Greatest Golf Major Wins of All Time

These wins defined golfers, their careers, and the sport itself.

The greatest moments in golf happen at the majors. The U.S. Open, PGA Championship, British Open and Masters. Win one of those, and your name is etched into golf history. Win more than one, and you’re a legend.

Win more majors than anyone, like Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, and you transcend your sport.

These are the greatest wins of all time in golf’s four major championships.

30. Henrik Stenson, 2016 British Open

Ben Curtis / AP Photo

Dates: July 14-17, 2016

Course: Royal Troon Golf Club (Ayrshire, Scotland)

Winner’s purse: $1.549 million

Runner-up: Phil Mickelson

All-time wins in majors: 1

Bottom line: Swedish golfer Henrik Stenson became the first male golfer from a Scandinavian country to win a major, setting the course record by shooting 20-under. He needed every bit of it to beat Phil Mickelson by three strokes.

Stenson, who shot a 63 in the final round, ended up being a great story as the winner. The 2016 British Open would be the only major victory of his career and came when he was 40 years old and had been one of the top golfers in the world for years.

29. Gene Sarazen, 1923 PGA Championship

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Dates: Sept. 24-29, 1923

Course: Pelham Country Club (Pelham Manor, New York)

Winner’s purse: $3,600 (total prize fund)

Runner-up: Walter Hagen

All-time wins in majors: 7

Bottom line: This was back when major championships still used match play. And golf experts think this might be one of the best matches in history, with defending champion Gene Sarazen taking down 1921 champion Walter Hagen at Pelham Country Club.

Hagen flamed out miserably on the second hole of a playoff when he hit into a bunker and couldn’t get out.

But Hagen made a great comeback, winning the next four PGA Championships and three more British Opens.

28. Y.E. Yang, 2009 PGA Championship

Morry Gash / AP Photo

Dates: Aug. 13-16, 2009

Course: Hazeltine National Golf Club (Chaska, Minnesota)

Winner’s purse: $1.35 million

Runner-up: Tiger Woods

All-time wins in majors: 1

Bottom line: Y.E. Yang pulled off a couple of firsts at the 2009 PGA Championship. He was the first Asian-born golfer to win a major and the first person to beat Tiger Woods after Woods held the lead following 54 holes.

History hasn’t treated Yang’s win with the reverence it probably should — most likely because the focus has always been on Tiger’s meltdown on the final day of the tournament.

Yang finished third in the U.S. Open in 2011, but other than that, he hasn’t seriously threatened to win another major.

27. Henry Cotton, 1937 British Open

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Dates: July 7-9, 1937

Course: Carnoustie Golf Links, Medal Course (Carnoustie, Scotland)

Winner’s purse: $100

Runner-up: Reg Whitcombe

All-time wins in majors: 3

Bottom line: English golfer Henry Cotton loved playing for big stakes. His first British Open victory in 1934 broke a streak of eight consecutive wins by Americans, and his win in 1937 was somehow even more impressive.

The U.S. Ryder Cup team stayed in Europe after their 8-4 win at the end of June to try and bring home another British Open, and Cotton beat them all.

Trailing by three headed into the final round, Cotton shot a 71 in a torrential downpour for the victory against a field that included American Byron Nelson, who would only play the British Open twice in his career.

26. Jordan Spieth, 2015 Masters

Matt Slocum / AP Photo

Dates: April 9-12, 2015

Course: Augusta National Golf Club (Augusta, Georgia)

Winner’s purse: $1.8 million

Runners-up: Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose

All-time wins in majors: 3

Bottom line: Jordan Spieth was only 21 years old when he became just the fifth player in Masters history to lead after all four rounds, and tied the tournament record 18-under in the process.

Spieth actually had a shot at breaking Tiger Woods’ record on the final hole but missed a putt for par, even though he still beat runners-up Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose by four shots.

Spieth also won the PGA Championship in 2015, then his third major at the British Open in 2017. He hasn’t posted a victory in a major since.

25. Lee Trevino, 1972 British Open

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Dates: July 12-15, 1972

Course: Muirfield Golf Links (Gullane, Scotland)

Winner’s purse: $13,750

Runner-up: Jack Nicklaus

All-time wins in majors: 6

Bottom line: Tony Jacklin thought he’d cracked defending British Open champion Lee Trevino on No. 17 in the final round — a monster par 5 that Trevino was struggling on.

Instead, Trevino nailed a “how did he do that?” chip-in for par, and Jacklin melted down, falling back to third place after he missed a 15-foot birdie for the lead.

