Golfers with most wins in men's major championships

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The four majors are the most prestigious events in professional golf, and the number of wins that a player accumulates in them greatly influences his stature in the sport. The chart below ranks the 194 men who have won a professional major by their total number of wins in the four events. See the second section for a list that takes into consideration wins in The Amateur Championship (British Amateur) and the U.S. Amateur when those titles were considered majors. See the third section for a list that includes wins in The Amateur Championship and U.S. Amateur for all years. These lists are complete through the 2008 Masters Tournament. An "NA" denotes that the Masters result is not applicable because the player no longer competed after its establishment in 1934.

Contents

[edit] List of top winners of professional majors

Name Country Masters U.S. Open The Open PGA Total Winning span
Jack Nicklaus Flag of the United States United States 6 4 3 5 18 1962-1986
Tiger Woods Flag of the United States United States 4 2 3 4 13 1997-2007
Walter Hagen Flag of the United States United States 0 2 4 5 11 1914-1929
Ben Hogan Flag of the United States United States 2 4 1 2 9 1946-1953
Gary Player Flag of South Africa South Africa 3 1 3 2 9 1959-1978
Tom Watson Flag of the United States United States 2 1 5 0 8 1975-1983
Harry Vardon Flag of England England NA 1 6 0 7 1896-1914
Gene Sarazen Flag of the United States United States 1 2 1 3 7 1922-1935
Bobby Jones Flag of the United States United States NA 4 3 0 7 1923-1930
Sam Snead Flag of the United States United States 3 0 1 3 7 1942-1954
Arnold Palmer Flag of the United States United States 4 1 2 0 7 1958-1964
Nick Faldo Flag of England England 3 0 3 0 6 1987-1996
Lee Trevino Flag of the United States United States 0 2 2 2 6 1968-1984
Seve Ballesteros Flag of Spain Spain 2 0 3 0 5 1979-1988
James Braid Flag of Scotland Scotland NA 0 5 0 5 1901-1910
Byron Nelson Flag of the United States United States 2 1 0 2 5 1937-1945
J.H. Taylor Flag of England England NA 0 5 0 5 1894-1913
Peter Thomson Flag of Australia Australia 0 0 5 0 5 1954-1965

(players under 50 in bold)

[edit] List of top winners of majors including amateur titles when they were considered majors

Before the establishment of The Masters and PGA Championship as majors, the British Amateur and the U.S. Amateur were regarded as majors.[1][2] This list considers these titles when they were regarded as majors. For example, Bobby Jones won five U.S. Amateur titles when those titles were considered majors[1] and four U.S. Open professional titles. Additionally, he won one British Amateur title when that title was considered a major,[1] and the Open Championship three times making his total number of majors 13.[3][4][5]

The Masters, which was co-founded by Bobby Jones in 1934 after his retirement from the game, was not universally considered to be a major championship in its earlier years, the quartet of professional majors not being established at the time. In the first half of the twentieth century golf fans in the United States sometimes attributed major status to the Western Open and/or the North and South Open.

Name Country Masters U.S. Open U.S. Amat. The Open British Amat. PGA Total Winning span
Jack Nicklaus Flag of the United States United States 6 4 0 3 0 5 18 1962-1986
Tiger Woods Flag of the United States United States 4 2 0 3 0 4 13 1997-2007
Bobby Jones Flag of the United States United States NA 4 5 3 1 0 13 1923-1930
Walter Hagen Flag of the United States United States NA 2 0 4 0 5 11 1914-1929
John Ball Flag of England England NA 0 0 1 8 0 9 1888-1912
Ben Hogan Flag of the United States United States 2 4 0 1 0 2 9 1946-1953
Gary Player Flag of South Africa South Africa 3 1 0 3 0 2 9 1959-1978
Tom Watson Flag of the United States United States 2 1 0 5 0 0 8 1975-1983
Harold Hilton Flag of England England NA 0 1 2 4 0 7 1892-1913
Arnold Palmer Flag of the United States United States 4 1 0 2 0 0 7 1958-1964
Gene Sarazen Flag of the United States United States 1 2 0 1 0 3 7 1922-1935
Sam Snead Flag of the United States United States 3 0 0 1 0 3 7 1942-1954
Harry Vardon Flag of England England NA 1 0 6 0 0 7 1896-1914

[edit] List of top winners of majors including amateur titles for all years

In the chart immediately below, U.S. Amateur and Amateur Championship (British Amateur) titles are included for all years.

Name Country Masters U.S. Open U.S. Amat. The Open British Amat. PGA Total Winning span
Jack Nicklaus Flag of the United States United States 6 4 2 3 0 5 20 1959-1986
Tiger Woods Flag of the United States United States 4 2 3 3 0 4 16 1994-2007
Bobby Jones Flag of the United States United States NA 4 5 3 1 0 13 1923-1930
Walter Hagen Flag of the United States United States NA 2 0 4 0 5 11 1914-1929
John Ball Flag of England England NA 0 0 1 8 0 9 1888-1912
Ben Hogan Flag of the United States United States 2 4 0 1 0 2 9 1946-1953
Gary Player Flag of South Africa South Africa 3 1 0 3 0 2 9 1959-1978
Arnold Palmer Flag of the United States United States 4 1 1 2 0 0 8 1954-1964
Tom Watson Flag of the United States United States 2 1 0 5 0 0 8 1975-1983
Harold Hilton Flag of England England NA 0 1 2 4 0 7 1892-1913
Gene Sarazen Flag of the United States United States 1 2 0 1 0 3 7 1922-1935
Sam Snead Flag of the United States United States 3 0 0 1 0 3 7 1942-1954
Harry Vardon Flag of England England NA 1 0 6 0 0 7 1896-1914
Nick Faldo Flag of England England 3 0 0 3 0 0 6 1987-1996
Lee Trevino Flag of the United States United States 0 2 0 2 0 2 6 1968-1984
Seve Ballesteros Flag of Spain Spain 2 0 0 3 0 0 5 1979-1988
Michael Bonallack Flag of England England 0 0 0 0 5 0 5 1961-1970
James Braid Flag of Scotland Scotland NA 0 0 5 0 0 5 1901-1910
Lawson Little Flag of the United States United States 0 1 2 0 2 0 5 1934-1940
Byron Nelson Flag of the United States United States 2 1 0 0 0 2 5 1937-1945
J.H. Taylor Flag of England England NA 0 0 5 0 0 5 1894-1913
Peter Thomson Flag of Australia Australia 0 0 0 5 0 0 5 1954-1965
Jerome Travers Flag of the United States United States NA 1 4 0 0 0 5 1907-1915

[edit] See also

[edit] References