Barring team events, headlined by the magnificent Ryder Cup, golf is one of the most individualistic sporting pursuits there is. As such, it is no surprise that the names of the players, rather than the nations from which they hail, tend to be remembered through the sands of sporting history.
Nevertheless, some nations have produced more brilliant golfing individuals than others. But which country has produced the most golfing superstars – those geniuses of the fairways and greens who have ascended to the pinnacle of the game and claimed a Major title, i.e. they’ve won The Masters, the US Open, The Open or the PGA Championship?
It turns out that the 468 men’s golf Major championships held to date (as of June 2024) have been shared between 21 countries – only six of which have reached double figures. Here, we present a rundown of those top six countries, highlight a rather surprising entry in the top 10, and remember the seven stars who provided the only Major triumph in the history of their country.
The Top 6
Let’s start with the top six nations in terms of golf major victories over the years.
1. United States: 285 Major Wins
Masters: 64, US Open: 87, The Open: 46, PGA: 88
There’s no surprise at the top of the list; home to three of the four majors and boasting a player pool which dwarfs most other nations, the US are duly the most successful nation in Major history. Nevertheless, the extent of US dominance is staggering – 10 of the 12 most successful Majors players hail from the US, whilst that tally of 285 is more than every other nation combined. The only individual major in which the US has lost out to the Rest Of The World combined is The Open.
Topping the individual US table is the legendary Jack Nicklaus with 18 wins, followed by the man who appeared certain to overtake him, only for injury to intervene, Tiger Woods, with 15 major victories to his name.
2. Scotland: 55 Major Wins
Masters: 1, US Open: 13, The Open: 41, PGA: 0
As the birthplace of the game, it seems fitting to see Bonnie Scotland sitting so high on the all-time list. Just under 75% of Scotland’s Major victories have come in The Open, regularly played on home soil. Impressively, those victories were shared amongst 33 players – led by the father-son duo of Tom Morris Sr and Tom Morris Jr, Willie Park Sr, and Willie Anderson, who each picked up four wins between 1861 and 1905.
The early years represented the golden era of Scottish golf. Of Scotland’s 55 wins, 52 came between 1860 and 1931 – including the first 29 editions of The Open. The only Scots to lift a major since 1931 are Masters and Open champion Sandy Lyle and Paul Lawrie, who won The Open in 1999.
3. England: 36 Major Wins
Masters: 4, US Open: 8, The Open: 22, PGA: 2
Beginning with the 1890 success of John Ball in The Open and ending with Matt Fitzpatrick’s magical 2022 US Open victory, 20 Englishmen have savoured the taste of Major glory. With three wins in The Masters and three in The Open, Nick Faldo has been the biggest single contributor, followed by late 19th/early 20th century star John Henry Taylor on five.
Unlike Scotland, England has won all four Majors – Nick Faldo completing the set when winning his first Masters title in 1989.
4. South Africa: 22 Majors
Masters: 5, US Open: 5, The Open: 10, PGA: 2
South Africa’s first major came relatively late – courtesy of Bobby Locke’s 1949 victory in The Open at Royal St George’s. However, thanks to the exploits of nine-time Major champ Gary Player, four-time hero Ernie Els, two-time winner Retief Goosen, and singles from Trevor Immelman, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, the Rainbow Nation have quickly made up for lost time.
5. Australia: 18 Majors
Masters: 1, US Open: 2, The Open: 10, PGA: 5
Following a similar trajectory to South Africa, Australia had to wait until 1947 for a first Major success, provided by Jim Ferrier in the 1947 PGA Championship. Peter Thomson tops the all-time Australian list courtesy of his five Open Championships between 1954 and 1965. David Graham and Greg Norman are the other Aussies with more than one Major.
6. Spain: 10 Majors
Masters: 6, US Open: 1, The Open: 3, PGA Championships: 0
Just squeezing into the double-figure crowd, Spain remained without a Major victory until 1979. And then along came a certain Severiano Ballesteros. Breaking his nation’s duck in the 1979 Open, Seve promptly followed up in the classic Masters of 1980. Winning five in total, Ballesteros is responsible for half of Spain’s total. José Maria Olazábal (twice), Jon Rahm, and Sergio Garcia all subsequently donned the Green Jacket to make Spain the second most successful nation in the most famous Major of them all.
Don’t Forget About… Jersey
Ranked 181st in the world by population, with around 100,000 citizens, and 191st by land area, Jersey is, nevertheless, the seventh most successful nation in golfing history – needing only one more win to break into double figures. It has admittedly been some time since the Jersey flag was raised aloft at the end of the final hole, with the seven successes of Harry Vardon and two from Ted Ray all coming between 1896 and 1920 – but who knows, perhaps another superstar will emerge from this former golfing hotbed.
The One Win Club
Whilst for the US a Major win is just another triumph to add to the ever-lengthening list, for other nations, it is a much bigger deal. A total of seven countries have only a solitary victory to their name – the countries and their national heroes reading as follows:
- Canada – Mike Weir – 2003 Masters: Two shots back headed into the final round, Weir posted a 73 to tie for the lead before overcoming Len Mattiace in a playoff.
- France – Arnaud Massy – 1907 Open: Massey broke the Scottish and English stranglehold on The Open – seeing off three-time winner John Henry Taylor by two strokes to become the first non-British winner of the event.
- Italy – Francesco Molinari – 2018 Open: Three down headed into the fourth round, the younger of the Molinari brothers held his nerve best in the final round to come home two clear of the field.
- Japan – Hideki Matsuyama – 2021 Masters: Japan’s number one has posted top-six finishes in all four Majors, but his crowning moment came in the 2021 Masters. Four clear following a sizzling 65 on the third day, he did enough to hold on by one shot from Will Zalatoris.
- South Korea – Yang Yong-eun – 2009 PGA: 12 years before the success of Matsuyama, Yong-eun claimed the honour of becoming the first Asian Major winner – overhauling a final round two-stroke deficit to run down Tiger Woods for a three-stroke win.
- Sweden – Henrik Stenson – 2016 Open: The first and, as of June 2024, only Scandinavian to claim a Major title, Stenson was magnificent at Royal Troon – posting a scorecard of 68-65-68-63 for a 20 under par record-breaking victory.
- Wales – Ian Woosnam – 1991 Masters: A European 1-2 at the 1991 Masters, with Woosie holding off José Maria Olazabal to produce one of the most iconic golfing moments of the early 90s.