Jacklin, who won the British Open in 1969, said his career never recovered after that hole. Trevino finished his career with six major victories.

24. Julius Boros, 1968 PGA Championship

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Dates: July 18-21, 1968

Course: Pecan Valley Golf Club (San Antonio, Texas)

Winner’s purse: $20,000

Runners-up: Bob Charles and Arnold Palmer

All-time wins in majors: 3

Bottom line: Julius Boros was 48 years old when he won the 1968 PGA Championship — the oldest golfer to ever win a major. That record stood for 52 years old until Phil Mickelson broke it by winning the PGA Championship at 50 years old in 2021.

Boros had Arnold Palmer on his heels the entire final round but missed a putt for birdie on hole No. 72 before Boros put the win away by making par.

Boros, who died in 1994, won three major championships in his career, taking the U.S. Open twice.

23. Tiger Woods, 2000 British Open

Alastair Grant / AP Photo

Dates: July 20-23, 2000

Course: Old Course at St. Andrews (St. Andrews, Scotland)

Winner’s purse: $759,000

Runners-up: Thomas Bjorn and Ernie Els

All-time wins in majors: 15

Bottom line: Next time one of your friends tries to talk down about golf — preferably a football fan — remind them that 239,000 fans came out to watch Tiger Woods win the 2000 British Open at St. Andrews.

The “Millennium Open” saw Woods set a record by shooting 19-under, eight strokes ahead of runners-up Thomas Bjorn and Ernie Els.

Woods completed his career Grand Slam with the victory, at 24 years old becoming the youngest person to do so. In 72 holes, he never even hit into a bunker.

22. Paul Azinger, 1993 PGA Championship

Ed Reinke / AP Photo

Dates: Aug. 12-15, 1993

Course: Inverness Club (Toledo, Ohio)

Winner’s purse: $300,000

Runner-up: Greg Norman

All-time wins in majors: 1

Bottom line: The only major victory for Paul Azinger led to him becoming the captain for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, which is what he’s best known for.

Hardly anyone thought Azinger would come out of a pack of legends on the Saturday leaderboard, a group that included 23 major wins between them. But he did.

This also was one of the tournaments that cemented Greg Norman’s status as a hard-luck loser. He joined Craig Wood as the only golfers to lose each of the four majors in a playoff, falling in the second hole of sudden death.

21. John Daly, 1995 British Open

Lynne Sladky / AP Photo

Dates: July 20-23, 1995

Course: Old Course at St. Andrews (St. Andrews, Scotland)

Winner’s purse: $199,000

Runner-up: Costantino Rocca

All-time wins in majors: 2

Bottom line: Costantino Rocca’s 65-foot, uphill putt for birdie forced John Daly out of the clubhouse and back onto the course for a four-hole playoff.

That was no problem for Daly, who shot 1-under over the final four holes while Rocca melted down with a 3-over. It was the second major win for Daly following his stunning victory at the 1991 PGA Championship.

Even in the history of the British Open and all the drama that’s occurred there, the live shot of Daly and his wife watching Rocca’s group play the final hole and sitting, stunned, after he sank the long putt was gripping.

20. Arnold Palmer, 1961 British Open

AP Photo

Dates: July 12-15, 1961

Course: Royal Birkdale Golf Club (Southport, England)

Winner’s purse: $3,920

Runner-up: Dai Rees

All-time wins in majors: 7

Bottom line: No American golfer loved the British Open more than Arnold Palmer, who finished as runner-up in his first time playing for the Claret Jug in 1960.

When he returned in 1961, it would be for a one-shot win over Dai Rees that snapped almost a decade-long American drought at the British Open dating back to Ben Hogan in 1953.

Palmer’s victory snapped American golfers out of their apathy toward the tournament (because they were getting trounced). Palmer won the British Open just one more time, in 1962, but Americans have won half of all the Claret Jugs in the ensuing six decades.

19. Tiger Woods, 2008 U.S. Open

Charlie Riedel / AP Photo

Dates: June 12-16, 2008

Course: Torrey Pines Golf Course, South Course (San Diego, California)

Winner’s purse: $1.35 million

Runner-up: Rocco Mediate

All-time wins in majors: 15

Bottom line: Tiger Woods had to birdie twice on No. 18, first to force a playoff, then in an 18-hole playoff, to force a sudden-death playoff with runner-up Rocco Mediate. Woods didn’t win another major for 11 years.

We could tell Woods was hurting throughout the entire tournament. It got progressively worse, and by the final round, he was using his clubs as essentially walking sticks.

