Hey everyone, it’s your boy back again with another data deep dive. Today’s topic is something I’ve been meaning to get to for a while now: most golf major winners. Yeah, I know, not exactly the most clickbaity title, but trust me, the results are pretty interesting.
So, I started out the same way I always do – by asking myself what I really wanted to know. In this case, it was simple: who’s the GOAT when it comes to winning the big ones in golf? I’m talking about the Majors: The Masters, The Open Championship, The U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship. I wanted the names, the numbers, the whole nine yards.
I fired up my computer and started digging. I checked a bunch of different websites and forums. It took a while to sort through everything, but I finally started to get a clear picture. I was reading, taking notes, copying down names, and putting them into a spreadsheet.
After hours of this, I had a pretty solid list of all the golfers who’ve won at least one major. It was a long list, over 200 names! But I needed to narrow it down. I decided to focus on the golfers with more than one major win to their name.
I went back to my spreadsheet and started filtering. I got rid of anyone with just one major win. It felt kind of brutal, but I had to be strict to get to the real meat of the data. This is when things got interesting.
I started seeing some familiar names popping up again and again. And at the top of the list, clear as day, was Jack Nicklaus. The guy has 18 major wins! Six Masters, four U.S. Opens, three Open Championships, and five PGA Championships. That’s just insane.
Then, of course, there’s Tiger Woods. He’s sitting at 15 majors, with five Masters wins. These two are way ahead of the pack. Following them, you’ve got Walter Hagen with 11 and Ben Hogan and Gary Player tied at 9.
- Jack Nicklaus – 18
- Tiger Woods – 15
- Walter Hagen – 11
- Ben Hogan – 9
- Gary Player – 9
I also found out that only five golfers have ever won all four majors in their career, the “Career Grand Slam” they call it. They are Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. And get this – only Nicklaus and Woods have won each major at least three times. Also, there’re only 16 golfers who have won two majors in one year with the British Open being one of them.
Seeing all this laid out really put things into perspective. It’s crazy to think about the level of skill and consistency these guys have to maintain to win at that level. And it makes you appreciate the history of the sport even more.
So yeah, that’s my deep dive into the most major winners in golf. I hope you all found it as interesting as I did. Let me know in the comments who your favorite golfer is and what other sports data you’d like me to look into. Until next time, peace out!
