13 Former World No.1 Golfers Who Never (Or Haven’t Yet) Won The Masters

Any player would count winning The Masters as a career highlight, but for some that has proved elusive despite spending time at the top of the world rankings.

There are a total of 13 players who have reached the coveted World No.1 who have never claimed victory at the Augusta National Major.

Some have come agonizingly close, whereas for others, the dream remained stubbornly out of reach. 

The list includes a handful of players who may yet achieve the feat, but for others, it will forever remain a case of “not meant to be.”

Greg Norman

Perhaps the most glaring example of one of the game's greats failing to win The Masters is the charismatic Australian.

Norman spent a total of 331 weeks as World No.1 between 1986 and 1998, but despite 23 attempts, he never claimed the Green Jacket.

Among those were three runner-up finishes, most notably in 1996. After racing into a two-shot lead following a 63 in the first round, Norman extended it to four shots over Nick Faldo on Friday evening. 

That became six shots over the Englishman with one round to play, and he still held a healthy four-shot lead after seven holes of the final round. Then it all fell apart, with Norman losing five more shots over the next five holes.

Norman finished with 78, while Faldo claimed his third Masters title. He never got that close again, with a finish of third three years later the best he could muster from his remaining seven attempts.

Nick Price

The Zimbabwean spent 44 successive weeks at the top of the world rankings between 1994 and 1995, but a win at Augusta National eluded him.

Price, who won the PGA Championship twice and The Open once, recorded four top-10 finishes at The Masters in his 20 attempts, with the best of those being fifth in 1986.

He might have won that year, too, but for a dreadful opening round of 79 that left him facing an 11-shot deficit. Despite clawing his way into contention with rounds of 69 and 63, Price’s 71 in the final round was not quite good enough, and he eventually finished three shots behind winner Jack Nicklaus.

Tom Lehman

The American is the only former World No.1 who spent just a week at the top of the rankings, which he achieved in April 1997, one week after that year’s Masters, where he finished T12.

Lehman had come far closer to victory at the tournament before his seven days at the top of the world rankings, though, with a T3 in 1993 followed by runner-up in 1994. 

That year, back-to-back rounds of 70 left him just one off leader Larry Mize with two rounds to play, and he held the outright lead heading into the final round, a shot clear of Jose Maria Olazabal. While the Spaniard carded a three-under 69, though, Lehman could only manage a 72 to finish two shots away from the eventual winner.

He only came close one more time again, with sixth in 2000.

Ernie Els

The South African spent nine weeks at the top of the world rankings over three spells between 1997 and 1998, but it was a run of appearances beyond that period where he came closest to winning The Masters.

Between 2000 and 2004, the Big Easy achieved finishes of 2, T6, T5, T5, 2 at Augusta National, but couldn’t get over the line.

Els finished three behind Vijay Singh in 2000, but he came closer in 2004, where he battled it out with Phil Mickelson over the back nine of the final round. 

Going out two groups ahead of Mickelson, Els headed back to the clubhouse on eight-under after a 67. Mickelson needed something special, and delivered, holing a 20-foot putt on the 16th to tie the lead, before claiming victory at the last with an 18-foot putt to condemn Els to another near-miss.

He never got close again, with a T13 nine years later the nearest in 12 further attempts.

David Duval

Duval wrestled the World No.1 spot from Tiger Woods twice in 1999 for a total of 15 weeks at the top, but he couldn’t claim a Green Jacket.

Looking back on his record, it is clear to see just how much of a purple patch Duval was in before and after the year of his stays at the top of the world rankings, which included a T2 at the 1998 Masters and solo second in 2001.

In 1998, Mark O’Meara’s three birdies in his final four holes dashed Duval’s chances to leave him one shot adrift of the winner alongside Fred Couples. Three years later, it was Woods who claimed the title, finishing two ahead of Duval to hold all four Major titles simultaneously - an achievement dubbed the Tiger Slam.

Lee Westwood

Westwood had endured a largely unsuccessful time at The Masters until 2010, when he finished second months before the first of two spells at the top of the world rankings.

That year, the Englishman held a one-shot lead over Phil Mickelson heading into the final round, but after steadying himself following an erratic start, his 71 wasn’t enough, and Mickelson won by three.

Six years later, the door opened to the Masters title for Westwood again. He began the final round four behind Jordan Spieth, but a chip-in eagle on the 15th took him to within one of compatriot Danny Willett at the summit. However, a bogey on the next hole as Willett birdied took his chance away, with Willet eventually finishing three shots clear of Westwood and Spieth.

As well as failing to win The Masters, Westwood is one of just two players on the list who has yet to win any of the four Majors.

Martin Kaymer

Kaymer enjoyed an eight-week spell at the top of the world rankings between Westwood’s two visits to the top spot in 2011.

