Latest News About Most Golf Majors All Time

Here’s the latest overview on who has won the most golf majors.

• Jack Nicklaus remains the all-time leader with 18 major championships. This record has stood for decades and is generally considered unassailable in the near term. [cite ]
• Tiger Woods is second with 15 majors, a mark achieved during an era of prolific major success before injuries limited his playing time. [cite ]
• Rory McIlroy sits third among the modern era leaders with 5 majors, highlighted by his Masters wins in 2011, 2012, and 2022 plus the 2014 Open and 2022 PGA? (If you’re following the 2025 season, note that narrative may shift as majors are decided annually). [cite ][cite ]
• Other players with multiple majors include Gary Player (9), Ben Hogan (9), Arnold Palmer (7), and Tom Watson (6) among historical greats. [cite ][cite ]

Notes and context

• The four current majors are The Masters, The Open Championship (British Open), the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship. The official majors list has remained relatively stable since the late 20th century, though early 20th-century history includes other events that used to be called majors. [cite ]
• Different outlets sometimes present small variations in totals for early players due to historical counts, but Nicklaus’s 18 and Woods’s 15 are widely cited as the standard figures. [cite ][cite ]

Illustration: A quick snapshot

• Leaderboard snapshot (majors won): Nicklaus 18 | Woods 15 | McIlroy 5 | Player/Hogan 9 | Palmer 7 | Watson 6

If you’d like, I can fetch the latest official tallies from the PGA Tour and major organizers to confirm current year-by-year standings and provide a concise, up-to-date table. This would include the exact breakdown by major and year for the top names. [cite ][cite ]