Worst Player to win a Major?

[Spongerob]

Danny Willett is right up there. I would be shocked if he contended in another major for the rest of his career. He showed great form as opposed to class going into the Masters. He back doored a major after someone else collapsed. He did play 3 great holes after finding out he had the lead so you can't take that away from him. He says he went into a slump after the Masters but he really is just playing the way he always did. He just careered for a week.

As has been said it's hard to dis anyone who can bag a major be it with fluke or great talent. Those guys are all great players.

[EKELLY]

I just had a thought, "At the end of 72 holes, the guy with the lowest score wins!". OR, "at the end of a playoff, the guy with the lowest score wins!".......SO, doesn't that mean he was the BEST player that week?..........I know the likes of Curtis, Micheel, Hamilton, etc, get frowned upon, BUT, for THAT week, they were the best in the field....Just sayin!!.....How can they be on a "worst" list when they are a Major champion?.....But they are!!......lol

[Roadking2003]

You don't realise how silly it is to say that someone who has won six majors as 'lucky'?

Also to try and class anyone that has five+ majors in a worst off poll is also a bit bonkers.

 

This is true. Kinda like saying Jack is the worst golfer ever to win 18 majors. :taunt:

[Bob57]

Y E Yang. Loved his weight lifting pose with his bag. But as an aside he effectively ended tigers major 54 hole lead never lose streak and as it turns out ended tigers majors career. Wasn't the divorce or injuries it was the humiliation of being beaten by YE that castrated Tigers wood.

[thecraw]

It's either Jack Fleck or Orville Moody--though Moody went on to have a good Sr. career, he stunk it up pretty good before and after winning a US Open.

 

In the modern era it's a pick'em between: Rich Beem, Wayne Grady, Shaun Micheel, Michael Campbell, Steve Jones, Paul Lawrie and Todd Hamilton.

 

I have no idea how anyone could put Duffner on their list.

 

Likewise, I have no idea how anyone could put Paul Lawrie on their list. Lawrie was 8 titles to his name including The Open, and the Dunhill Links. Hardly a record to be sneezed at or classed as the worst player to win a majoir championship.

 

If you take Dufner he has won a "lesser" major and has less career wins.

 

I guess its all about opinions.

[Ghost of Snead]

Has to be Willie Park ... shot 174 for 2 rounds in the 1860 Open and won.

[smeech8000]

It's either Jack Fleck or Orville Moody--though Moody went on to have a good Sr. career, he stunk it up pretty good before and after winning a US Open.

 

In the modern era it's a pick'em between: Rich Beem, Wayne Grady, Shaun Micheel, Michael Campbell, Steve Jones, Paul Lawrie and Todd Hamilton.

 

I have no idea how anyone could put Duffner on their list.

 

Likewise, I have no idea how anyone could put Paul Lawrie on their list. Lawrie was 8 titles to his name including The Open, and the Dunhill Links. Hardly a record to be sneezed at or classed as the worst player to win a majoir championship.

 

If you take Dufner he has won a "lesser" major and has less career wins.

 

I guess its all about opinions.

 

While I can't speak for 2013, the average OWGR of the top-70** participants in each of the 2016 majors were:

 

Masters: 41.76 (70th-highest: D. Love III #159)

U.S. Open: 36.96 (70th-highest: Y. Ikeda #88)

Open 37.23 (70th-highest: G. McDowell #74)

PGA: 35.53 (70th-highest: H. Tanihara #71)

 

** Limited to top-70 due to Masters' restricted field and higher propensity of amateurs and past champions to dilute SOF

 

 

IMO the modern-era PGA looks pretty strong. :derisive:

 

 

 

Has to be Willie Park ... shot 174 for 2 rounds in the 1860 Open and won.

