8 Of The Best Players To Never Win The Open

The names of many of the game’s greatest ever players are inscribed on the famous Claret Jug – the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Severiano Ballesteros, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Tom Watson, Sir Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and Rory McIlroy among them. 

However, even some of best players ever to have picked up a golf club have suffered heartbreak at The Open.

Here, we take a look at some of the big names missing from the game's most famous piece of silverware.

Bernhard Langer

The German was a prolific winner on the old European Tour, winning a staggering 42 times, but he didn’t quite get the job done at The Open.

In 1981, he finished four shots adrift of Bill Rogers. Three years later, at St Andrews, it was the late, great Seve who prevailed, with Langer, the Spaniard’s playing partner, finishing two shots back.

Tee to green, Langer was arguably the better player, but his putter went cold at the most critical times.

A year later, at Royal St George’s, Langer’s putt grazed the lip on the 72nd hole but failed to drop. He finished two shots adrift of Sandy Lyle.

Colin Montgomerie

‘Monty’ is one of the best players never to win a Major Championship – but how close he came at The Open.

St Andrews would have erupted in 2005 had the Scot got the better of Woods, a scenario that was very much on the cards going into the back nine on Sunday, with the Scot just one shot back.

Montgomerie's 6-iron on the 11th went long, however, and he made an untimely bogey.

After Woods birdied 12, the home favorite just couldn’t find the magic to make a final challenge.

Sergio Garcia

For a long time, the Spaniard seemed destined to finish his career without a Major title, but he got that monkey off his back by winning the Masters in 2017.

He probably should have at least one Open title on his CV, too. In 2007, Padraig Harrington started the final round six strokes behind Garcia, who had led throughout following an opening round of 65.

Garcia stumbled on Carnoustie's back nine but still arrived on the final hole needing a par for the win; he made bogey, and then had to watch Harrington lift the trophy that he must have thought was his.

Garcia came close in 2014, too, making a charge at Royal Liverpool on the final day, only to come up two shots short of McIlroy. 

Byron Nelson

Nelson, a winner of five Major Championships, may well have claimed a Claret Jug had me made the trip across the pond more than once.

However, back in the 1930s and 1940s, the tournament’s purse wasn’t quite so enticing.

The prolific champion did have a stab at Carnoustie in 1937, but he finished a distant six shots back of Henry Cotton, giving himself too much to do with an opening round of 75.

Raymond Floyd

The American won three of the big four – the Masters (1976), the PGA Championship (1969 and 1982) and the US Open (1986). He also won 22 times on the PGA Tour.

However, The Open was the one Major Championship that eluded the man from North Carolina, with his best effort a tie for second in 1978, when he finished two shots behind Nicklaus. 

Vijay Singh

The Fijian enjoyed lengthy spells as the World No.1 and racked up an impressive 34 PGA Tour titles over the course of a stellar career.

A three-time Major winner, Singh came close to adding an Open Championship to his long list of titles, only to pipped by Ben Curtis by a single stroke at Royal St George’s in 2003.

Ian Woosnam

Former World No.1 'Woosie' was a popular winner of the Masters in 1991, and he amassed a total of 29 wins on the European Tour.

The Welshman came close to winning The Open on two occasions, too, first in 1986, when he finished tied third, and then in 2001, when he declared a two-shot penalty after his caddie discovered that he had been carrying 15 clubs. 

Fred Couples

Fan favorite Fred Couples won the Masters in 1992, although that was the former World No.1's only Major Championship title.

The American had a best finish of second at the PGA Championship and tied for third at the US Open - and he recorded third-place finishes at both the 1991 and 2005 Open Championships. 

At the former, only three shots separated Couples from the winner, Ian Baker-Finch, whilst Woods was a runaway winner at the latter.