Aaron Rai’s win at the PGA Championship last weekend came as a huge surprise.
Rai entered the week with roughly 200/1 odds to win. On a course that rewarded long drives and great putts, the winner was a player who is very short of the top and a well-below-average putter.
That’s why they play the game, people.
It got me thinking about other surprising big winners we’ve had since the turn of the century.
Here is my list of the 10 biggest shock winners since 2000.
10. Darren Clarke
Pre-Tournament Odds: ~ 100-125/1
OWGR before the tournament: No. 111
Darren Clarke had a very good career, winning 14 times on the European Tour and three times on the PGA Tour.
Having said that, a 42-year-old Clarke capturing the 2011 Open Championship is among the most fortuitous results in recent golf history.
Clarke had gone an entire decade without a major top-10 finish. After finishing T3 at the 2001 Open, Clarke had 55 more major starts—and his only major top-10 finish was winning the 2011 Open at Royal St George’s.
The result was never in doubt as Clarke won by three shots despite a strange closing couple. He dedicated the win to his late wife, Heather, who passed away in 2006.
9. Keegan Bradley
Odds: ~ 150/1
OWGR: No. 108
Keegan Bradley has played in 51 championships at this point and is respected as a solid player.
But in his first major start — before golf fans knew about it — Bradley came out of nowhere to win the 2011 PGA Championship.
It was a wild final round at the Atlanta Athletic Club as Bradley battled Jason Dufner. After making a triple bogey on the par-3 15th, Bradley fell four shots with just three holes to play.
But Bradley birdied Nos. 16 and 17, while Dufner bogeyed the same holes. After going 1 over in a three-hole playoff, Bradley suddenly became a major champion.
8. Lucas Glover
Odds: ~ 175/1
OWGR: No. 71
Glover has enjoyed a fine career on Tour, winning six times and earning more than $41 million.
But his victory at the 2009 US Open was a complete anomaly.
Glover has played in 55 championships and has only two top-10 finishes, both in 2009.
The 2009 US Open was a freak grand slam on many levels. It was a strange week of weather and the final leaderboard is really strange. David Duval, years removed from his prime, nearly won the tournament with a late rally. Phil Mickelson shared the lead on the back nine but put it away. Tiger Woods could do nothing and finished four shots behind.
The man above all? Glover.
7. Aaron Ray
Odds: ~ 200-250/1
OWGR: No. 44
We just watched Rai capture the PGA Championship, breaking through a crowded field that included Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Aberg and other established stars.
As mentioned, Aronimink didn’t match Rai’s game on paper, but he was able to overcome his lack of driving distance with excellent wedge play and a hot putt. In the end, he shot a 5-under 65 and split in the final two hours of the tournament.
Rai entered the week as a solid Tour player having won once before (2024 Wyndham Championship), but his best major finish was a T19. Considering his competition in Aronimink, this was a total stunner.
6. Phil Mickelson
Odds: ~ 250-300/1
OWGR: No. 115
Winning a major championship at age 50 — the oldest player to ever do it — is one thing.
Earning a degree when you were way past your prime nor playing great golf coming in a week it’s another thing.
Mickelson’s 2021 PGA win is one of the great mysteries of our game. He was definitely terrible in 2021, finishing the year with just one top-10 finish to go along with seven missed cuts.
This top-10 finish was his sixth major title. He earned it by walking away as well.
I still haven’t processed this. Mickelson’s stock was higher than ever at the time (let’s pretend nothing has happened since then).
5. YE Yang
Odds: ~ 125-150/1
OWGR: No. 110
YE Yang will forever be known as the Tiger Slayer.
Woods held a two-shot lead going into the final round of the 2009 PGA Championship, a lead that seemed insurmountable given Tiger’s ability to shut the door on the majors. He had never delivered a large 54 hole bullet.
Yang and Woods were tied late Sunday when Yang birdied the par-4 14th, earning a lead he would never relinquish. Both players made bogey on No. 17, one of the only times in Tiger’s career where he faltered on a big course he probably should have won.
Yang captured just one other PGA Tour title in his career (2009 Honda Classic) and had just two other top-10 finishes in majors. Before the win, his best major finish was T47.
4. Shaun Michel
Odds: ~ 200-300/1
OWGR: No. 169
Micheel’s only career Tour victory came at Oak Hill during the 2003 PGA Championship.
His only major top-10 finish was a distant runner-up performance at the 2006 PGA Championship. He has played in 39 championships and lost 27 of them.
But at the ’03 PGA, Micheel battled against the likes of Chad Campbell and Tim Clark to find major glory. No one will ever forget his last shot on the 72nd hole, when he hit his approach shot into the tee.
It’s one of the true underdog stories in the history of the game.
3. Todd Hamilton
Odds: ~ 400/1
OWGR: No. 56
You might be surprised to see that Hamilton had odds of 400/1 before the 2004 Open Championship, despite being ranked No. 56 in the world and having already won on Tour earlier that year at the Honda Classic.
It is true that Hamilton was not one total nobody goes a week – but a look at his major record will make you understand why he is so high on this list.
The 2004 Open was his only major top-10 finish in his career. And, aside from a T15 at the 2009 Masters, Hamilton hasn’t even come close to returning to that level at the biggest events.
It was a magical week for Hamilton at Royal Troon when he beat Ernie Els by making it four in a row in a playoff. Hamilton relied on a hybrid from the green that week and the strategy paid off with a remarkable victory.
Els, a four-time major champion, probably should have had it (but would later be awarded an open championship by a late Adam Scott meltdown, so the golf gods paid it back).
2. Beem rich
Odds: ~ 200-300/1
OWGR: No. 73
Beem shares an almost identical major record with Hamilton. Besides winning the 2002 PGA Championship, he has just one T15 at the 2003 Masters. He never got into major contention again.
The biggest shocker of the ’02 PGA is that Beem erased a three-shot deficit Sunday by trailing Justin Leonard. Then he held off Tiger, who birdied the final four holes in a frantic effort to catch Beem, who was comfortably ahead down the stretch.
Beem won the 1999 Kemper Open and the 2002 International, but the fact that he pulled off a major win is still unbelievable. It’s the second Hazeltine mention on this list (Yang also won there).
1. Ben Curtis
Odds: ~ 350-500/1
OWGR: No. 396
Few results in modern golf are as difficult to review as the 2003 Open Championship, where the final leaderboard read as follows:
- Ben Curtis (-1)
- Thomas Bjorn (E)
- Vijay Singh (E)
- Tiger Woods (+1)
- Davis Love III (+1)
It was the first major start for Curtis, a complete unknown barely in the top 400 in the world. He only qualified for the tournament via a T13 at the Western Open, taking one of the last spots in the field.
This tournament belonged to Bjorn, a much more heralded player who held a narrow lead at the end of the day before a tragic double on the par-3 16th at Royal St George’s.
In fairness, Curtis would go on to have a solid Tour career that included three more wins and three major top-10 finishes. He also made the 2008 USA Ryder Cup team.
But at that time? Curtis shocked the world.
What do you think of this list? Let me know below in the comments.
Main photo caption: YE Yang lifts his golf bag over his head after beating Tiger at the 2009 PGA Championship. (GETTY IMAGES/Streeter Lecka)