Should've seen where the guys on the wrong side of the draw ended up... :black eye:

[MattyO1984]

While I can't speak for 2013, the average OWGR of the top-70** participants in each of the 2016 majors were:

 

Masters: 41.76 (70th-highest: D. Love III #159)

U.S. Open: 36.96 (70th-highest: Y. Ikeda #88)

Open 37.23 (70th-highest: G. McDowell #74)

PGA: 35.53 (70th-highest: H. Tanihara #71)

 

** Limited to top-70 due to Masters' restricted field and higher propensity of amateurs and past champions to dilute SOF

 

 

IMO the modern-era PGA looks pretty strong. :derisive:

 

It may well have a strong field but any major that has "This is Major" as a strapline can fairly be described as lesser which is what thecraw was doing.

[smeech8000]

While I can't speak for 2013, the average OWGR of the top-70** participants in each of the 2016 majors were:

 

Masters: 41.76 (70th-highest: D. Love III #159)

U.S. Open: 36.96 (70th-highest: Y. Ikeda #88)

Open 37.23 (70th-highest: G. McDowell #74)

PGA: 35.53 (70th-highest: H. Tanihara #71)

 

** Limited to top-70 due to Masters' restricted field and higher propensity of amateurs and past champions to dilute SOF

 

 

IMO the modern-era PGA looks pretty strong. :derisive:

 

It may well have a strong field but any major that has "This is Major" as a strapline can fairly be described as lesser which is what thecraw was doing.

 

You may very well have a point that the PGA is "lesser" in terms of prestige.

 

I was just taking a position based on metrics that actually mean something.

[justwellsy]

Would Jean Van De Velde make this list if he had actually won that Open Championship? Just thought about that because I saw him play in person at the Toshiba Classic a few weeks ago.

[joker2]

See the "A Game" topic. ALL major champions had a good enough "A Game" to win a major.

[ptambrosetti]

Birdie Kim, 2005 US Women's Open Champion

 

I caddied in her group a few years back, zero game whatsoever.

 

People forget she won that with a lucky bunker hole-out on the final hole. Skulled it, hit the pin and dropped. That Open was due to be Morgan Pressel's Amateur Coronation. She was in the fairway and was so shocked with what happened in front of her that she bogeyed the hole to lose by 1

[Shilgy]

Birdie Kim, 2005 US Women's Open Champion

 

I caddied in her group a few years back, zero game whatsoever.

 

People forget she won that with a lucky bunker hole-out on the final hole. Skulled it, hit the pin and dropped. That Open was due to be Morgan Pressel's Amateur Coronation. She was in the fairway and was so shocked with what happened in front of her that she bogeyed the hole to lose by 1

Here is my issue with this thread. For that week at the Women's US Open Kim was the best player. As in she returned the lowest score, by two not one.

Yes on any list there is a best and a worst. But any player with a tour card is arguably within the top 125 at what they do-in the world.

[Dave230]

Would Jean Van De Velde make this list if he had actually won that Open Championship? Just thought about that because I saw him play in person at the Toshiba Classic a few weeks ago.

 

He definitely was more memorable for having done that. If he'd bogeyed the last and won it by 2 shots, I don't think anyone would have remembered that Open too well, apart from being brutal hard. The question is would be would he have kicked on from there and become a better player having won that and not been embarrassed in front of the whole world? Maybe but we'll never know. It's not like Todd Hamilton or Shaun Micheel did much after their wins.

[Roadking2003]

It's either Jack Fleck or Orville Moody--though Moody went on to have a good Sr. career, he stunk it up pretty good before and after winning a US Open.

 

In the modern era it's a pick'em between: Rich Beem, Wayne Grady, Shaun Micheel, Michael Campbell, Steve Jones, Paul Lawrie and Todd Hamilton.

 

I have no idea how anyone could put Duffner on their list.

 

Likewise, I have no idea how anyone could put Paul Lawrie on their list. Lawrie was 8 titles to his name including The Open, and the Dunhill Links. Hardly a record to be sneezed at or classed as the worst player to win a majoir championship.

 

If you take Dufner he has won a "lesser" major and has less career wins.

 

I guess its all about opinions.

 

The PGA is not a lesser major. It has the best field of any tournament in golf.

[tannyhoban]

It's either Jack Fleck or Orville Moody--though Moody went on to have a good Sr. career, he stunk it up pretty good before and after winning a US Open.

