PINEHURST, NC. Winning any of the four major championships is no small feat. But claiming the US Open title is arguably the toughest assignment of them all.
Venues for the US Open are prepared with special care to ensure only the most successful of shots is rewarded. The physical demands are surpassed by the mental rigours that each competitor faces.
Securing a US Open title bestows great admiration and respect for those who have climbed the highest of golf mountain peaks.
On the flip side, there have been extremely talented players who would win other major events but were never able to win a US Open — although a number of them came close on various occasions.
Listed below are the greatest non-winners of the championship.
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Phil Mickelson
At the top of the pecking order for non-US Open winners. Mickelson nearly claimed the title when the championship was first conducted at Pinehurst in 1999. He was edged out by a gritty performance by Payne Stewart who sank an epic 18-foot putt at the final hole to win by one.
Many believed it was only a matter of time before Lefty would claim the title he most dearly wanted to win.
That dream remains unfulfilled and likely will remain so.
Mickelson has the most runner-up finishes in the championship – a total of six.
The most heartbreaking came in 2006 when standing on the tee of the 18th hole during the final round at Winged Foot. Mickelson needed a par on the finisher to finally take the coveted title.
Instead of playing safely with a lesser club, Mickelson opted for the bold play with the driver and sprayed his shot way to the left. A final-hole bogey would still have meant a playoff with Geoff Ogilvy. Instead of taking the safest route out of trouble Mickelson attempted a foolish play through trees. The result was disastrous and ultimately had him conclude the hole with a double-bogey.
His comment afterward was apt for its candor and acknowledgement – “I am such an idiot.”
Mickelson would have another shot in claiming the title in 2013 when the event was played at Merion. He would be tied for the lead with eventual winner Justin Rose when playing the short par-3 13th. His approach airmailed the green and was the start of three bogeys over the final six holes and marked his 6th runner-up finish.
Phil would recoup that stinging failure with an epic triumph the very next month at The Open Championship at Muirfield with a brilliant final round 66.
Mickelson would add one final major at the 2021 PGA Championship becoming the first player at age 50 to claim the Wannamaker Trophy.
Nonetheless, the lack of a US Open title will forever haunt him.
Sam Snead
In a professional career that started in 1934, the name Sam Snead illustrated outstanding longevity that stretched four decades. The West Virginian also competed in the US Open an amazing 31 times and made the 36-hole cut 27 times.
Snead had the misfortune of not securing a golden opportunity to win the 1939 US Open when simply needing a par to take home the title. Since scoreboards were not as prevalent as they are today, Snead played the 18th hole aggressively believing what a gallery member told him that he needed birdie to secure a playoff spot. The end result for Snead was a concluding triple-bogey and a 5th place finish.
Eight years later Snead would miss a 30-inch putt at the final playoff hole and helplessly watched Lew Worsham sink a putt just under that distance for the title.
Snead would finish in the top ten 12 times. He also recorded 7 top-five finishes and until broken by Mickelson, had the most runner-up finishes in the championship with four.
There is also the less-known fact that Snead would miss in his prime playing years no less than 14 major championships because of World War II.
For his career, Snead won seven major championships including the 1946 Open Championship at St. Andrews. But the inability to garner at least one US Open title became a major disappointment for a man who many believe possessed the most natural golf swing ever seen.
Tom Weiskopf
The word talent has no better fit than that of Tom Weiskopf. However, when talent is connected to someone, the word expectations follow. The Ohioan entered professional golf with a majestic swing and his 6-foot 3-inch statuesque physique only added to the manner by which he delivered a golf club into the ball.
The future appeared beyond promising to one of near certainty.
Unfortunately, Tom entered the professional golf scene following another Buckeye – Jack Nicklaus. The resulting pressure for Tom to match the sweeping successes of Nicklaus dogged him the rest of his career.
Weiskopf would win 16 times on the PGA TOUR between 1968 and 1982 and he capped off a stellar 1973 season winning seven times globally and capturing his only major title, The Open Championship at Royal Troon — the host site for this year’s event.
His play in the US Open was consistent for much of the 1970s with six top ten finishes, including five of them in the top four and a runner-up position in the 1976 event.
Tom’s life would take a number of difficult turns. Alcoholism played a role and at times his mercurial personality would result in episodes of rage to the point where he was called, “The Towering Inferno.”
Weiskopf would add another Open title to his career in claiming the 1995 US Senior Open and doing so by besting Nicklaus in the process.
Weiskopf was a keen observer and his insights worked well when serving as an analyst for television for CBS Sports for The Masters and later at ABC and ESPN for The Open Championship.
Tom would posthumously be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2023 and was selected as an Honouree for this year’s Memorial Tournament in his home State of Ohio.
Nick Faldo
Winning six majors in a career is a rather stout accomplishment, and Nick Faldo was ever keen to be a presence in any big-time event he competed.
In just his second appearance in the US Open at The Country Club in 1988, the Englishman nearly captured his second major title. Faldo tied at the end of 72-hole regulation play final with Curtis Strange. The two then played an 18-hole playoff with the American capturing the championship.
He would emerge again at the 1990 US Open at Medinah, finishing one shot behind a two-way playoff between eventual winner Hale Irwin and Mike Donald.
His style of relentless attention to detail provided him the needed springboard in separating himself from others in the biggest of events.
Faldo secured top ten finishes in the 1992, 2000 and 2002 US Opens but never came as close as he had with his 1988 playoff loss.
Greg Norman
The talented Aussie was ranked world number one for an incredible 331 weeks — a total only surpassed when Tiger Woods emerged onto the scene.
The 69-year-old competed in 19 US Opens with five top ten finishes.
His most notable close calls came in three championships. The Shark would lose in a playoff against Fuzzy Zoeller at Winged Foot in 1984. Norman finished with three magnificent pars on the closing trio of par-4 holes – highlighted by a 40-foot sidehill par-putt on the 72nd hole.
In the 18-hole playoff that followed the next day Norman was easily vanquished by Zoeller by a score of 67 to 75.
Two years later at Shinnecock Hills Norman held the 54-hole lead and was poised to add the US Open trophy to his mantle. Greg’s final round play was less than his best, closing with a score of 75.
Nine years later in 1995 the championship returned to Shinnecock Hills and Norman was again in contention and entered the final round tied for the lead with Tom Lehman. Unfortunately, Greg’s game was less than stellar and a closing 73 saw him once again fail to deliver as Corey Pavin played superbly with a 68 to snare the title.
Norman’s inability to close out major championships was evident at other key events throughout his career. For Norman the grand total of two majors belies the considerable talents he possessed. Along with Craig Wood, he is the only other golfer to have lost all four majors in a playoff.
Related: The ten greatest shots in U.S. Open history
Seve Ballesteros
The gifted Spaniard dazzled galleries with golf skills that defied imagination.
Ballesteros would eventually win five majors in his career but the style US Open courses presented proved too much of a vexing matter for him.
In 18 appearances there were only three top five finishes — 1983, 1985 and 1987.
For Ballesteros, the desire to play more frequently in the United States was hampered by then PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman, insisting Seve play a minimum number of events to secure playing privileges for tour events. Ballesteros viewed matters far differently and this tension only caused him to make isolated visits to the States throughout much of his active playing career.
Matters were further complicated for Ballesteros since he was an inconsistent driver of the ball, which combined with the USGA’s penchant for narrow fairways, only served to stifle his creativity.
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