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The top five players never to win The Masters
Posted on
March 28, 2019
by
The Editorial Team in
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
The top five players never to win The Masters

Over the years a handful of elite players have come ever so close to slipping on the green jacketโ€”emblematic of a Masters triumph at Augusta National Golf Club. Although the players below have tasted the fruits of victory in different majors โ€” a win at The Masters would only have ratcheted up even further their considerable reputations. Each in different ways, and, at inopportune moments, has seen the green jacket removed potentially from their shoulders and placed on someone else.

Clearly, this is one club Rory McIlroy wishes to avoid joining as he seeks to complete the career Grand Slam.

Who are the top five (5) players to have competed in The Masters without ever winning?

Read on.

#5 Lee Trevino

Acclaimed as one of golf's consumate shotmakers it is mindboggling a talent such as Lee Trevino would never even remotely factor into competing for a Masters win. One of only four men to have won the US Open, British Open and PGA two times eachโ€”Trevino approached his play at Augusta with the feeling of an unwanted guestโ€”often saying the course did not fit his game.

The top five players never to win The Masters

The six-time major winner even opted to decline invitations in 1970, โ€™71 and โ€™74 during his peak times on Tour. His best finishes were no better than 10thโ€”in 1975 and โ€™85.

Years later Trevino admitted his approach was self-created and not tied to anything the club had done. A win at Augusta for The Merry Mex would have meant a career Grand Slamโ€”rare air among golfโ€™s greatest titans joining the likes of Gene Sarazen, Gary Player, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

#4 Johnny Miller 

Before his days as lead television analyst for NBC-Sports, Miller was more than capable on the playing side of the aisle. His final round 63 in winning the 1973 US Open at Oakmont is still rightly celebrated as the finest ending 18-hole round in major championship play. Miller also won the 1976 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale along with a total of 25 PGA tour wins. For a time during the early 1970s he was seen as the best player in the world and, for a time, was the best player in the world โ€” even during the high times of Jack Nicklaus.

The top five players never to win The Masters

Millerโ€™s first brush with possible Masters glory came in 1971โ€”but costly mistakes down the stretch prompted a tie for 2nd place. Four years later in 1975โ€”Miller along with Tom Weiskopfโ€”pushed Nicklaus for all he could handle. The end resultโ€”Miller again finishing 2nd with Weiskopfโ€”both men missing birdie putts at the 72nd hole to tie giving the Golden Bear a then record 5th win. Six years later Miller again contended but the title was never really in doubt as Tom Watson garnered his 2nd green jacket in 1981.

#3 Ernie Els

โ€œThe Big Easyโ€ is one of only five players in the history of golf who have won the US Open and Open Championships at least twice and the South African has come extremely close to joining the even more exclusive club of those having won a career Grand Slam. Els lost in a 1995 playoff for the PGA Championship at Riviera to Steve Elkington along with Colin Montgomerie but it is his pursuit of the green jacket which has been the most vexing.

Ernie ELS (RSA) during fourth round,Commercial Bank Qatar Masters 2013,Doha GC,Doha,Qatar,26th January 2013.

ยฉ Matthew Harris / TGPL


Els made a spirited effort in 2004 only to have Phil Mickelson win his first major by sinking a 18-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole. Interestingly, Els first beat Phil during the finals of the World Junior event (13-14 category) in Leftyโ€™s backyard in San Diego at Torrey Pines.

Els also finished 2nd in 2000 at Augusta to Vijay Singh by three shots. Unfortunately, Ernieโ€™s prime playing years happened during the heyday of Tiger Woods and while he still has shown flashes of past stellar playโ€”winning The Open in 2012โ€”the odds appear long he will ever wear the green jacket. 

#2 Tom Weiskopf

Those who had the good fortune in watching Tom Weiskopf swing the golf club were amazed he didnโ€™t win even more than he did. No question 16 PGA Tour winsโ€”along with his lone major triumph in 1973 at The Open at Royal Troonโ€”is not a bad career but the promise of might have been is a tagline Weiskopf will forever have etched on his standing in the game.