Shortly afterward, we learned the true extent of the damage as Woods announced he would need surgery to repair a fractured tibia and a torn ACL.

18. Dustin Johnson, 2020 Masters

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Dates: Nov. 12-15, 2020

Course: Augusta National Golf Club (Augusta, Georgia)

Winner’s purse: $2.07 million

Runners-up: Im Sung-jae and Cameron Smith

All-time wins in majors: 2

Bottom line: Dustin Johnson’s 20-under at the 2020 Masters broke Tiger Woods’ 23-year-old record of 18-under, and his five-shot win was the biggest margin of victory at the Masters in 23 years.

Johnson also became the first player in Masters history to shoot 65 or better twice in the same tournament. From a historical perspective, it will be interesting to see how future golf aficionados look at Johnson’s win.

Because of the pandemic, it will likely go down in history as the only Masters without fans in attendance.

17. Rory McIlroy, 2014 PGA Championship

Jeff Roberson / AP Photo

Dates: Aug. 7-10, 2014

Course: Valhalla Golf Club (Louisville, Kentucky)

Winner’s purse: $1.8 million

Runner-up: Phil Mickelson

All-time wins in majors: 4

Bottom line: You could have sold stock in Rory McIlroy becoming one of the greatest golfers of all time after he won the 2014 PGA Championship — his fourth major win in three years and second time winning the PGA.

More than that, it was McIlroy’s second consecutive major victory following the British Open and his third consecutive PGA Tour victory following the British and the Bridgestone Invitational.

This would be remembered for an epic final round that saw McIlroy start with a one-shot lead, fall behind by three strokes before the turn and storm back, sinking the winning putt in almost darkness.

He’s only one win away from a career grand slam — he needs a win at the Masters — but hasn’t won a major since.

16. Jack Nicklaus, 1970 British Open

AP Photo

Dates: July 8-12, 1970

Course: Old Course at St. Andrews (St. Andrews, Scotland)

Winner’s purse: $96,000

Runner-up: Doug Sanders

All-time wins in majors: 18

Bottom line: Jack Nicklaus won his first British Open in 1966. Just not at St. Andrews. He got that feather in his cap when Doug Sanders couldn’t par for the win on No. 18, forcing an 18-hole playoff that came down to the final hole.

That’s where Nicklaus hit one of the most incredible shots in the history of golf, shedding his yellow, V-neck sweater to tee off and unleash a towering, 360-yard shot that set him up for a birdie and the one-stroke win over Sanders.

Nicklaus won the British Open one more time, in 1978 at St. Andrews.

15. Tiger Woods, 2000 U.S. Open

Elise Amendola / AP Photo

Dates: June 15-18, 2000

Course: Pebble Beach Golf Links (Pebble Beach, California)

Winner’s purse: $800,000

Runners-up: Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez

All-time wins in majors: 15

Bottom line: The most dominating victory in the history of the major championships occurred at the 2000 U.S. Open, when Tiger Woods won by 15 strokes.

It was the first U.S. Open victory for Woods and came accompanied by a somber footnote — defending champion Payne Stewart died in a plane crash the previous October.

It was the first of four consecutive major championship victories for Woods, making him the first golfer since Bobby Jones in 1930 to hold all four titles at once.

14. Arnold Palmer, 1960 U.S. Open

AP Photo

Dates: June 16-18, 1960

Course: Cherry Hills Country Club (Cherry Hills Village, Colorado)

Winner’s purse: $14,400

Runner-up: Jack Nicklaus

All-time wins in majors: 7

Bottom line: Spectators to the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills Country Club were witnesses to one of the greatest final rounds in history, with Arnold Palmer outdueling Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus for the victory.

Palmer’s victory was the result of one of the great comebacks in major history. He was seven shots back in 15th place before he stormed back for the win.

Nicklaus was just a 20-year-old amateur at the time and still competing at Ohio State.

13. Phil Mickelson, 2021 PGA Championship

CBSSunday / Twitter

Dates: May 20-23, 2021

Course: Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Ocean Course (Kiawah Island, South Carolina)

Winner’s purse: $1.35 million

Runners-up: Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen

All-time wins in majors: 6

Bottom line: Phil Mickelson broke the 52-year-old record set by Julius Boros at the 1968 PGA Championship for the oldest golfer to win a major. Boros was 48 years old when he won, and Mickelson was just a few weeks from his 51st birthday.

