One of the most endearing aspects of Major golf is that it may be unlikely that someone ranked outside the world’s top 100 will win, but it’s not impossible, writes BRENDAN BARRATT.
Hilary Lunke, 2003 US Women’s Open
American Lunke became the first player to win the US Open after having to come through both local and sectional qualifying. She played out of her boots to finish the 72-hole event tied with compatriots Angela Stanford and Kelly Robbins. Back then, the playoff was over 18 holes and Lunke somehow managed to pull through to claim her first – and only – LPGA Tour title.
Shaun Micheel, 2003 PGA Championship
The 2003 Major season threw out some surprise winners in Mike Weir (The Masters), Jim Furyk (US Open) and Ben Curtis (The Open), but in Shaun Micheel it delivered the most unexpected result imaginable. Prior to his win at Oak Hill, Micheel had played at 163 PGA Tour events without a win and the American didn’t win again after. He will be remembered for a remarkable iron shot on the final hole, where he stiffed a 7-iron to secure a tap-in birdie and a Major championship title.
Jack Fleck, 1955 US Open
Back at the 1955 US Open at Olympic Club, club professional Fleck defied the odds to beat four-time champion and his hero Ben Hogan in an 18-hole playoff. To make matters worse, Fleck was using clubs made by Hogan’s golf equipment company.
Sofia Popov, 2020 Women’s British Open
Popov was ranked 304th going into the 2020 Women’s British Open and the German did not even hold a full card for either of the main Tours, plying her trade on the Symetra Tour. However, a surprise two-stroke win saw her become the first-ever winner of a women’s Major at Royal Troon.
John Daly, 1991 PGA Championship
Daly was a late entrant into the 1991 PGA, only getting in as the ninth alternate after Nick Price withdrew. With no practice round – and Price’s caddie on the bag – Daly blew the field away with his powerful hitting and deft touch around the Crooked Stick greens. The American would later go on to win the 1995 Open Championship, but his PGA win was certainly a stunning result.
Mo Martin, 2014 Women’s British Open
Martin was a rank outsider to win the 2014 Women’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale and the American seemed to have run her race when she signed for a third-round 77 that saw her slip three shots off the lead. However, a closing round of 72 that included an eagle after hitting the flagstick on the final hole – the first eagle of the season for the short-hitting Martin – saw her edge out Shanshan Feng and Suzann Pettersen by a single stroke.
Rich Beem, 2002 PGA Championship
Beem had given up golf and become a car sound system salesman prior to opting to give pro golf another go. It’s a good thing he did, too, because in 2002 he held off a charging Tiger Woods to complete a shock victory at Hazeltine and claim his only Major championship.
Ben Curtis, 2003 Open Championship
Curtis began the week ranked 396th in the world and with odds of 300-1 to win The Open at Royal St George’s, but shot rounds of 72, 72, 70 and 69 to win at his very first Major.
Todd Hamilton, 2004 Open Championship
Up against the likes of Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, you might have expected a journeyman pro like Todd Hamilton to buckle, but the 38-year-old American held his nerve to win the 2004 Open at Royal Troon, courtesy of a four-hole playoff with Els. He missed 111 cuts at his next 187 events, however.
Birdie Kim, 2005 US Women’s Open
Korean Kim changed her name to Birdie in 2004 in order to distinguish herself from the many other Kims playing on the LPGA Tour at the time. With only three cuts made in that rookie season, Kim was forced to go back to Qualifying School to regain her card. In 2005, she came out of nowhere to win the US Women’s Open at Cherry Hills Country Club, holing out from a greenside bunker to birdie the 72nd hole.
Jerilyn Britz, 1979 US Women’s Open
Britz was a surprising Major winner in 1979, particularly as she had only turned professional at the age of 31. The American spent five years working as a high-school teacher and three years as a college tutor before turning her hand to golf after being spotted on a range hitting balls.
YE Yang, 2009 PGA Championship
Yang was ranked 110th in the world entering the 2009 PGA and was paired with Tiger Woods in the final round. Woods had never lost a Major when leading after 54 holes so few expected him to break the streak, least of all to a golfer with a best Major finish of tie-30th. Yang held his own in the high-pressure environment, ultimately winning by three strokes and becoming the first Asian male golfer to win a Major.
– This article first appeared in the October 2024 issue of Compleat Golfer magazine.
Photo: Stephen Munday/Getty Images