 

In the modern era it's a pick'em between: Rich Beem, Wayne Grady, Shaun Micheel, Michael Campbell, Steve Jones, Paul Lawrie and Todd Hamilton.

 

I have no idea how anyone could put Duffner on their list.

 

Likewise, I have no idea how anyone could put Paul Lawrie on their list. Lawrie was 8 titles to his name including The Open, and the Dunhill Links. Hardly a record to be sneezed at or classed as the worst player to win a majoir championship.

 

If you take Dufner he has won a "lesser" major and has less career wins.

 

I guess its all about opinions.

 

The PGA is not a lesser major. It has the best field of any tournament in golf.

 

In terms of viewer interest it is definitely 4th.

[smeech8000]

The PGA is not a lesser major. It has the best field of any tournament in golf.

 

In terms of viewer interest it is definitely 4th.

 

The point is that a particular major's public perception and viewership don't have any correlation to the difficulty of winning the championship. SOF is the primary factor.

 

 

Birdie Kim, 2005 US Women's Open Champion

 

I caddied in her group a few years back, zero game whatsoever.

 

People forget she won that with a lucky bunker hole-out on the final hole. Skulled it, hit the pin and dropped.

 

IMO the fact that she has done little aside from or since that win** does more to warrant her listing here as opposed to the fashion in which she won. Sure, it wasn't textbook - I wouldn't expect it to look pretty, given the depth of the bunker, the stakes, and her far-from-stellar 22% conversion rate out of bunkers (YTD) - but she put herself in the position for the shot to matter and ultimately pulled it off. Had it missed the hole and rolled out 7-8', she makes the putt, and Pressel still makes bogey... well the win would have been even less memorable.

 

 

 

Would you also consider Bob Tway (1986 PGA) to belong in the discussion? Not only did he hole out from the bunker at the 72nd, but Norman also flailed his way to a 76 which was likely more instrumental to Tway's triumph.

 

 

** FTR she was in a pretty bad car accident in 2009 which required two operations that derailed any momentum she may have gained from a decent 2007 season. I doubt she would have evolved into a world-beater anyways but still deserves mention.

[Shilgy]

The PGA is not a lesser major. It has the best field of any tournament in golf.

 

In terms of viewer interest it is definitely 4th.

 

The point is that a particular major's public perception and viewership don't have any correlation to the difficulty of winning the championship. SOF is the primary factor.

 

 

Birdie Kim, 2005 US Women's Open Champion

 

I caddied in her group a few years back, zero game whatsoever.

 

People forget she won that with a lucky bunker hole-out on the final hole. Skulled it, hit the pin and dropped.

 

IMO the fact that she has done little aside from or since that win** does more to warrant her listing here as opposed to the fashion in which she won. Sure, it wasn't textbook - I wouldn't expect it to look pretty, given the depth of the bunker, the stakes, and her far-from-stellar 22% conversion rate out of bunkers (YTD) - but she put herself in the position for the shot to matter and ultimately pulled it off. Had it missed the hole and rolled out 7-8', she makes the putt, and Pressel still makes bogey... well the win would have been even less memorable.

 

[media=]

[/media]

 

 

Would you also consider Bob Tway (1986 PGA) to belong in the discussion? Not only did he hole out from the bunker at the 72nd, but Norman also flailed his way to a 76 which was likely more instrumental to Tway's triumph.

 

 

** FTR she was in a pretty bad car accident in 2009 which required two operations that derailed any momentum she may have gained from a decent 2007 season. I doubt she would have evolved into a world-beater anyways but still deserves mention.

Thank you for posting that. In post #252 above it was posted that it was a lucky "skulled" shot. She may have been fortunate but that was a very well played bunker shot imo-not a skull at all.

[AEAB1105]

Lucas Glover. Although he did have 2 other wins.

 

 

#1 in GIR 2016 was Lucas Glover 1 1 Lucas Glover 75 71.63 967 1,350 -0.27

 

He can't putt, however calling him the worst major winner ever is a stretch.

 

Winning a major takes an unreal amount of talent and skill, they are all great players.

