Who Has The Most Runner-Up Finishes In Men’s Golf Majors?

The player topping the list of most men’s Major wins is well known, with the legendary Jack Nicklaus out in front on 18, and Tiger Woods three adrift.

However, less documented is the identity of the player with the most runner-up finishes in golf’s four showpiece events.

Incredibly, Nicklaus is also the player with the most runner-up finishes in men’s golf Majors. Indeed, he finished second one more time than he claimed a Major title, with 19. 

The first of those came as an amateur at the 1960 US Open, but arguably his most famous near miss came 17 years later, when he and Tom Watson battled it out in The Open at Turnberry in an encounter later dubbed the Duel in the Sun, which Watson eventually won by one.

Watson and Nicklaus were at it again five years later, this time in the US Open at Pebble Beach. On that occasion, Nicklaus was already back in the clubhouse on four-under, level with Watson who had two holes to play. 

He was in trouble with his tee shot on the 17th, which landed in the rough behind the green, but Watson produced a remarkable chip-in birdie to nudge ahead, and he moved to six-under on the 18th to leave Nicklaus runner-up again.

Nicklaus' final runner-up came at the 1983 at the PGA Championship, where he lost to Hal Sutton. Thankfully for the Golden Bear, that wasn’t the last time he got close to winning a Major. He had one more success three years later with his 18th and final Major victory at the 1986 Masters.

The player immediately beneath Nicklaus on the list is Phil Mickelson. It’s well known that he remains only one US Open title away from a career Grand Slam, having finished runner-up at the tournament a record six times, but he has also finished runner-up in each of the three Majors he has won.

Mickelson has finished T2 at The Masters twice, in 2015 and 2023, while runner-up finishes at The Open came in 2011 and 2016. His one victory in it came between the two, in 2013. He has also experienced the frustration of just missing out on the PGA Championship title twice, in 2001 and 2014, bringing his total of runner-ups at Majors to 12.

The only other player to reach double figures is Arnold Palmer, who managed runner-up 10 times between the 1960 Open and the 1970 PGA Championship.

That final PGA Championship near miss was his third, and it would have been particularly painful as he looked back on his career, given that the Wanamaker Trophy eluded him, although he won seven titles among the other three.

Beneath Palmer, three players finished runner-up in Majors eight times (Sam Snead, Greg Norman and Tom Watson), and two have come close seven times (JH Taylor and Tiger Woods).

While any runner-up finish likely left a lingering thought of "what might have been" for those who missed out, at least all the players mentioned so far claimed a minimum of one Major title in their career.

So spare a thought for the player with the most runner-up finishes who didn't go on to win a Major, Colin Montgomerie, who finished second five times between 1994 and 1995.

Most Runner-Up Finishes In Men's Majors