Which golf major produces best champs?
I’m sitting here watching TNT’s coverage of the British Open — Breakfast at Turnberry — and thought about golf’s majors.
I love golf’s majors. Four tournaments a year that define greatness. These tournaments, golf culture has declared, are what matter most, and few debate that status. Win the Masters, or the U.S. Open, or the British, or the PGA, and you’re a made man. Forget money-winnings. Forget overall wins, at the John Deere Classic or the Buick Open. The majors matter most.
Debating the majors themselves is great fun. Which is most prestigious? Which format is best? Which is preferred, a single-course major like the Masters at Augusta National, a limited-courses rotation like the British or a much-bigger pool of courses like those used in the U.S. Open and PGA?
One of the arguments for the Masters over the years has been its list of champions, the idea that Augusta produces a better caliber of champ than the other majors. When you see a Lucas Glover win the U.S. Open and Shaun Micheel win the PGA, you can appreciate such sentiment.
But is it true? I decided to run a study. Make a list of all the one-time major winners. I figure no one can question your legitimacy of a two-time major winner. You win two majors, it wasn’t a fluke. But a one-timer? Maybe he got hot. Maybe rode a sizzling putter or funky conditions or opponents who fell apart and found himself with a trophy that’s really not indicative of his championship abilities.
Which major has produced the most, and the fewest, one-time major champ? It’s not a fool-proof system. There’s a huge difference in one-time major champs. Tom Kite and Tom Weiskopf each won only one major, but they hardly were in the same class of player as Todd Hamilton and Zach Johnson. Call it the Jeff Sluman Factor, in honor of the 1988 PGA winner at Oak Tree. Sluman won the Oklahoma City metro’s only major ever. He wasn’t a fluke player; Sluman won five other PGA Tour events, finished second in a U.S. Open and tied for fourth in a Masters. But he wasn’t a dominant player. If Jeff Sluman wins your major, it doesn’t enhance your status.
Anyway, I ran the numbers and cut it off at 1960. The concept of the majors really started about then, when Arnold Palmer started playing in the British Open and connected golf on both sides of the Atlantic. But that’s basically 50 years of majors; 50 years for the Masters and U.S. Open, 49 years for the British and PGA.
I figured the Masters indeed would carry the day. The Masters has a significantly smaller field than the other three majors, which by definition means it’s easier to win. Golf is a parity-driven game. Whereas Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal are overwhelming favorites to reach the finals of a tennis major, Tiger Woods is less than a one-in-three pick in most majors. Too much competition. Too many players of similar ability.
And indeed the Masters leads our list. But it’s close. Very close.
The Masters has 12 single-major champs. But the U.S. Open has only 13, Glover being the latest. So they were tied until the rain softened up Bethpage Black in June. And the British has just 14. So those three majors are very close.
Only the PGA is separated, with 19 single-major champs. The PGA long has had the distinction of being the least of the majors, and this certainly shows that.
Anyway, here is the list of all the single-major winners.
Masters: Trevor Immelman, Zach Johnson, Mike Weir, Fred Couples, Ian Woosnam, Larry Mize, Craig Stadler, Tommy Aaron, Charles Coody, George Archer, Bob Goalby and Gay Brewer.
U.S. Open: Lucas Glover, Geoff Ogilvy, Michael Campbell, Jim Furyk, Steve Jones, Corey Pavin, Tom Kite, Scott Simpson, Jerry Pate, Lou Graham, Orville Moody, Ken Venturi and Gene Littler.
British Open: Todd Hamilton, Ben Curtis, David Duval, Paul Lawrie, Justin Leonard, Tom Lehman, Ian Baker-Finch, Mark Calcavecchia, Bill Rogers, Tom Weiskopf, Robert DeVicenzo, Tony Lema, Bob Charles and Kel Nagle.
PGA: Shaun Micheel, Rich Beem, David Toms, Davis Love III, Mark Brooks, Steve Elkington, Paul Azinger, Wayne Grady, Jeff Sluman, Bob Tway, Hal Sutton, John Mahaffey, Lanny Wadkins, Don January, Al Geiberger, Dave Marr, Bobby Nichols, Jerry Barber and Jay Hebert.
If you back to the ’50s, the British drops back and the PGA stays back, with the Masters and U.S. Open still sporting champs that won other majors. But 1960 is a solid place to start, which shows that the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open all produce about the same quality of champion.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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Comments
Zach Johnson has won 6 times in less than 6 years on the PGA Tour. That equals or surpasses what Kite and Weiskopf did. I’m not saying Johnson will equal the career stats of those two, but it’s too early to say he won’t given his performance this year.
Berry, You probably should put an asterisk by Tony Lema because he only lived for a short time after his British Open victory and was still a young man with a great professional golfing future.
Berry,
Those are interesting stats and an interesting arguement. The Masters is my favorite major to watch. Each major certainly has its own niche. However, I believe the PGA produces the most “legitimate” champion because it boasts the deepest field and usually sports the fairest course setup.
Many good, solid PGA Tour players don’t qualify for the small field at Augusta. The US Open includes many amateurs and qualifiers (which may include cute stories, but doesn’t add to the strength of the field), and the British gives nods to many international players who probably wouldn’t cut it on the PGA Tour. The PGA Championship and the Players Championship annually compete for the best field honor.
The PGA also doesn’t mind if their course is conducive to good scoring. They don’t have any tricked up greens or fairways. The courses are tough but fair.