Any player would count winning The Masters as a career highlight, but for some that has proved elusive despite spending time at the top of the world rankings.
There are a total of 13 players who have reached the coveted World No.1 who have never claimed victory at the Augusta National Major.
Some have come agonizingly close, whereas for others, the dream remained stubbornly out of reach.
The list includes a handful of players who may yet achieve the feat, but for others, it will forever remain a case of “not meant to be.”
Greg Norman
Greg Norman famously lost a big lead at the 1996 Masters
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Perhaps the most glaring example of one of the game’s greats failing to win The Masters is the charismatic Australian.
Norman spent a total of 331 weeks as World No.1 between 1986 and 1998, but despite 23 attempts, he never claimed the Green Jacket.
Among those were three runner-up finishes, most notably in 1996. After racing into a two-shot lead following a 63 in the first round, Norman extended it to four shots over Nick Faldo on Friday evening.
That became six shots over the Englishman with one round to play, and he still held a healthy four-shot lead after seven holes of the final round. Then it all fell apart, with Norman losing five more shots over the next five holes.
Norman finished with 78, while Faldo claimed his third Masters title. He never got that close again, with a finish of third three years later the best he could muster from his remaining seven attempts.
Nick Price
Nick Price came closest to a Masters title in 1995
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The Zimbabwean spent 44 successive weeks at the top of the world rankings between 1994 and 1995, but a win at Augusta National eluded him.
Price, who won the PGA Championship twice and The Open once, recorded four top-10 finishes at The Masters in his 20 attempts, with the best of those being fifth in 1986.
He might have won that year, too, but for a dreadful opening round of 79 that left him facing an 11-shot deficit. Despite clawing his way into contention with rounds of 69 and 63, Price’s 71 in the final round was not quite good enough, and he eventually finished three shots behind winner Jack Nicklaus.
Tom Lehman
Tom Lehman finished runner-up at the 1994 Masters
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