It seems like the U.S. Open is a pretty good place for golfers who’ve never won a major before.
With Wyndham Clark‘s victory at the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club this past weekend, the last five players to have won the Open did so as their first career major victory. Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick (2022), Jon Rahm (2021), Bryson DeChambeau (2020) and Gary Woodland (2019) all had never won a major before triumphing at their respective Opens.
Oddly enough, this isn’t even the first time five straight first-time winners have triumphed at the U.S. Open this millennium, however. The same feat was accomplished from 2009-13 by Lucas Glover, Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Webb Simpson and Justin Rose. It’s not even the longest streak — from 1973-78, six golfers won the U.S. Open as their first major (Johnny Miller, Hale Irwin, Lou Graham, Jerry Pate, Hubert Green, and ESPN’s own Andy North). All in all, an astounding 72 golfers have won the U.S. Open as their first-ever major win.
The Open also has a history of its first-time winners going on to far greater things. Jack Nicklaus’ first of 18 major wins was at the 1962 U.S. Open, as was Walter Hagen’s first of 11 (1914), Bobby Jones’ first of seven (1923) and Gene Sarazen’s first of seven (1922).
Data from ESPN Stats and Information was used in this article.