8 Golfers Who Could Be Major Winners Had It Not Been For Tiger Woods

A closer look at the players to have run into Woods at the business end of a Major Championship - and come off second

Colin Montgomerie Open 2005
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Just like lots of people forget the many players Jack Nicklaus bumped into second when he was picking up Major Championships for fun in his pomp, there is long list of players who’d have one of the game’s four biggest titles on their CV if they hadn’t run into a certain Tiger Woods.

Here is each one of those victims (players who have managed a Major title at least once are not included).

Miguel Angel Jiménez

Miguel Angel Jiménez

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Woods won the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach by 15 strokes. It was a procession. Ernie Els will always have his four Major titles, but Miguel Angel Jiménez never managed one.

Thomas Bjørn

Thomas Bjørn St Andrews 2000

(Image credit: Getty Images)

"He was absolutely faultless. It was just a question of how many was he going to win by. There was almost a feeling he was saying, 'I’m this good and the rest of you are this poor.' . . . It was a case of him being so much better than everybody else at that moment in time.” Thomas Bjorn, runner-up at St Andrews, where Woods was dominant once again, winning by eight shots.

Bob May

Tiger Woods and Bob May

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Woods and Bob May finished 72 holes of the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla five strokes ahead of everybody else. It’s not to be for May, though, whose dreams are quashed in the resultant playoff.

Chris DiMarco

Chris DiMarco

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The American had the misfortune of running into Woods twice in the heat of battle of a Major Championship Sunday – first came the 2005 Masters, when he lost in a playoff, and then the Open Championship the following year.

Colin Montgomerie

Tiger Woods Colin Montgomerie St Andrews

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Scot will always have that tag of ‘best play never to win a Major’ hanging around his neck – at least one of the best. In 2005, at St Andrews, he struggled to land a glove on Woods.

Woody Austin

Woody Austin PGA 2007

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Tiger Woods won his 13th Major at Southern Hills. The late-blooming pro finished two shots back at the 2007 PGA Championship.

Rocco Mediate

Rocco Tiger 2008

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Torrey Pines. Scene of one of Woods’ greatest triumphs. Playing with stress fractures in the tibia of his left leg and torn ligaments in his left knee, Woods claimed his third US Open title in a thrilling Monday playoff duel with big underdog Rocco Mediate.

 

Xander Schauffele

Xander Schauffele 2019 Masters

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Schauffele was one of three players to finish second at the 2019 Masters, the others being Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, both of who are multiple Major champions. The talented Schauffele still has plenty of time on his side.

Michael Weston
Contributing editor

Michael has been with Golf Monthly since 2008. As a multimedia journalist, he has also worked for The Football Association, where he created content to support the men's European Championships, The FA Cup, London 2012, and FA Women's Super League. As content editor at Foremost Golf, Michael worked closely with golf's biggest equipment manufacturers, and has developed an in-depth knowledge of this side of the industry. He's now a regular contributor, covering instruction, equipment and feature content. Michael has interviewed many of the game's biggest stars, including six world number ones, and has attended and reported on many Major Championships and Ryder Cups. He's a member of Formby Golf Club.