10 Best Golf Players Never To Win A Major

Sitting at the top of the rankings doesn't always lead to major glory.

colin montgormie
© Andreas Gebert/dpa/Corbis

To be regarded as one of the greats of golf, you need to have won one of the four major tournaments - the Masters, US Open, British Open or USPGA Championship.

However, spending a considerable amount of time at the top of the world rankings does not necessarily guarantee that you will receive that bit of luck at one of the most high-profile events and a missed put here and a wayward drive there can cost you the opportunity of seeing your name engraved on the trophy.

Some players have gone a lot closer to ending in first place on the leaderboard than others. There are players in the history of the sport who have recorded several second-place finishes and missed out in nerve-jangling playoffs, while there are players who have held onto the world number one position but only been in major contention on the odd occasion.

Some golfers have also entered double figures for tournament triumphs on their respective tours without winning the big one that would have ultimately defined their career and we have compiled a list of 10 players who we believe are the best to miss out on being named a major winner.

10. Sergio Garcia

colin montgormie
© Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire/Corbis

There are thousands of players who have played professional golf without winning a major tournament but we doubt there are none who are better than Sergio Garcia.

As well as winning a combined total of 19 trophies on the PGA and European Tour, Garcia spent almost a decade in the world's top 10 between 2000 and 2009 and has reached as high as number two. However, we will rue his missed opportunities at the biggest events should he not get over the line before retiring from the game.

Between 1999 and 2015, Garcia recorded 20 top-10 finishes in the four majors, an astonishing figure without winning one. That can be broken down to 10 top-five placings and four runners-up positions.

His best chance to date came at the 2007 Open Championship where he ended tied with Padraig Harrington after 72 holes but a five at the first of four playoff holes proved costly and he lost by one shot.

Garcia is still performing at a level where he can win a major and at the age of 36, there is plenty of time. However, while he is physically capable of joining the cream of the sport, it remains to be seen whether he is mentally capable of overcoming so many disappointments.

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A degree-educated, dart-throwing, non-smelling sports journalist based in a small Staffordshire town that has just become Floyd Mayweather's answer to the question: "What's the strangest place you have ever visited?"