ShareThisWhile Adam Scott was charging up a cluttered leader board on the back nine Sunday at the Masters, it looked like he was on the cusp of a breakout victory.
Scott's easy birdie at No. 16 briefly gave the Aussie a two-stroke lead before South Africa's Charl Schwartzel took over Augusta National with an unprecedented four-birdie finish to take the green jacket.
A Masters victory by Scott would have erased his name from a group of the best current golfers never to have won a major.
Honorable mentions should be given to guys like Hunter Mahan, Ian Poulter, Anthony Kim and K.J. Choi. They aren't too far behind the golfers on this list.
So here are my picks for the ten best golfers right now under 45 (sorry Monty, I had to make an age cutoff) never to have won a major:
-- 10. Bubba Watson: The lefty doesn't have an overwhelming pedigree in majors thus far, although Watson did lose in a playoff last year to Martin Kaymer in the PGA Championship. Still, his shot-making creativity and raw power are too impressive.
-- 9. Steve Stricker: He was once No. 2 in the World Golf Rankings and finished second to Vijay Singh in the 1998 PGA. He's a terrific putter who has had other chances in the final rounds of majors, but hasn't ever been able to get hot at the right time.
-- 8. Adam Scott: It wasn't that long ago the Aussie was slumping badly, but his 67-67 weekend finish at Augusta shows how much potential he still has. Scott has five Top 10s in majors, but this was his first since 2006.
-- 7. Justin Rose: The first of an Englishman trio. It seems like Rose has led a few times after the first round of majors but then often fades. Still, at 30 and coming off two PGA Tour wins last year, a breakthrough victory isn't that far away.
-- 6. Luke Donald: Had a good showing at this year's Masters and has finished fifth or better five times in majors. The short game is there, but he isn't that long off the tee, which can hurt on lengthy tracks.
-- 5. Paul Casey: Like Donald, Casey is ranked in the Top 10 of the World Golf Rankings. Not sure how he was left off last year's Ryder Cup squad, but the Brit has the length and touch around the greens to contend.
-- 4. Rory McIlroy: This one has to do more with potential. Granted, McIlroy has blown up twice now in majors, shooting 80s after his first-round 63 last year at St. Andrews and Sunday at Augusta. But he has played in nine majors as a professional and has three top-3 finishes. Only 21, think about all he's been through. To me, it's only a matter of when and not if.
-- 3. Dustin Johnson: Should have been in a playoff at last year's PGA Championship if not for the lame penalty after he grounded his club in a sandy area that was ruled a bunker. Like McIlroy at the Masters, he didn't fare well at all with a three-shot lead after three rounds at last year's U.S. Open, but Johnson's distance and talent can't be ignored.
-- 2. Sergio Garcia: It looks more and more like Garcia wants to replace Colin Montgomerie as the best golfer never to have won a major. Sure, Sergio will have plenty of opportunities to end his drought, but after so many missed chances and with some of his comments he has said, you begin to wonder if he's got it mentally. Sergio has 15 Tops 10s in majors, the most of anybody without one. He lost a playoff to Padraig Harrington at the 2007 British Open after bogeying the 18th hole. He had a chance the next year at the PGA Championship, but Harrington got him again.
A good high school friend called Saturday afternoon to excitedly say Sergio was within a couple strokes of the lead. I told him not to get his hopes up. Sure enough, Garcia dropped six shots in the final few holes Saturday and was an afterthought during Sunday's final round.
-- 1. Lee Westwood: I bet he erases his name off this list by the end of the year. In the past six majors the Brit has played, he has four top-3 finishes. Westwood, who has 33 career victories, has had several close calls, too. He came up just short in the Mediate-Woods playoff at the 2008 U.S. Open.
Thinking he needed birdie on the last hole at the 2009 British Open, he three-putted the 18th and then watched Stewart Cink beat Tom Watson in a playoff.
(Zach Duncan writes for the Wichita Falls Times Record News in Texas.)
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