Desperately SEEKING A MAJOR
Major championship golf in the men’s game was for so long dominated by players collecting stacks of the four biggest titles in the game.
Of course, there were the one-off winners, the occasional bolter who claimed a major and disappeared into the competitive abyss or those expected to be multiple champions, but, alas, remained on a single win for their entire career.
But as long as many can remember, it was Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson claiming a swathe of trophies, with the likes of Greg Norman, Ben Crenshaw and John Daly collecting a couple along the way.
In recent times however, despite some hot runs of form from the likes of Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, the one-time winner has become the taste of the majors.
In fact, since 2008 when Tiger Woods claimed the last US Open staged at Torrey Pines in unbelievable circumstances and Padraig Harrington added two more majors to his tally, 25 of the 48 major championships played (at the time of writing) have been won by a player as yet unable to add to his major collection. With another six won by players claiming the first of multiples in the same period.
These sort of swings and roundabouts are common in professional sport, and with ageing once dominant players like Woods and Phil Mickelson, not the greatest of surprise.
However, as the best players in the world prepare to head to the stunning coastline of San Diego and the South Course at Torrey Pines, the recent run looks likely to continue, with 34 of the top-50 players on the Official World Golf Rankings (at the time of writing) without a major win.
All 34 of these players are a chance of continuing the strong run of first-time winners in the majors. After all being one of the
