Most Majors Won in Golf

Every year the professional golf world dives into a lengthy list of tournaments that seemingly go almost year-round. It can be easy to lose track of what tournaments are up next or what player won last week! One stat that every professional golf fan probably knows is which player has won the most Majors during a career.

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The modern golf schedule includes four Majors which are the Masters, U.S. Open, PGA Championship and Open Championship (British Open). For this listing of most majors won in golf we will dig into the top players who have won six or more majors in detail. Let’s start with the player that holds the record for most majors won in golf and that’s Jack Nicklaus.

Jack Nicklaus – 18 Major Wins

Jack Nicklaus, aka the Golden Bear, leads the list of players that have won the most majors in golf. Nicklaus turned professional in 1961 after a stellar amateur career and won the U.S. Open in 1962 – the first of his record-setting 18 Majors. The Golden Bear carded 117 wins during his career, with 73 coming on the PGA TOUR. He then went on to win an additional ten events while playing on the Senior PGA TOUR Champions Tour. He won the Masters six times, the PGA Championship five times and the U.S. Open four times each, while winning the Open Championship (British Open) three times.

Tiger Woods – 15 Major Wins

Many golf fans looked for Tiger Woods to match or beat Jack Nicklaus on most majors won in golf. However, nagging back injuries and injuries sustained from a car wreck, slowed the famed player’s march to winning majors. Still, he’s the only player that comes close to matching the Golden Bear as Woods has 15 major wins in his bag. He won the Masters five times including his comeback win in 2019. He won the PGA Championship four times, plus the U.S. and Open Championship three times each.

Walter Hagen – 11 Major Wins

Walter Hagen is considered by many to be one of the fathers of modern golf. His approach to playing and treating golf as a business, laid the foundation for how players are paid today. The bottom line is that he started bringing big bucks to the game, including endorsements. Hagen was the first native-born American to win the Open Championship (British Open) in 1922. Hagen won a total of eleven Majors during his career including five PGA Championships.

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Two Players with 9 Major Wins

Two players on the records list have won a total of nine Majors during their careers. They are Ben Hogan and Gary Player. Hogan made the move from being a club pro to a professional Tour player while also surviving a car wreck that almost killed him and his wife. He carded nine Major wins, including the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championships all in the same year (1953). Gary Player also won nine Majors starting with the Open Championship in 1959. His last win at a Major came in 1978 when he won his third Green jacket at the Masters. Player was considered as being one of the “Big Three” players during his playing days along with Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. Gary Player ended his PGA Tour career with a total of 122 wins.

Tom Watson – 8 Major Wins

Tom Watson stands alone on the list of players to win multiple Major Golf Championships. From Kansas City, Watson seemed to own the Open Championship (British Open) during his career as he won the title five times between 1975 and 1983. He also won the Masters twice and the U.S. Open once. He almost completed a career Grand Slam when he finished T2 at the PGA Championship in 1974. Watson banked his first professional win in 1974 with his last Tour win coming in 1994.

Five Players With 7 Major Wins

There are five players with seven major wins on their resumes with only two being in what many would consider the modern era. They would be Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead who both won seven majors, which ties them with several other legends of the game. They are Harry Varden, Bobby Jones and Gene Sarazen. Palmer won the Masters four times while Snead won three times at Augusta. Bobby Jones was one of the Founders of the Masters and he went on to win four U.S. Opens. Gene Sarazen completed the career Grand Slam by winning all four Majors with three PGA Championship titles. A player that stands out on this list is Harry Varden who won the Open Championship a record six times. He also tagged on a U.S. Open win. Varden was depicted along with Francis Ouimet in the 2005 movie The Greatest Game Ever Played.

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Three Players With 6 Major Wins

These are all names most golf fans will be familiar with! Nick Faldo, Lee Trevino and Phil Mickelson have all won a total of six majors during their careers. Faldo and Mickelson both won the Masters three times each and all three have won the Open Championship. Faldo has three Open Championship titles, a slew of PGA Tour wins and now is known as Sir Nick Faldo. Mickelson famously won his second PGA Championship in 2021 at the age of 50 which made him the oldest player to do so. Trevino never captured a win at Augusta National, but he won the Open Championship, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship two times each.

Players With Five Major Wins

Brooks Koepka is the most modern player in this category and he comes in tied with several legendary golfers including Byron Nelson. Koepka has won the PGA Championship three times and the U.S. Open twice. Nelson won the Masters twice, the PGA Championship twice, and the U.S. Open once. Here are the golfers with five PGA major wins: James Braid, John Henry Taylor, Byron Nelson, Peter Thomson, Seve Ballesteros and Brooks Koepka.

Players With Four Major Wins

If you’ve watched professional golf recently you may have heard commentators asking when Rory McIlroy will win his next Major. McIlroy is tied with Ernie Els on the list of most Majors won in golf with four. This number includes some of the most legendary names in the history of golf including Tom Morris Sr. and Tom Morris Jr. The only major McIlroy is missing in his quest for a career Grand Slam is the Masters. Els won both the U.S. Open and the Open Championship twice. Here are the golfers with four major wins: Tom Morris Sr., Tom Morris Jr., Willie Park Sr., Willie Anderson, Jim Barnes, Bobby Locke, Raymond Floyd, Ernie Els and Rory McIlroy.

Players With Three Major Wins

The players on the list that have won three Majors are a great slice of golf history as there’s a nice mix of classic and modern! There are names every golf fan around today knows such as Pádraig Harrington and Jordan Spieth. Then there are historic players such as Tommy Armour and more. Speith is one PGA Championship away from completing a career Grand Slam as he’s won the Masters, the U.S. Open and the Open Championship. Armour, who finished his professional career in 1931, was in a similar position except his missing major towards a career Grand Slam was the Masters. Here are the golfers with three golf majors wins: Bob Ferguson, Tommy Armour, Denny Shute, Ralph Guldahl, Henry Cotton, Jimmy Demaret, Cary Middlecoff, Julius Boros, Billy Casper, Larry Nelson, Hale Irwin, Nick Price, Payne Stewart, Vijay Singh, Pádraig Harrington and Jordan Spieth.

Players With Two Major Wins

Talk about a large list of historic players that have won two Majors during their careers. This list includes players of all generations with several that are some of the top players currently in the world. This grouping is too large to start listing each player but there are some modern names still hitting the links and winning events. They are Jon Rahm, Zach Johnson, Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas to name a few.

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LPGA Players With the Most Majors Won in Golf

You can’t have a list of the most majors won in golf without pointing out some of the record-holders in the world of female golf. The list is topped with the legendary Patty Berg who was a founding member of the LPGA. Berg won a record 15 majors and 60 wins on the LPGA Tour. Here’s a list of the top female players that have won ten or more majors.

Patty Berg – 15 Major Wins

Mickey Wright – 13 Major Wins

Louise Suggs – 11 Major Wins

Annika Sörenstam – 10 Major Wins

Babe Zaharias – 10 Major Wins

The list of male and female professionals that have won at least one golf major is a long one and too long to cover here. That list is packed with history as players from all ranks of the game have been added over the years. There are more recent names that have been added to the list such as Jason Day, Bryson DeChambeau, Scottie Sheffler, Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman. The great thing about an article about the most majors won in golf is that it changes every season and there is always a lot of history to dive into.