Let the 19th hole chatter continue.
Even with Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Smith on the recent list of first-time major winners, there’s still ample opportunity for fans to debate who is the best player never to have won a major and deliberate over who will become the next player to win his first major.
The best player never to win a major has been a double-edged tag over the years, to some an annoying attachment next to their logoed wardrobe, to others a dose of praise despite not having a major triumph on the resume.
Curtis Strange heard about it before he won the U.S. Open in back-to-back years. Ben Crenshaw, Payne Stewart, Fred Couples, Tom Kite, Davis Love III and Adam Scott all got an earful before joining the major fraternity.
Phil Mickelson finally left the conversation when he leaped for joy in the 2004 Masters, snapping a frustrating 0-for-42 stretch as a pro. Sergio Garcia ended his 0-for-73 futility in majors at the 2017 Masters. Dustin Johnson’s name stopped coming up with his win in the 2016 U.S. Open, as did Henrik Stenson’s a month later at the Open Championship.
Without further ado, here’s our list (in alphabetical order), which was recently updated ahead of the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill.
Sam Burns
Burns has five PGA Tour victories, all coming in the past two years. his latest victory at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play came after knocking off defending champion Scottie Scheffler in the semifinals before a win against Cameron Young in the finals. Burns is an excellent iron player, but he hasn’t figured it out in the majors. In 11 starts, his best finish is T-20 (2022 PGA) and he has missed three cuts and withdrawn once.
Patrick Cantlay
Patrick Cantlay is one of the best players in the world and has been for some time. He has won eight times on the PGA Tour, including three FedEx Cup Playoff events and two Memorial tournaments. He also won the FedEx Cup in 2021 after capturing the BMW Championship and Tour Championship in consecutive weeks. However, he has only three top 10s in majors the past five years, his best finish a T-3 in the 2019 PGA Championship. Slow play jokes aside, Cantlay has been in contention plenty and should be ready to win his biggest tournament yet soon.
Tony Finau
Tony Finau has won three times in the past year, but he still hasn’t been able to put it together in the majors. Last year, he missed the cut at the U.S. Open, and his best finish otherwise was a T-28 at the Open Championship. The five-time Tour winner has steadily improved, especially on the greens, over the past year, so seeing him break through on the biggest stage seems like a formality.
Max Homa
Homa has won six times on Tour, including four times the past two seasons. He has won the Wells Fargo Championship twice at two different courses and also has two Fortinet titles to his name as well as a win at the Genesis Invitational. However, come majors, Homa has one top-25 finish, a T-13 at the 2022 PGA Championship. He has missed the cut in eight of his 14 major starts, though he has made the weekend in five of his past six starts.
Viktor Hovland
The three-time Tour winner has yet to win in the United States since turning professional, though he has victories in Puerto Rico, Mexico and is the back-to-back champion of Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. Hovland was in the final group Sunday at St. Andrews in 2022, and he even held a share of the lead at Augusta National after the first round in 2023. However, the Norwegian is still looking for the breakthrough victory.
Xander Schauffele
He’s a big-time player on golf’s biggest stages. He has won a Tour Championship, Sentry Tournament of Champions and an Olympic gold medal. In 2022, he had his best season yet, winning three times, including the Genesis Scottish Open. And in majors, he has consistently been in the top 10, recording 10 top-10 finishes in 23 starts. He has a pair of T-2s and T-3s and has missed the cut only three times. It seems a matter of if, not when Schauffele finally breaks through.
Cameron Young
Now, hear us out. Yes, Young hasn’t won on the PGA Tour. Yes, he’s only in his second season. But, he constantly finds his way to the top of leaderboards, including in the biggest events. It’s only a matter of time before he breaks through. Last year, Young finished a shot out of the playoff at the PGA Championship, and his eagle on the 72nd hole of the Open Championship helped him finish solo second, a shot behind winner Cameron Smith. He has six runner-up finishes in his career.
Will Zalatoris
Although Zalatoris has only one PGA Tour victory, he’s a big-game hunter. He has battled injuries the past six months, but when Zalatoris is playing in big events, he seemingly always finds his way to the top. He has six top-eight finishes in 10 major starts, including three runner-up finishes. He lost in a three-hole playoff to Justin Thomas in the 2022 PGA Championship. When Zally is back healthy, watch out.
