Unlikely major champions: Men and women who defied the odds to claim golf's biggest trophies
Winning a major championship is one of the biggest goals for any golf player in their professional career. Logically, everyone wants to write their name in majors history at least once, and more than a few have done so against all odds.
Every golf fan knows the super champions who have shone in dozens of majors and taken home multiple titles. But what about the lesser known? Who are those lower-profile players who have also touched glory?
There are dozens of players who have become major champions without even seeing themselves as realistic options before the tournament began. Here are some of the most unlikely and spectacular cases.
5 golfers who defied the odds to become major champions
Since the beginning of the 20th century, there have been a few tournaments in men's golf that have been considered "majors." These have changed over time to the current four: The Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, and The Open.
In women's golf, there are currently five majors (The Chevron, Women's PGA Championship, U.S. Women's Open, Evian Championship and The Women's Open). However, these have also changed in number and name since their inception in 1930.
Let's look at five cases of players who became major champions against all odds.
#1- Hilary Lunke
American Hilary Lunke became a major champion at the 2003 U.S. Women's Open, and everything about her victory was unusual. It was her only major championship and, in fact, her only win on the LPGA Tour, but it goes much further than that.
Lunke qualified for the U.S. Women's Open through local and sectional qualifying, bouncing back from an opening round 80 in the latter. However, the best was yet to come.
Lunke played the best golf of her career and was tied for first place after four rounds with the much higher-ranked Angela Stanford and Kelly Robbins. They had to play an 18-hole play-off, in which Lunke eventually emerged victorious.
Hillary Lunke was the first player to win this major from the local qualifier. Her next best finish in a major was a T37 at the 2003 Women's PGA Championship.
#2- Jeff Sluman
Jeff Sluman's development in professional golf was atypical, so much so that his first victory came at the age of 30. Although it seemed he had reached the pinnacle of his career, he would go on to win five more tournaments.
Sluman had been a consistent performer on the PGA Tour for five seasons, but based on his results, no one thought of him as a major champion at the 1988 PGA Championship.
It looked like Paul Azinger was going to win his first major, as he was second after the first round and the leader after 36 and 54 holes. However, Sluman shot a fourth-round 65 to come back from a three-stroke deficit and take the title.
Interestingly, Azinger and Sluman were teammates at Florida State University. Sluman would also have to wait nine years to win his second PGA Tour title.
#3- Jerilyn Britz
Jerilyn Britz's case is the perfect example of how consistency and talent can always lead to success. Britz spent the best years of her youth without even considering a career in professional golf. She worked as a high school teacher for five years and as a college tutor for another three.
Jerilyn Britz had been playing recreational golf since the age of 17. The legend surrounding her career is that she was hitting a few balls on a driving range one fine day when she was "discovered" by a teaching pro named Joanne Winter, who offered to help develop her game and find a sponsor.
In 1974, at the age of 31, Britz became a professional golfer. That same year, she earned a spot on the LPGA Tour. Five years later, she became a major champion by winning the 1979 U.S. Women's Open in emphatic fashion. It was the first of her two victories in a 26-year LPGA Tour career.
#4 - Rich Beem
When Rich Beem became a major champion by winning the 2002 PGA Championship, he made headlines not only for the magnitude of the result but also for how he achieved it. Beem withstood a challenge from none other than Tiger Woods.
Woods, at the height of his fame, had won the previous two majors of the season. Entering the fourth round, Beem was three shots off the lead and two shots ahead of Woods.
Woods made four birdies in his last four holes to finish with a 67. However, Beem held his own and shot a 68, just enough to beat the legend by one stroke.
It was Rich Beem's third victory on the PGA Tour. He would never win at this level again.
#5 - Sofia Popov
Sofia Popov's is a much more recent case, but perhaps the most impressive of all because of the unexpected.
Popov became a major champion at the 2020 Women's British Open. At the time, she was ranked 304th in the Rolex Rankings, making her the lowest-ranked female golfer to ever win a major.
In addition, the German was still splitting her time between the Epson Tour (now the Symetra Tour) and the LPGA Tour, of which she was not yet a member. In fact, Popov had been on the verge of quitting the professional sport the previous year.
This was Sophia Popov's fourth professional victory. Popov had previously won three tournaments on the Cactus Tour, a local circuit in Arizona. She did not win again at any level after her major victory and has been on medical leave since 2022.