2019 Golf Majors Reviewed - The Winners And Losers

With the Majors crammed into a 14-week stretch this season, it's easy to remember the winners, but how did the rest fare?

2019 Golf Majors Reviewed - The Winners And Losers

Words: David Taylor and Nick Bonfield

The Masters

The Major season began with the most memorable four days of golf we have witnessed in decades.

Tiger Woods produced a faultless display of strategy and ball-striking to win his first Major since 2008 – an incredible 3,955 days between numbers 14 and 15.

For most of Sunday it looked like he’d struggle to catch overnight leader Francesco Molinari but Augusta’s 12th once again had its say and the Italian’s rock-solid game crumbled.

Woods’ five at 18 led to joyous scenes with his family. Never before has a bogey been celebrated so wildly by so many.

Big hitters

Molinari started Sunday two clear but the back nine bared its teeth and the water on 12 and 15 dashed his hopes.

Brooks Koepka, Tiger’s nemesis in last year’s USPGA, spurned birdie chances at 17 and 18 to end one adrift, tied with Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele.

Jason Day, Webb Simpson and Tony Finau finished alongside Molinari in 5th.

Surprise packages

Big names dominated but one surprise was Patrick Cantlay who briefly led on Sunday after eagling 15.

His challenge fizzled out and he ended up tied for 9th.

Ian Poulter had a fine week but faded a little to end up five back in 12th, alongside South African debutant, Justin Harding, who was three off the lead on day one.

Disappointments

Justin Rose was many people's pre-tournament favourite but rounds of 75 and 73 meant he missed the cut.

Paul Casey suffered a similar fate after carding a first-round 81.

Rory McIlroy once again failed to live up to the career Grand Slam hype and never threatened, finishing tied for 21st.

Bryson DeChambeau was tied for the lead after day one but couldn’t capitalise, ending up in 29th spot.

Stat: Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus are the only two players to win The Masters in three different decades

USPGA

Brooks Koepka established himself as one of the finest players of this generation, overcoming a late wobble to hold off Dustin Johnson and win his fourth Major at Bethpage Black.

He is just the fourth player to win four Majors in a span of eight starts, joining Ben Hogan, Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

No other golfer has ever held two back-to-back Majors at the same time.

Koepka set the Bethpage Black course record and, with a tally of 128, shattered the 36-hole Major Championship scoring record.

Big hitters

Koepka started Sunday seven clear, but stumbled on the back nine as Johnson turned the screw.

He rallied after 14, partly motivated by chants of “DJ, DJ” from the fans.

“I’ve never been so excited in my entire life,” he said afterwards.

Patrick Cantlay built on his Augusta finish with a 3rd alongside Jordan Spieth, who put a run of poor form behind him.

Rory McIlroy recorded his 19th Major top ten.

Surprise packages

Matt Wallace had a brilliant week recording his best Major finish with a tie for 3rd.

Big-hitting American Luke List also had a career-high tie for 6th.

Young Thai, Jazz Janewattananond, captured the hearts of the American public as he mounted a charge, only to drop seven shots in his last seven holes on Sunday.

Disappointments

Tiger Woods, on his first outing since Augusta, looked rusty, firing rounds of 72, 73 to miss the cut.

Sergio Garcia missed his seventh consecutive Major weekend!

Stat: Dustin Johnson became the eighth player to finish 2nd in each of the four Major Championships

US Open

Gary Woodland played the best golf of his career to hold off the challenges of two recent World No.1s and secure his maiden Major at Pebble Beach.

Woodland held the 36-hole lead and never relinquished it, despite Justin Rose drawing level with a birdie on the 1st on Sunday and Brooks Koepka – seeking his third US Open in a row – applying serious pressure with birdies at four of his first six holes.

Seven times previously on the PGA Tour, Woodland had held a 54-hole lead and failed to get it done, but he ended that unwanted record in superb style.

His second to the par-5 14th was a masterstroke that gave him breathing space, bettered only by his par-saving chip from on the green at the short 17th.

Big hitters

Koepka sat alone in 2nd, becoming the only player in US Open history to shoot four rounds in the 60s and not win.

Xander Schauffele continued his fine Major form with a tie for 3rd, alongside Jon Rahm and Rose.

Adam Scott recorded his third Major top ten in his last four starts to share 7th with Louis Oosthuizen, while Henrik Stenson and Rory McIlroy finished a shot further back.

Surprise packages

No lesser lights were able to threaten the lead, but Americans Chez Reavie and Chesson Hadley did finish in ties for 3rd and 9th to secure their first Major top tens.

Viktor Hovland finished in a tie for 12th to claim low-amateur honours, as he had also done at The Masters.

Disappointments

In the lead-up to the tournament, much was made of Tiger Woods’ record-breaking performance at Pebble Beach in 2000.

He birdied six of his final 12 holes to notch a top-25 finish, but was never in contention.

Bubba Watson missed yet another Major cut – his fifth in his last six starts – as did Ian Poulter, Tony Finau and Justin Thomas.

Stat: Viktor Hovland's score of 280 was the best in US Open history by an amateur

The Open

Shane Lowry sparked joyous scenes at Royal Portrush as the island of Ireland came together to salute his maiden Major victory.

The 32-year-old’s win was set up on the Saturday with a course-record 63 that gave him a four-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood.

The only wobble came when he bogeyed the 1st on Sunday but he kept his cool and the win never looked in doubt.

Lowry went into the week on the back of four consecutive missed Open cuts, the longest stretch before a win.

Big hitters

Fleetwood was the only conceivable threat to Lowry at the start of the final day but he struggled to put any real pressure on, partly due to the weather but mainly due to Lowry’s superb front-running.

Brooks Koepka started the final round with four bogeys and had to make do with 4th, his worst finish at a 2019 Major.

He was perhaps hampered by the snail-like pace of playing partner JB Holmes, who carded a 16-over 87, the worst final round at an Open since 1966.

Surprise packages

Scottish youngster Robert MacIntyre had a dream Open debut finishing tied for 6th.

It was the best Open finish by a Scot since Colin Montgomerie’s 2nd at St Andrews in 2005.

Lee Westwood rolled back the years to finish tied 4th, his 12th top-five Major finish, and qualified for next year’s Masters after missing out in the previous two years.

Englishman Tom Lewis finished tied 11th, his best Major finish.

Disappointments

Rory McIlroy never recovered from a quadruple bogey on his very first hole and ended Thursday eight-over.

He fought valiantly on Friday but missed the cut by one.

Questions are again being asked about his ability to perform when the pressure is really on.

Tiger Woods looked underprepared and out of sorts as he also missed the weekend.

Every performance like this makes his victory at Augusta appear even more remarkable.

Stat: Shane Lowry is the fourth player in the last 100 years to win his first Major by six or more shots

2019 Major Leaderboard of those who made all four cuts -

Brooks Koepka: -36 Xander Schauffele: -14 Dustin Johnson: -14 Patrick Cantlay: -12 Webb Simpson: -9 Francesco Molinari: -9 Matt Kuchar: -8 Rickie Fowler: -7 Matt Fitzpatrick: -3 Jordan Spieth: -2 Louis Oosthuizen: -1 Henrik Stenson: E Tommy Fleetwood: +3 Aaron Wise: +3 Tyrrell Hatton: +5 Cameron Smith: +20

Stat: Koepka’s score of 36-under-par was the third-best in a Major season over the past 30 years. Jordan Spieth leads the way with -54 in 2015 with Tiger recording -53 in 2000.

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