So, the other day I found myself pondering a classic golf question: who’s the best player to have never won a major championship? It just popped into my head while I was fiddling around, trying to fix a leaky faucet, believe it or not. Funny how the mind wanders.
My first step was just letting names float around in my brain. You know, the usual suspects. Lee Westwood immediately came to mind. The guy’s been around forever, world number one, tons of wins all over the place. Seemed like a strong contender right off the bat.
Then I thought about Colin Montgomerie. Monty! Dominated the European Tour for years. Ryder Cup legend. But majors? Oof. So many close calls, runner-up finishes. It almost hurts to think about it. Does being consistently close make you the ‘best’ non-winner?
This got me thinking – what does ‘best’ even mean here? Is it just about the number of regular tour wins? Or maybe longevity at a high level? What about guys who reached World No. 1 without sealing the deal in one of the big four? It’s actually kinda messy when you start digging.
Digging into the details
So, I decided to actually look into it a bit more seriously. Not like, super deep academic research, just pulling up some stats, checking career records. I started comparing Westwood’s sheer number of wins and time spent ranked highly versus Monty’s European dominance and Ryder Cup heroics.
Then you have to consider players from different eras, which makes it even tougher. What about someone like Doug Sanders? Way back when, loads of wins, but famous for that short missed putt at The Open. Does one infamous moment overshadow a great career?
And what about the current guys? You’ve got players like Xander Schauffele or Patrick Cantlay. Both have impressive resumes already, FedEx Cup champs, Ryder Cup players, multiple wins. They haven’t won a major yet, but they feel like they’re knocking on the door constantly. Do they belong in this conversation already, or do they need more time?
- Lee Westwood: Longevity, World No. 1, tons of wins globally.
- Colin Montgomerie: European Tour dominance, Ryder Cup icon, multiple major runner-ups.
- Modern Players (Schauffele, Cantlay, etc.): Lots of recent success, high rankings, but careers still unfolding.
- Older Players (Sanders, etc.): Great careers overshadowed by near misses.
It’s more than just stats
Thinking about all this reminded me of something unrelated, actually. Years ago, I was part of this amateur band. We practiced constantly, played gigs locally, everyone told us we were great, had a real shot. We even recorded a demo that we thought was killer. But we never got that record deal, never broke through to the next level. It felt like we were right there, but couldn’t quite get over the hump. It’s kind of how I imagine these golfers feel – doing amazing work week in, week out, but missing that one specific type of validation.
You watch them play, especially in the majors. Westwood contending again and again deep into his career. Monty looking like he finally had it, only for something to go wrong on Sunday. You feel that tension, that pressure. It makes you appreciate just how incredibly hard it is to win one of those four tournaments.
So, who is it?
Honestly, after mulling it over and looking back at different careers, I don’t think there’s a single, easy answer. It really depends on what criteria you value most.
If you value sheer volume of wins across different tours and holding that number one spot, Westwood has a super strong case. His career span at a high level is incredible.
If you value dominance within a region and those gut-wrenching near-misses on the biggest stage, maybe it’s Montgomerie. His consistency in Europe was unreal for so long.
For me, personally? I lean towards Westwood. Just the longevity, the consistency across decades, reaching World No. 1… that feels like the most complete career without that major title. But honestly, you could make a solid argument for several guys. It’s one of those debates that makes watching and talking about sports interesting, isn’t it? No right answer, just good conversation fodder.
