 finishes, which includes two runner-ups.
The closest he came to winning was in 2019, when he finished one stroke behind Tiger Woods at Augusta National.
Yet, Schauffele seems to always contend at majors.
Of the 15 majors since the summer of 2020, Schauffele has missed the cut just twice while finishing within the top-20 an astounding 12 times.
This consistency has allowed him to make the Tour Championship in each of the last seven seasons, too.
It seems like a matter of time until he finally wins the big one, but until then, he occupies the fifth spot on our list—a testament to how good he has been over the past seven years.
4. Steve Stricker
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Steve Stricker during the 1998 PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club.
Tournaments Won: 40
Most Notable Victories: 7 Senior Majors
Steve Stricker came close to winning a major several times. But his best chance to do so came at the 1998 PGA Championship, where he lost to Vijay Singh by two strokes.
Stricker and Singh entered the final round tied atop the leaderboard, but the Wisconsite’s fate was sealed on the 17th hole, where he failed to get up and down from the greenside bunker.
Interestingly, he would never come closer, as the 1998 PGA marked just his 14th major championship appearance. He would record 11 more top-10 finishes at majors in his career, including a solo fourth finish at the 2016 Open. Despite that, he was never in contention at Royal Troon that year, as Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson had an epic duel for the ages. Stricker finished 15 strokes behind Stenson.
Alas, the 2021 Ryder Cup captain found much more major championship success on the PGA Tour Champions, where he has racked up seven senior majors—including two in 2023.
That is tied for the fourth most ever on the Senior Circuit.
3. Rickie Fowler
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Rickie Fowler poses with the trophy after winning the 2015 Players Championship.
Tournaments Won: 10
Most Notable Victory: 2015 Players Championship
In 2014, Rickie Fowler tied for fifth at the Masters, tied for second at both the U.S. Open and The Open Championship, and then finished in a tie for third at the PGA Championship at Valhalla.
Not many players can say they finished in the top five of all four majors, let alone in the same season. His superb play was vindicated the following May when he won The Players, the PGA Tour’s unofficial fifth major.
But he would have to wait another few years before seriously contending in a major again. At the 2017 U.S. Open and PGA Championship, Fowler tied for fifth in both events.
Then, at the 2018 Masters, he finished just one stroke shy of Patrick Reed.
Fowler then recorded two top 10s in 2019, before tying for eighth at the 2021 PGA Championship won by Phil Mickelson.
Most recently, Fowler held a share of the lead entering the final round of the 2023 U.S. Open. But he shot a 5-over 75 on Sunday and settled for a fifth-place finish.
In all, Fowler has 13 top-10 finishes in majors.
2. Lee Westwood
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Lee Westwood hits a tee shot during the final round of the 2008 U.S. Open.
Tournaments Won: 44
Most Notable Victory: 2009 Dubai World Championship
Lee Westwood came so close to winning so many majors, but he never could find a way to triumph.
At the 2008 U.S. Open, Westwood finished just one shot out of the playoff that featured Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate.
Then, two years later, the Englishman finished three strokes behind Phil Mickelson at the Masters, and then he came in solo second at The Open.
Even at the 2012 U.S. Open, where he ultimately tied for 10th, luck was not on his side. A wayward drive was lost in one of The Olympic Club’s towering Cypress trees, ending his chances.
Westwood held the solo lead the following year after 54 holes at The Open. But he faltered down the stretch, making four bogeys over his final 13 holes to finish four strokes behind Mickelson.
And yet, despite his major championship heartbreak, Westwood always ripped the hearts of the United States at the Ryder Cup. He helped Europe win seven cups and played in 11—tied with Nick Faldo for the most ever on the European side.
He undeniably belongs on this list. Now a member of the LIV Golf tour, Westwood very well might never get off of it either.
1. Colin Montgomerie
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Colin Montgomerie walks off the 18th green at Winged Foot after the final round of the 2006 U.S. Open.
Tournaments Won: 54
Most Notable Victories: 3 Volvo PGA Championships at Wentworth
Unfortunately, Colin Montgomerie, a terrific Scottish golfer, dons the title as the greatest player to never win a major since 1970.
The Scotsman finished second—or in a tie for second—at five majors between 1994 and 2006.
He lost in a playoff to Ernie Els at the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont, Arnold Palmer’s final major appearance.
The following year, Montgomerie was again on the wrong side of a playoff, this time losing to Steve Elkington at the 1995 PGA Championship.
Then, in 1997, ‘The Big Easy’ got the best of ‘Monty’ again, as Els bested the Scotsman by one at the U.S. Open at Congressional.
It never got easier for Montgomerie.
After recording two top-10s in majors in 1998 and 1999, Montgomerie struggled during the early 2000s at majors, with his best finish being a tie for 14th at Augusta National.
He rediscovered his form at the 2005 Open Championship, but nobody was catching Tiger Woods at St. Andrews that week. ‘Monty’ finished five strokes behind Woods.
And then there is the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot.
That championship is best remembered for Phil Mickelson choking on the 18th hole, but Montgomerie blew the title, too.
He hit a perfect drive down the middle of the 18th fairway, a challenging dogleg left. He then had a mid-iron into the green. But he hit it right and short of the putting surface, as it nestled in Winged Foot’s deep and gnarly rough. He chipped up onto the green, then three-putted for a double bogey, thus completely ending his chances. Geoff Ogilvy stole the title from ‘Monty’ and Mickelson.
The Scotsman would never record a top-10 at a major again.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
