Best Golfers Never to Win a Major

This is a fairly subjective post on who we here at Golf Predictor consider to be the best current golfers never to have won a major championship:

1. Colin Montgomerie. Without a doubt, Monty is one of the finest golfers Europe has ever produced. Winner of a record eight Order of Merits and many time Ryder Cup hero, poor old Colin kept heaping the pressure on himself in the majors. His best chances came mainly in the US Open and he was somewhat unlucky on occasion. However, he did choke once or twice, most famously with a seven iron on the 72nd fairway in the 2006 US Open. Unfortunately, it looks like his chance is gone, although Jack Nicklaus won his last major at 46 and Kenny Perry (see below) should have won at 48....
   
   
2. Sergio Garcia. Despite dodgy pressure putting, definitely the best player today without a major under his belt. He's had his chances too, from the youthful exuberance of his audacious challenge (including the wonder shot) to Tiger during the 1999 US PGA to choking down the stretch in the 2008 US PGA. While Harrington seems to have his measure (much to his chagrin), it is only fair to point out that he missed a par putt on the 72nd hole to win the 2007 British Open by a fraction (guess who won?!). If that had gone in, who's to say Garcia and his nemesis wouldn't have swapped recent histories?
   
   
3. Adam Scott. The man whose swing is more Tiger-like than even Tiger's! He's going through a sticky patch, but Scott is a class player who definitely has the swing (see above!) to win a major, if not the putting. His best performance thus far is a third place in the 2006 US PGA. He has had a couple of other top tens in the majors, but it's about time he got the result his talent deserves.
   
   
4. Lee Westwood. A long time stalwart of the European Tour, Westwood was never really in the running for a major victory (despite 3 top six finishes) until 2009. However, a rush of blood to the head on the 72nd green cost him a chance of victory in the British Open. He has the game and the temperament to win a big one, but he better get his skates on!
   
   
5. Kenny Perry*. The token American in the list, Perry is the highest all-time money winner on the US PGA Tour without a major. Arguably the best ever over forty golfer (at least until Tiger gets that old!), the 49 year old is still in the world top five. He's had his chances, losing a 1996 play-off to Mark Brooks in the US PGA Championship and more recently throwing away a two shot lead with two to play at the 2009 Masters. Time is against him now so will that be his last chance for a major title?
   

Honourable mentions to Darren Clarke, K.J. Choi, Robert Allenby, Chad Campbell, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Tim Clark, Stuart Appleby, Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson. Of the young guns, Anthony Kim and Rory McIlroy stand out as probable future major winners.


*Replaces Stewart Cink who finally won a major at the 2009 British Open Championship!