Golf is a highly popular sport, and at the professional end, there is arguably no greater accolade than winning a Major Championship. These tournaments are among the most coveted in the sport, but there are a number of players who managed to reach the top without ever managing to win one.
Today we will look at three of golfs nearly men, who often went so close, but ultimately failed to capture a Major Championship.
Colin Montgomerie
It seems rather obvious to put the super Scot, Colin Montgomerie, first. Outside of Major Championships, there are very few golfers in history who have achieved a level of consistent success, such as he has enjoyed. With a remarkable eight European Order of Merit titles, including seven in a row, along with a staggering 52 professional competition wins his trophy cabinet is not exactly empty. Also, his heroics at both playing, and captaining, the European Ryder Cup team are legendary, and he always seemed to save his best golf for these occasions.
Lee Westwood
This spot would probably have gone to Sergio Garcia before his long-overdue Major win, but Lee Westwood is probably the one who will take over the “man most people want to see win” mantle. With an amazing 42 professional tournament wins, and a plethora of top 5 finishes in Major Championships, just like Monty, it seems as though he could never quite pull it off when it came to the truly biggest tournaments.
Luke Donald
Luke Donald is a former world number one, with a great 17 career tournament victories, but when it comes to Major Championships, he never seems to be able to bring his A-game. With eight top-ten finishes, including third in both the 2005 and 2006 USPGA Masters, it seems like it is never meant to be. Putting aside his Major Championship disappointments, it should be noted that Luke Donald became the first ever player to top both the PGA Tour and European Tour money lists.