Former Oklahoma State stars Viktor Hovland, Rickie Fowler among best golfers without major
A golf debate that never grows old: Who’s the best player to have never won a major?
Scratch Xander Schauffele from the list.
The 30-year-old Schauffele, ranked second in the world, raised the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday after winning the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
After 12 top-10 major finishes, Schauffele finally got the elusive win.
Like Jim Furyk at the 2003 U.S. Open, Phil Mickelson at the 2004 Masters, Henrik Stenson at the 2016 Open Championship and Sergio Garcia at the 2017 Masters, Schauffele shed the unceremonious crown of best player without a major.
Others, like Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood and Steve Stricker, never shook the label. Neither did Luke Donald or Paul Casey, Ian Poulter or Matt Kuchar.
Same goes for OSU alum Rickie Fowler, who at 35 is still searching for his first.
And now another Cowboy has joined the conversation: Viktor Hovland.
The 26-year-old Norwegian finished third at the PGA Championship — his fourth top-10 finish in a major in the last three years.
Hovland is far too young and unaccomplished to be anointed the major-less GOAT, but among players 40-and-under, he’s at or near the top of the list of best golfers who’ve never won a major.
10. Sahith Theegala
Age: 26
World ranking: 12th
PGA Tour wins: 1
Major top-10s: 1
Best major finish: 9th (2023 Masters)
The three-time All-American from Pepperdine is a rising star on tour. He has five top-10 finishes this season and is fifth in the FedExCup standings.
Theegala has only played in nine majors, including this year’s Masters and PGA Championship. He finished tied for 45th and tied for 12th respectively.
9. Ludvig Aberg
Age: 24
World ranking: 6th
PGA Tour wins: 1
Major top-10s: 1
Best major finish: 2nd (2024 Masters)
Aberg made his major debut earlier this year at the Masters. He finished solo second behind world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Not a bad start.
Aberg missed the cut in Louisville, but the former Texas Tech star is going to be a staple atop major championship leaderboards for years to come.
8. Cameron Young
Age: 27
World ranking: 17th
PGA Tour wins: 0
Major top-10s: 5
Best major finish: 2nd (2022 Open Championship)
Young has yet to win a tournament, but he still makes this list because of his excellent track record in majors.
Young has finished in the top-10 in five of his 12 major starts. He’s logged a top-10 finish in a major in each of the last three years, including this one. Young tied for ninth at Augusta.
7. Will Zalatoris
Age: 27
World ranking: 32nd
PGA Tour wins: 1
Major top-10s: 7
Best major finish: 2nd (twice, 2021 Masters, 2022 PGA Championship)
Willy Z turns it on in majors.
Fans in Tulsa saw Zalatoris lose in a playoff to Justin Thomas at the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills. Zalatoris also finished second at the 2021 Masters and he tied for second at the 2022 U.S. Open.
Zalatoris underwent back surgery last year, but he’s quickly regained his form.
6. Tony Finau
Age: 34
World ranking: 30th
PGA Tour wins: 6
Major top-10s: 10
Best major finish: 3rd (2019 Open Championship)
Finau tied for 18th at Valhalla, his best major finish since he tied for eighth at the 2021 PGA Championship.
Finau is amid a major (major) drought, but he recorded multiple top-10 major finishes in every year from 2018 to 2021.
5. Rickie Fowler
Age: 35
World ranking: 43rd
PGA Tour wins: 6
Major top-10s: 13
Best major finish: 2nd (2018 Masters)
Fowler would rank No. 1 on this list from a career standpoint, but we’ll slot him here as a compromise. Fowler’s window to win a major isn’t shut, but it’s only open a crack.
The former Cowboy has one tour win in the last five years. This year he qualified for the Masters for the first time since 2020.
But his body of work in majors is irrefutable. Thirteen top-10 finishes, including an incredible run in 2014, when Fowler tied fifth, tied second, tied second and tied third in the four majors.
4. Max Homa
Age: 33
World ranking: 10th
PGA Tour wins: 6
Major top-10s: 2
Best major finish: tied 3rd (2024 Masters)
Homa is the anti-Brooks Koepka.
Koepka wins majors and underwhelms in regular tour events. Homa wins regular tour events and underwhelms in majors.
Homa has missed the cut in half of his major starts (9 of 18).
3. Patrick Cantlay
Age: 32
World ranking: 8th
PGA Tour wins: 8
Major top-10s: 4
Best major finish: tied 3rd (2019 PGA Championship)
Cantlay has won more than $45 million on tour, but he’s still seeking his first major.
The former FedExCup champion tied for 22nd at the Masters and tied for 53rd at Valhalla. That’s now a streak of four majors in which Cantlay failed to finish in the top-10.
2. Tommy Fleetwood
Age: 33
World ranking: 13th
PGA Tour wins: none
Major top-10s: 8
Best major finish: 2nd (twice, 2018 U.S. Open, 2019 Open Championship)
The Englishman has eight international victories, but has somehow logged zero wins in 136 PGA Tour events, in which he’s posted 36 top-10s.
Fleetwood is always a factor in majors. He tied for third at the Masters, his fifth top-10 major finish in the last three years.
Fleetwood will be among the Open Championship favorites this year at Royal Troon.
1. Viktor Hovland
Age: 26
World ranking: 5th
PGA Tour wins: 6
Major top-10s: 4
Best major finish: tied 2nd (2023 PGA Championship)
Hovland is the highest-ranked player without a major, but he was struggling coming into the PGA Championship last weekend with no wins and only one top-10 finish this year.
Hovland missed the cut at the Masters and said he considered withdrawing from the PGA Championship due to his poor form. Repeatedly switching swing coaches probably didn’t help.
And still Hovland had a chance on Sunday. He tops this list for now, but the former OSU All-American and national champion likely won’t be on it for much longer.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Viktor Hovland tops list of best PGA golfers without a major