The top five players never to win The Masters

Growing up alongside Jack Nicklaus in Ohio was a shadow of immense proportion that, fairly or unfairly, was something Weiskopf could not escape. In the late 1960โ€™s and throughout the 1970โ€™s Weiskopf consistently competed for the gameโ€™s grand prizes and none was more sought after than a Masters green jacket. Between 1969 and 1975 Weiskopf had four second place finishesโ€”the final most painful one coming in 1975 when both he and Johnny Miller could not fend off the final round magic Nicklaus always seemed to provide. People will long remember the sweeping putt that Jack made at the 16th hole during the final round. Weiskopf upon seeing that putt and being in the final group that day promptly three-putted the same green and relinquished a late lead he so marvelously maintained but could never ultimatelty sustain.

Weiskopf did get a bit of payback to Nicklaus in beating him for the 1995 US Senior title at Congressional but no Masters victories have left many of his fans wondering what might have been.

#1 Greg Norman

When you spend 331 weeks as the worldโ€™s number one player in the 1980s and 1990s its hard to fathom a prodigious talent such as Australian Greg Norman failing to win more than two career major championshipsโ€”both at The Open in 1986 and 1993 respectively.

Greg NORMAN (AUS) during second round British Open, Royal Birkdale, Southport, Lancashire, England 18th July 2008.

ยฉ Matthew Harris / TGPL


Long known as โ€œThe Great White Shark,โ€ Norman cut an image built on swagger on the course. Only matched by the likes of a fellow competitor at the same timeโ€”the late Seve Ballesteros -- Norman's bravado clearly resonated with golf fans globally. In years to come the nickname was shortened to simply โ€œThe Sharkโ€โ€”reflecting Normanโ€™s penchant for bold play and his past involvement as a surfer in Brisbaneโ€”host waters to some of the fiercest sharks in the world.

Norman burst on the American golf public scene during his stellar play at the 1981 Mastersโ€”ultimately finishing 4th in his debut performance. A playoff loss to Fuzzy Zoeller at the 1984 US Open only served to endear Norman even more so across the golfing world.

In 1986 Norman became the only person holdingthe 54-hole lead going into the final round of each of the major championships. Ultimately, The Shark only secured a win at Turnberry for The Open title.

In that same yearโ€”a Masters win looked out of the cards when Norman double-bogied the 10th hole during the final round. To his considerable credit The Shark bounced back with four consecutive birdies from #14 through #17. A remaining par on the final hole would tie him with the heroic and epic final round produced by Nicklaus. It was not to be. A flared 4-iron to the right and a failure to secure par meant a bitter defeat.

Just one year laterโ€”the depths of despair hit even harder. Tied after 72-holes with Ballesteros and Augusta-native Larry Mizeโ€”Norman watched in utter disbelief as Mize pitched in for birdie on the 2nd playoff hole (the 11th) to capture the green jacket. Amazingly, Norman had endured such late round heroics at the 1986 PGA Championship when Bob Tway holed out from the front bunker to snare the Wannamaker Trophy.

Three years later in 1989โ€”Norman needed again to make par on the final hole to secure a playoff with Nick Faldo and Scott Hoch. The result? Bogey and a tie for 3rd place.

Fast forward to 1996 and given all the empty previous effortsโ€”it seemed Norman would finally win his first green jacket firing a course-tying-record 63 in the first round. Heading into the final round Norman led by six shotsโ€”all that seemed in doubt was getting the tailor to fit the green jacket snugly around his broad shoulders. What followed was one of golfโ€™s all-time greatest collapses. Norman not only lost a Masters all but hisโ€”but the title went to one of his toughest rivalsโ€”Nick Faldoโ€”who played with him that day.

When all was done both men hugged one another on the 18th hole โ€” but for Norman the legacy of "what might have been" still lingers today. Years later Adam Scott would be the first Austrailan to don a green jacket that seemed destined for The Shark.

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About The Editorial Team

The editorial team at Golf Today strives to provide readers with captivating content that celebrates the rich heritage and exciting developments in the world of golf. Their collective expertise and dedication ensure that Golf Today remains a premier destination for golf enthusiasts seeking the latest news, insightful analysis, and engaging stories from the world of golf.

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