Masters 2026: How long has it been since notable major winners claimed their most recent one?

AUGUSTA, Ga. — When Rory McIlroy won the 2025 Masters, he didn’t just claim the career Grand Slam. He also snapped an ugly major winless streak that stretched all the way back to the PGA Championship in 2014. That’s 10 major seasons, 39 in total (remember, there was no 2020 Open Championship) that McIlroy showed up as one of the favorites, then left empty-handed.

McIlroy’s streak was a long, cruel one, but certainly not the longest among today’s top challengers. For as much as many of today’s stars have won, their most recent majors are surprisingly far in the distance. (You can blame Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka for a lot of that.) With only four opportunities a year to win, it’s easy to let the months between wins become years, and the years become decades. So let’s see who’s been waiting the longest to snap their own dubious streak …

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Scottie Scheffler

Last major won: 2025 Open Championship

Majors held since then: 0. He’s the most recent major winner, and owns two of the last three.

Prospects: Very good. Scheffler is going for his own career Grand Slam later this year at the U.S. Open; a third green jacket would be a nice prelude.

Rory McIlroy

Last major won: 2025 Masters

Majors held since then: 3

Prospects: Back-to-back at Augusta? Perhaps. But McIlroy could throw his clubs in Rae’s Creek and his career would be secure.

Xander Schauffele

Last major won: 2024 Open Championship

Majors held since then: 4

Prospects: A reasonable bet for this week; he needs to recapture his two-majors-in-2024 form.

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Bryson DeChambeau

Last major won: 2024 U.S. Open

Majors held since then: 5

Prospects: Was in the memorable final pairing last year at Augusta; can he close the deal this year?

Jon Rahm

Last major won: 2023 Masters

Majors held since then: 11

Prospects: Since Rahm left for LIV, it’s tougher to get a handle on his competitive gears, but he does have three top-10s in his last five majors.

Brooks Koepka

Last major won: 2023 PGA Championship

Majors held since then: 10

Prospects: He was a bad shot or two from winning the 2019 Masters, which would have been the most unpopular victory in golf history. (Tiger Woods won.) He’s at his best in majors.

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Justin Thomas

Last major won: 2022 PGA Championship

Majors held since then: 14

Prospects: Coming back from injury, and he’s struggled of late at Augusta, missing two of the last three cuts.

Collin Morikawa

Last major won: 2021 Open Championship

Majors held since then: 16

Prospects: Morikawa has been chasing the high of 2020-21, when he won two majors in quick succession. An injury ended his Players Championship early, but he’s still in strong form.

Dustin Johnson

Last major won: 2020 Masters

Majors held since then: 20 (The 2020 Masters was held in November)

Prospects: Probably not happening for DJ.

Jordan Spieth

Last major won: 2017 Open Championship

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Majors held since then: 31

Prospects: Spieth has spent nearly 10 years needing only the PGA Championship to complete his own career Grand Slam. But he’s farther away now than McIlroy ever was.

Justin Rose

Last major won: 2013 U.S. Open

Majors held since then: 49

Prospects: Rose is the only single-major winner on this list, because he’s the hardest-luck major player of the 21st century. Rose has lost two majors in a playoff (Sergio Garcia in 2017 Masters, McIlroy last year) and placed in the top 2 in two of the last five majors. A Rose win would be both a sentimental and statistical landmark.

There are a whole lot of other one-major winners — like Cam Smith (2022 Open Championship), Hideki Matsuyama (2021 Masters), Shane Lowry (2019 Open Championship), Patrick Reed (2018 Masters) and Jason Day (2015 PGA Championship) — who could make a run this week, or this year. But if they can’t get it done, and obviously not all of them will, that calendar gets long fast.