Mickelson shot par in the first round, then turned up the heat, shooting 12-under for the next two rounds, before hanging on to win with a one-over 73, including a bogey on hole No. 17 and a par on No. 18.

12. Tiger Woods, 2000 PGA Championship

Chuck Burton / AP Photo

Dates: Aug. 17-20, 2000

Course: Valhalla Golf Club (Louisville, Kentucky)

Winner’s purse: $900,000

Runner-up: Bob May

All-time wins in majors: 15

Bottom line: Tiger Woods defended his title at the PGA Championship for his third consecutive major victory — the first golfer since Ben Hogan in 1953 to do so.

While Woods would complete his “Tiger Slam” by winning the Masters next, this was the victory from that group that lingered with golf fans.

That’s because of a three-hole playoff duel with Bob May that is in the running for the best playoff golf sequence of all time. Both golfers set the record by shooting 18-under, including a 5-under 31 on the final nine holes.

11. Jack Nicklaus, 1965 Masters

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Dates: April 8-11, 1965

Course: Augusta National Golf Club (Augusta, Georgia)

Winner’s purse: $20,000

Runners-up: Arnold Palmer and Gary Player

All-time wins in majors: 18

Bottom line: Jack Nicklaus shot a 17-under at the 1965 Masters — a record that stood for 32 years until Tiger Woods broke it by one stroke in 1997.

Nicklaus was tied for the lead with fellow legends Arnold Palmer and Gary Player after two rounds, with all three at 6-under. Nicklaus touched greatness on Saturday, shooting an 18-hole-record 64 and went into the final round five shots ahead of Player and eight shots ahead of Palmer.

Nicklaus shot a 3-under on the final day. Player and Palmer tied for second at nine shots back.

10. Payne Stewart, 1999 U.S. Open

Chuck Burton / AP Photo

Dates: June 17-20, 1999

Course: Pinehurst Resort, Course No. 2 (Pinehurst, North Carolina)

Winner’s purse: $625,000

Runner-up: Phil Mickelson

All-time wins in majors:

Bottom line: It was sweet redemption for Payne Stewart in the 1999 U.S. Open, just one year after blowing a four-shot lead after 54 holes in the same tournament.

In the final round, Stewart took the lead from Phil Mickelson on No. 16 before holding him off over the final two holes, capped by an iconic, 15-foot putt for the win on No. 18.

Stewart died four months later in a plane crash, at 42 years old. His winning putt and celebration on No. 18 is depicted in a statue at Pinehurst.

9. Larry Mize, 1987 Masters

Joe Benton / AP Photo

Dates: April 9-12, 1987

Course: Augusta National Golf Club (Augusta, Georgia)

Winner’s purse: $162,000

Runners-up: Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman

All-time wins in majors: 1

Bottom line: One of the greatest finishes in the history of major championships belongs to Larry Mize, the only Augusta native to win the Masters in its history.

Mize found himself in a three-way, sudden-death playoff with Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman. Ballesteros was eliminated on No. 10, the first hole. On the second hole, Norman played conservatively on the par-4 No. 11, setting himself up for a 50-foot putt (and par at the worst) after Mize’s second shot put him 140 feet right of the hole.

Mize’s chip found the bottom of the hole for birdie, and a shocked and stunned Norman failed to hole out his shot and tie.

8. Bobby Jones, 1927 British Open

AP Photo

Dates: July 13-15, 1927

Course: Old Course at St. Andrews (St. Andrews, Scotland)

Winner’s purse: $75

Runners-up: Aubrey Boomer and Fred Robson

All-time wins in majors: 7

Bottom line: Bobby Jones was 19 years old when he played the Old Course at St. Andrews in the British Open in 1921 and came away vilified in the British press after he quit after 11 holes and insulted the course.

Somehow, Jones returned six years later and won by six shots. The fans showed their appreciation by carrying Jones off the green after the final hole, and he became one of the British Open’s most beloved champions of all time.

How much did the Brits love Jones? He’s one of only two Americans to be given the title “Freeman of the City” for the St. Andrews. The other was Ben Franklin.

7. Jack Nicklaus, 1986 Masters

Joe Benton / AP Photo

Dates: April 10-13, 1986

Course: Augusta National Golf Club (Augusta, Georgia)

Winner’s purse: $144,000

Runners-up: Tom Kite and Greg Norman

All-time wins in majors: 18

Bottom line: Jack Nicklaus was 46 years old when he won his 18th and final major at the Masters in 1986, becoming the oldest Masters winner in history.

