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, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and Rory McIlroy among them.
However, even some of best players ever to have picked up a golf club have come up short in their quest to add an Open Championship title to their CV. Here, we take a look at some of the best golfers never to lifted the game’s most famous trophy.
Bernhard Langer
Seve denies Langer in 1984
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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 despite getting himself into decent positions.
In 1981, he finished four shots adrift of Bill Rogers. Three years later at St Andrews, and this was a tournament that belonged to the late, great Seve, with Langer, the Spaniard’s playing partner, finishing just two shots back. Tee to green, Langer was arguably the better player, but his putter went very cold.
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 back of the champion, Sandy Lyle.
Colin Montgomerie
‘Monty’ finished runner-up to Tiger Woods in 2005
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‘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 Tiger Woods, a scenario that was very much on the cards going into the turn on Sunday afternoon, with Montgomerie just one shot back from the master.
His 6-iron on the 11th went long, however, and he made a untimely bogey. After Woods birdied 12, Montgomerie just couldn’t find the magic to make a final challenge.
Sergio Garcia
Garcia suffers a painful ending to The Open at Carnoustie in 2007
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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, his 74th Major Championship appearance.
He probably should have at least one Open title on his CV, too. However, having failed to qualify for the 151st Open Championship, it’s fair to say that the 43-year-old, a 16-time DP World Tour winner, is running out of opportunities.
In 2007, Padraig Harrington started the final round six strokes behind Garcia, who had led throughout following an opening 65.
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