The year before, he won the first of his two Major titles at the PGA Championship, while 2010 also brought top-10 finishes at the US Open and The Open, but incredibly, he has never finished in the top 10 of The Masters, with the closest from his 12 attempts being a T16 in 2017.

The LIV golfer has also not appeared at the tournament since 2020, and without a change to the world rankings status of the circuit, it’s unlikely he will make another appearance any time soon.

Luke Donald

Along with Westwood, fellow Englishman Donald has never won a Major despite spending 56 weeks at the top of the world rankings across four spells between 2011 and 2012.

The Team Europe Ryder Cup captain has enjoyed a scattering of top-10 finishes across all four Majors over the years, with his best finish at The Masters coming with a T3 in 2005.

Even then, after an opening round that saw him one off the lead, he didn’t really stay in contention. Donald was 11 behind leader Chris DiMarco after two rounds and nine behind Tiger Woods after three. That gap had closed to seven by the end of the tournament, which Woods won over DiMarco in a playoff.

Donald was in the mix again six years later, but this time finished four shots behind winner Charl Schwartzel in a tie for fourth with Woods and Geoff Ogilvy.

Rory McIlroy

Unlike most on the list, the Ulsterman still has a realistic chance of claiming a Masters title. 

McIlroy, who has spent 122 weeks at the top of the world rankings in nine spells, has seven top-10 finishes at The Masters, including runner-up to Scottie Scheffler in 2022. However, while his final round of 64 that year saw him at his barnstorming best as he finished three behind Scottie Scheffler, the one that got away came 11 years earlier.

McIlroy held a four-shot lead heading into the final round, but then somehow completed his final nine holes in 43 to finish T15 - the worst round in history from any player leading heading into the final round.

McIlroy only needs The Masters title to complete a career Grand Slam and still has age on his side. However, as the years roll by since his last genuine chance to win the event, it’s something he'll want to do as soon as possible.

Jason Day

Australian Day had 51 weeks at the top of the world rankings between 2015 and 2017, but his best chance of winning The Masters came in 2011. 

Day trailed leader Rory McIlroy by four heading into the final round, but as the Ulsterman’s challenge imploded further back, Day and compatriot Adam Scott finished on 12-under to share the clubhouse lead. It wasn’t to be, though, as Charl Schwartzel birdied the last four holes to win by two.

Day came close again in 2013, where he led after two rounds, but eventually finished two shots behind Scott and Angel Cabrera, who battled it out in a playoff eventually won by the Argentinian.

Justin Rose

Rose came close to winning The Masters twice before his first of five spells as World No.1 between 2018 and 2019.

In 2015, he was one of runaway leader Jordan Spieth’s closest challengers throughout before eventually finishing four behind the winner for a T2, and he got closer still in 2017. 

Rose tied the lead with Sergio Garcia heading into the final round, and the two still couldn’t be separated after 72 holes. The nerves were playing a part, too, with Rose missing a seven-foot putt for birdie on the 18th and Garcia missing by three feet to take the title.

After heading back to the par-4 18th for the playoff, Rose’s tee shot hit some trees, while Garcia found the fairway. Rose never recovered and eventually finished one-over, leaving Garcia two putts for the title. He only needed one to claim his sole Major victory to date.

Brooks Koepka

Koepka had won three Major titles in two years before the 2019 Masters, while it would only be another month until his fourth at that year’s PGA Championship. However, while his imperious form at Majors coincided with four visits to the top of the world rankings, he couldn’t quite get over the line at Augusta National during that spell.

Koepka shared the lead with Bryson DeChambeau after the first round in 2019, and was in five-way tie for the lead by the end of Friday’s play. With one round to play, he had slipped to three behind leader Francesco Molinari, but as the day progressed, he found himself firmly in contention with Molinari, Tiger Woods, Xander Schauffele and Dustin Johnson.

Koepka failed to produce birdies over his final few holes, though, as Woods ultimately claimed his 15th Major title by one shot over Koepka, Johnson and Schauffele.

Koepka is known as a player who saves his best for the Majors, and that appeared to be the case again in 2023, when he led by two with one round to play before, by his own admission, he “choked away” his chance as a 75 left the door open for Jon Rahm to win.

Justin Thomas

Thomas has had two spells at the top of the world rankings - four weeks in 2018, followed by another one-week visit in 2020. He also has two PGA Championship titles, which he won in 2017 and 2022, but he’s never really looked like winning The Masters so far in his career.

The closest he came was fourth in 2020. Thomas was one off the lead after the first round, and was one of five at the top after the second. However, a 71 in the third round left him six behind leader Dustin Johnson and that had become eight by the end of the 72 holes.

Thomas’ only other top-10 finish at The Masters came two years later, when he finished T8, nine shots behind winner Scottie Scheffler.