Nicklaus also set records that day by winning his sixth Masters and for winning his 18th major, 24 years after his first one.

Nicklaus earned $144,000 for his victory. He brought home $20,000 for his first Masters win in 1963.

6. Ben Hogan, 1950 U.S. Open

AP Photo

Dates: June 8-11, 1950

Course: Merion Golf Club, East Course (Ardmore, Pennsylvania)

Winner’s purse: $4,000

Runners-up: Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio

All-time wins in majors: 9

Bottom line: Ben Hogan’s emotional 1950 U.S. Open victory came into the news again recently, following Tiger Woods’ devastating car crash in April 2021 in Los Angeles.

That’s because Hogan won the 1950 U.S. Open just 16 months after he fractured his pelvis, collarbone, ankle and ribs in a car accident — injuries so severe doctors were uncertain if he would walk again.

Hogan, swaddled in wraps from the hips down, carried a collapsible chair with him to rest on the course at the 1950 U.S. Open and scrapped his way into a playoff, toppling Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio for an improbable win.

5. Francis Ouimet, 1913 U.S. Open

AP Photo

Dates: Sept. 18-20, 1913

Course: The Country Club (Brookline, Massachusetts)

Winner’s purse: $300

Runners-up: Harry Vardon and Ted Ray

All-time wins in majors: 1

Bottom line: This was the basis for the 2005 film “The Greatest Game Ever Played” starring Shia Labeouf as 1913 U.S. Open winner Francis Ouimet, .

Ouimet was an unknown 20-year-old and local caddie who defeated the world’s two best golfers, Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, in an 18-hole playoff. The British duo already had seven major championships between them.

For the first time in U.S. history, golf made its way to the front pages of newspapers in every state, and Ouimet became a national hero.

4. Tiger Woods, 2019 Masters

David J. Phillip / AP Photo

Dates: April 11-14, 2019

Course: Augusta National Golf Club (Augusta, Georgia)

Winner’s purse: $2.07 million

Runners-up: Dennis Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele

All-time wins in majors: 15

Bottom line: When Tiger Woods won at the 2019 Masters, he set the record for longest amount of time between wins at Augusta — 14 years — and completed what some regard as the greatest comeback in sports history.

Woods, 43 years old, had gone 11 years without winning a major, and his 2019 victory gave him 15 career major championships.

Woods didn’t take the lead until the final day of the tournament, making it his first major victory when he didn’t lead after 54 holes.

3. Tom Watson, 1977 British Open

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Dates: July 6-9, 1977

Course: Turnberry, Alisa Course (Ayrshire, Scotland)

Winner’s purse: $17,000

Runner-up: Jack Nicklaus

All-time wins in majors: 8

Bottom line: Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus made golf history with their showdown at the 1977 British Open — “The Duel in the Sun” — that went to Watson in a thrilling finish.

Paired with each other for the final two rounds, the closest golfer to the two legends by the end of the tournament was 10 strokes back of Nicklaus.

Watson’s run down the stretch was the stuff of dreams. He birdied four of the final six holes and shot a birdie on the final hole to avoid an 18-hole playoff with Nicklaus.

2. John Daly, 1991 PGA Championship

Tom Strattman / AP Photo

Dates: Aug. 8-11, 1991

Course: Crooked Stick Golf Club (Carmel, Indiana)

Winner’s purse: $230,000

Runner-up: Bruce Lietzke

All-time wins in majors: 2

Bottom line: The most improbable, unbelievable win in the history of any of the major championships belongs to John Daly, who needed nine people to drop out of the 1991 PGA Championship before he got an invite the day before play started.

Daly, 25 years old, drove eight hours to make it to Crooked Stick Golf Club right outside of Indianapolis for his tee time, took the lead in the second round and never let go.

“Grip it and rip it” was born that day, as was Daly’s legend, which continues to this day.

1. Tiger Woods, 1997 Masters

Dave Martin / AP Photo

Dates: April 10-13, 1997

Course: Augusta National Golf Club (Augusta, Georgia)

Winner’s purse: $486,000

Runner-up: Tom Kite

All-time wins in majors: 15

Bottom line: Tiger Woods winning his first major at the 1997 Masters didn’t just change golf. It changed all of sports.

Among the things he accomplished that day were becoming the youngest golfer to win the Masters, at 21 years old, and the first non-white golfer to win. His 12-shot win also set a record, and his 18-under stood for 23 years, until Dustin Johnson broke it in 2020.

Want another truly mind-blowing stat about Woods’ historic win? He bogeyed four of the first nine holes.

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