 

Maybe the "least accomplished prior to winning" is more appropriate title,

[tannyhoban]

The PGA is not a lesser major. It has the best field of any tournament in golf.

 

In terms of viewer interest it is definitely 4th.

 

The point is that a particular major's public perception and viewership don't have any correlation to the difficulty of winning the championship. SOF is the primary factor.

 

 

Birdie Kim, 2005 US Women's Open Champion

 

I caddied in her group a few years back, zero game whatsoever.

 

People forget she won that with a lucky bunker hole-out on the final hole. Skulled it, hit the pin and dropped.

 

IMO the fact that she has done little aside from or since that win** does more to warrant her listing here as opposed to the fashion in which she won. Sure, it wasn't textbook - I wouldn't expect it to look pretty, given the depth of the bunker, the stakes, and her far-from-stellar 22% conversion rate out of bunkers (YTD) - but she put herself in the position for the shot to matter and ultimately pulled it off. Had it missed the hole and rolled out 7-8', she makes the putt, and Pressel still makes bogey... well the win would have been even less memorable.

 

[media=]

[/media]

 

 

Would you also consider Bob Tway (1986 PGA) to belong in the discussion? Not only did he hole out from the bunker at the 72nd, but Norman also flailed his way to a 76 which was likely more instrumental to Tway's triumph.

 

 

** FTR she was in a pretty bad car accident in 2009 which required two operations that derailed any momentum she may have gained from a decent 2007 season. I doubt she would have evolved into a world-beater anyways but still deserves mention.

 

I think SOF gets diluted on certain venues and is yet another example of a crappy stat

[nkk5019]

Was talking with my golf groups after the US Open, and we got to talking on this subject.

 

Worst Player to Win a Major?

 

Apologies if this has been discussed already, but I thought there might be some good answers.

 

My top votes?

 

Keegan Bradley

Jason Dufner

Y.E Yang

 

Not so much to blast those players, but there are definitely players that deserve a major over these guys.

 

Give me your best.

 

Bad players don't win majors. Sometimes it's just your week.

[egr2teup]

We've seen over the course of time that if you're entered, you could win a major. With that said, I'm still sticking with Ben Curtis.

 

My pick doesn't factor what the player accomplished after winning his major.

[gvogel]

Has to be Willie Park ... shot 174 for 2 rounds in the 1860 Open and won.

 

If you saw the equipment he was using, you might think that 174 was one of the greatest accomplishments of all time.

 

(But you make a valid point; however, he did beat small fields for three more Open Championships, the last 15 years later, no mean accomplishment.)

[Joe85]

Danny Willett has to be up there!

[Oaks]

Ben Curtis, Rich Beem or Todd Hamilton take your pick...

[knock it close]

Danny Willett has to be up there!

Willett was all the way up to 12th in the world before he won the Masters. Doesn't really fit when Curtis was ranked 396th, even Micheel was at 169th. How we all feel about OWGR points is a conversation for a different time but it's tough to call someone that was in the top 15 before they won a major the worst to win one.

[imakaveli]

Danny Willett has to be up there!

Willett was all the way up to 12th in the world before he won the Masters. Doesn't really fit when Curtis was ranked 396th, even Micheel was at 169th. How we all feel about OWGR points is a conversation for a different time but it's tough to call someone that was in the top 15 before they won a major the worst to win one.

 

Haters gonna hate

[Bingo1976]

Danny Willett has to be up there!

Willett was all the way up to 12th in the world before he won the Masters. Doesn't really fit when Curtis was ranked 396th, even Micheel was at 169th. How we all feel about OWGR points is a conversation for a different time but it's tough to call someone that was in the top 15 before they won a major the worst to win one.

 

Haters gonna hate

 

More a case of ignorance of the OGWR and the fact that a good ole southern boy blew his load in Rae's Creek. There is a big wide world outside of the mid-western US (thankfully).

[AceCatKY]

Mike Weir

[cdnglf]

Mike Weir

 

Worst current condition of game for an active major winner under 50? Quite possibly.

 

But worst career? Not in the discussion... not even close.