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Golf Monthly
Golf Monthly
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Paul Higham

14 Big Names From LIV Golf And PGA Tour On Surprisingly Long Win Droughts

Players with the longest winning droughts.

You take it for granted sometimes that all the biggest names you know in golf are regularly cleaning up the trophies, but it's just not true.

You always lose a lot more than you win in golf, and even the best of the best go a long, long time without sampling glory.

And there are multiple Major champions, World No.1s and prolific tournament winners that have waited three, four, five years since they last grabbed silverware, with even a two-time Major champion having gone a decade since his last success.

So here's some big names from LIV Golf and the PGA Tour who have surprisingly long winning droughts...

Patrick Cantlay

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Last win: BMW Championship August 2022

It's not the longest drought but it's arguably the biggest surprise given how generally consistent the former World No.3 has been playing since his last victory.

Cantlay won the 2022 BMW Championship to successfully defend the title he also picked up in 2021, and it seemed that a Major triumph was just around the corner.

But not only is he still searching for that maiden Major triumph, but he's still waiting to taste victory again well over two years later - which certainly is a head-scratcher - as he's had 11 top-five finishes and two runners-up spots overall since his last victory, but the wait goes on.

Justin Thomas

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Last win: PGA Championship May 2022

Justin Thomas really is a strange case, with his last two wins being The Players Championship in 2021 then the PGA Championship in 2022 - but nothing in-between, or since.

The two-time Major champion has oodles of talent but something deserted him and he was lucky to get into the 2023 Ryder Cup team in the end. For someone with his vast array of shots going way over two years without a win is crazy.

Jordan Spieth

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Last win: RBC Heritage April 2022

A golfing enigma, Jordan Spieth could, and probably should, have won his first three Masters appearances, and but had to settle for one in 2015, when he also claimed the US Open and could easily have won all four Majors - finishing second at the PGA Championship a T4 at The Open.

With a shot-making genius few can match, Spieth has become more erratic in recent years, with the consistency that saw him become World No.1 for 26 weeks as he won five times in 2015 and three in 2016 seemingly long gone.

His last win came at the RBC Heritage in 2022, ironically beating Cantlay in a playoff, but he was on the wrong end 12 months later when losing in extra holes to Matt Fitzpatrick at Harbour Town Links.

That could have made this drought a little more palatable, but it's now far too long for a player of Spieth's talent to be without a win. A wrist injury hasn't helped and it may be some time yet before we see him challenging again.

Webb Simpson

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Last win: RBC Heritage June 2021

A former US Open champion, and seven-time winner on the PGA Tour, Simpson was up at World No.4 in 2020 and still riding high when he claimed the RBC Heritage in 2021.

But there's been a big drop-off since and we've hardly seen him contesting near the top of the leaderboards.

Phil Mickelson

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Last win: PGA Championship May 2021

You may not think Phil Mickelson should have been cleaning up tournament wins at his age, but he was good enough to become the oldest Major winner when lifting the PGA Championship in 2021.

His move to LIV Golf gave his bank balance a massive boost, but adding nothing in the win column as yet, with just one top 10 per season in the three years he's been part of Greg Norman's outfit.

Mickelson almost won The Masters in 2023 so we know the game is still in there.

Marc Leishman

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Last win: Zurich Classic of New Orleans April 2021

OK, so it's was a team event as Leishman won alongside fellow Australian Cameron Smith, but a win is a win! His previous solo victory was at the Farmers Insurance Open in January 2020, and for a 13-time winner as a pro that's too big a gap.

He joined LIV Golf in August 2022 but has failed to bag a win so far.

Paul Casey

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Last win: Dubai Desert Classic January 2021

You don't win 15 times on the DP World Tour without being a special talent, but that win in Dubai was too long ago now for Paul Casey to be satisfied - winners love lifting trophies.

The move to LIV Golf hasn't yielded any silverware either, although he came desperately close to breaking his duck when losing a playoff to Abraham Ancer at LIV Golf Hong Kong in 2024.

Patrick Reed

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Last win: Farmers Insurance Open January 2021

Nine wins on the PGA Tour and in his prime years when he joined LIV Golf, yet Patrick Reed has failed to deliver victory since his Torrey Pines success back on his former tour in 2021.

He's been knocking on the door, finishing in the top three eight times in LIV events and also finishing second to Rory McIlroy in Dubai after that 'teegate' storm in a tea cup in 2023, but he just can't get the job done, which for a player with his talent is a big surprise.

Matt Kuchar

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Last win: QBE Shootout December 2020

With nine PGA Tour wins and 18 worldwide, former World No.4 Matt Kuchar has to go down as somewhat prolific, but his last win only came in a team event alongside Harris English.

Kuchar did also claim the Singapore Open in 2020, with his last solo win on the PGA Tour being the Sony Open in Hawaii in January 2019 - maybe his winning days are behind him?

Lee Westwood

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Last win: Abu Dhabi Championship January 2020

He swept the board as European No.1 and Race To Dubai winner during the Covid-hit 2020 season, and you'd have thought Lee Westwood could have kicked on from there.

Yes, he was in his late 40s but in 2021 he finished second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship in back-to-back weeks - which you can only do if you're right at the top of the game.

Just three top 10s have followed on LIV Golf as Westwood entered his 50s, but at his best his game was still easily good enough to grab some wins. Maybe they'll come if he gets more of a go in the seniors.

Adam Scott

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Last win: Genesis Invitational February 2020

We're into the realms of disbelief with former World No.1 Adam Scott not having won for almost five years - yep, that's FIVE years next February.

He's still got his good looks and his silky swing, but the man with 32 professional wins has not won a regular tournament since Riviera in 2020.

And it's not for the want of trying - even just looking back at the end of last season when Scotty finished second in the Scottish Open, T10 at the Open, second again at the BMW Championship and T4 at the Tour Championship.

One has to drop for him soon, surely?

Matthew Wolff

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Last win: 3M Open July 2019

He's only won once on the PGA Tour, but we expected huge things from Matthew Wolff as a precocious talent, but that remains his only taste of success.

His move to LIV Golf didn't go as planned with a very public falling out with Brooks Koepka and even though he got to change teams he's still not managed to deliver the success you feel his talent deserves.

Bubba Watson

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Last win: Travelers Championship June 2018

The two-time Masters champion could always be a bit all or nothing because of the enthralling way he approaches the game, and his career has done exactly that.

Bubba went from winning three times in 2018 to nothing since - with just 11 top 10s in his next three seasons on the PGA Tour before he then decided to go to LIV Golf.

His results have not been much better there, and he was even relegated after the 2024 season, but he's likely to still be allowed to play on in 2025.

Martin Kaymer

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Last win: US Open June 2014

Another mind-boggler as Martin Kaymer has not been seen lifting a trophy since winning his second Major at the 2014 US Open, when he lapped the field at Pinehurst No.2.

After such a dominant victory you'd have bet your house on more to follow from a man with nine other victories on the DP World Tour and also a Players Championship success in his pocket.

Yes there have been swing changes and injuries, but a player with that quality not to win for over a decade just beggars belief.

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