Should have won more majors

Watching DL3 play so well yesterday had me thinking.....which golfers over the past 40 years should have won more majors?

Greg Norman--so much physical talent he could have dominated like Jack and Tiger, but unlucky and possibly lacking in mental endurance.

Tom Weiskopf and Duval---burn out in their primes.

Sergio! One of the best long games around but struggles the closer he gets. I suppose there is still time for him though.

I don't think I could have put it better, although I'm not that familiar with Weiskopf. I think Mickelson really should have won more to be honest. 37 wins and just 3 majors seems a little unbalanced. It took him forever to get the first one, and he's blown a few as well. Phil's real problem is that his swing is not very easy to repeat, and he has to rely on athletic ability. The thing is, he's got tons of that. He can flop the ball 2" from the hole from 20 yards, but he can barely hit the fariways.

He reminds me a bit of James Jamerson. Jamerson was the session bass player who played on most Motown songs. He was a phenomenal bass player, and he revolutionized the whole electric bass concept, but he always used just one finger to pluck the strings. He was already able to play circles around most of his contemporaries, and he was often so drunk, that in one memorable instance, he recorded an entire song lying on his back... Now, imagine if he had played with more than one finger? It could have ruined his style all together, but maybe not. Mickelson may win just as much with a more stable swing, but maybe not. Either way, I'm not his biggest fan, but he is a great player none the less.

tiger, phil, ben crenshaw, freddie couples, arnold palmer.

I don't have a ton of sympathy for guys who had meltdowns or simply couldn't seal the deal.

I do feel for players who had the misfortune of playing their best golf when someone else played way over their head for 4 days.

Guys I wish had won at least one more major - whether or not I like them as people - :

Sam Snead - why not just one US Open

Tom Watson - PGA

Greg - say what you want about his chokes in the 96 Masters and 84(?) US Open, he shoulda had that Masters in 87 - sorry Larry, but come on, you're one lucky mofo.

Tom Weiskopf - when I read about him, I feel bad that he has so many second places - then I see him on TV and think - one's enough for you.

Tom Kite - I'm glad he got one!

My number one "wish he had a major" guy? No, not Monty, it's Dave Barr .

I agree Davis could have won more and many more guys for that matter. But that's golf. There's truely only been a handful of greats for a reason. It's a very hard game to master and stay on top for a long period of time. Yes we still look at a lot of players and think why not more. It's hard not to.

Yes, but Davis has won so many times. You may or may not realize this, but Davis is 4th on tour for most wins. There are only 3 guys out there with more wins, Tiger, Phil, and Vijay. They have 20 majors between them. Davis certainly should have more, and hey, maybe he'll get more! There's no reason he can't. But I do agree, he really is a good guy, and I'd like to see him win more majors.

Arnold Palmer. For as good of a guy as he was, and as good of a golfer, he should have won more than 7. Maybe just 1 PGA.

Tom Lehman should have at least 2 US Opens.

i definitely wish tom watson had sank that putt on the last hole at turnberry last year. would have been epic.

In recent times, I would put Norman, Montgomerie, Couples, Love, Lehman and Mickelson on the list. Going back a few years, Weiskopf, Dave Stockton, Jerry Pate and Johnny Miller are guys that I thought had the type of game that would have led to more majors than they actually had.

Perhaps the player most capable of more victories, including majors, was Byron Nelson. Nelson won enough to fulfill his needs for the life he wanted, and then simply walked out of the game to his ranch. In some ways he was like the venerated amatuer Bobby Jones, who also retired very early from competition. Nelson had a lot ability left in his tank if he had wanted more golf tournament victories. I also think his swing was a lot more like the modern swing than many would think. When you see the various swings of the previous generation, there are many ideosyncratic moves, I think more than today. Byron Nelson's swing would have worked just fine even today. I have heard old guys, now long since gone, debate the question of who should have really gotten the most accolades for their swing; Hogan or Nelson. And, I don't know if it is true or not, but as stories go, there were some who thought Hogan refined his swing based on Nelson. We all know the durable Tom Watson was a devote follower of the great Nelson, and now we all know Watson at 60+ years old still has a great swing. It is not quite the same as Nelson's, of course, but Nelson certainly had a great swing and could have won a lot more.

Nelson is probably the best player ever, but he did quit early. I think though, that the topic was in recent times, otherwise I would have totally included Nelson. He should have won 100 tournaments and 25 majors.

Absolutely. The man lost 3 U.S. Open playoffs, was 2nd alone another time, and was in realistic contention on the back 9 of 6 others. In the US Open from 1959 thru 1975 he had 12 top tens and 8 top 5's. He could have easily won every Masters between 1958 and 1962. He lost the very 1st British Open he played in by 1 shot to a much more experienced links player, Kel Nagle. He finished 2nd in the PGA 3 times and wasn't even allowed to play in it his 1st 3 years on Tour because of the rules of the time. His putting left him in his mid-thirties; had he had one of today's high-moi mallets, he could have prolonged his major-winning career. Yes sir, the King could easily have 15 Majors.

Young Tom Morris

montgomerie

Jack Nicklaus was second in a major 19 times and 46 times in the top 3, so he left a little chicken on the bone too.

Sam Snead
Lloyd Mangrum
Arnold Palmer
Billy Casper
Johnny Miller
Tom Weiskopf
Tom Kite
Greg Norman
Fred Couples
Davis Love III
Colin Montgomerie

I'll forgive Phil if he can grab a few more, but I have a bad feeling he retires with 3 pro majors.

I can forgive Byron Nelson for retiring early and Young Tom Morris for dying at age 24.

And the observation about this being about more recent players is spot on... I failed to factor in the 40 year time period in the original poster's question. Even though Palmer was already a winner before that starting time, I think he could have won more and certainly been an even bigger legend if his putting had been better.