Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports
The 2024 PGA major championship season is complete in men’s professional golf.
Players competed at the highest level across the four major championships: the Masters, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open and the Open Championship.
In the end, three players hoisted the four major trophies. Scottie Scheffler won the Masters and put on the green jacket, Bryson DeChambeau won the U.S. Open and Xander Schauffele won both the PGA Championship and the Open Championship. This marked the first time since 1982 that every major champion in a single year were won by Americans.
Every golfer has dreams of hoisting a major championship trophy or even being one of five players in men’s professional golf history to win all four major championships. Some dreams are able to become reality, while others have to wait another year.
Here are 10 winners and losers from the four major championships.
Xander Schauffele had the best major championship season across all four majors. In addition to his two wins, he finished seventh at the U.S. Open and eighth at the Masters. Before the PGA Championship, Schauffele did not have a major win. Now he’s got two, on top of being the reinging Olympic Golf Medalist. He was also one of the best players without a major championship trophy. Three months later, he became the first player since Brooks Koepka in 2018 to win multiple majors in the same year. In addition, Schauffele became the first player since Jordan Spieth in 2015 to win his first two majors in the same calendar year.
Also read: 10 winners and losers from the 2024 Open Championship as Xander Schauffele hoisted the Claret Jug
Anytime a player can win a major it is special. For Scottie Scheffler, he collected his second Masters title in three years back in April. He joined Tiger Woods as the only two players ranked World No. 1 to win two green jackets. As Scheffler was competing for the green jacket as well as the Wanamaker trophy, it was a wild stretch. He and his wife, Meredith, were in the midst of expecting their first child. In addition, Scheffler was arrested on four counts before the second round of the PGA Championship. The charges were later dropped and was still able to finish inside the top 10. He added another top 10 at the Open before his worst finish this season, a T41 at the U.S. Open.
Also read: 2024 Masters: the 10 biggest winners and losers, including Scottie Scheffler
It was not the major year for Jon Rahm, the two-time major champion. Rahm, who left the PGA Tour for LIV golf in December, began with a T45 at the Masters. He then missed the cut at the PGA Championship. That was followed by a withdrawal at the U.S. Open due to a toe infection. Rahm was able to salvage his 2024 major resume with a T7 at the Open Championship, which was fueled by a strong finish.
Also read: Where Jon Rahm’s 2023 Masters win stands among the list of past champions
On the flip side for a LIV Golf player, Bryson DeChambeau is a winner, primarily for winning the U.S. Open. Winning at Pinehurst No. 2 is not an easy task as DeChambeau needed a long bunker shot on the 72nd hole to be victorious. As a result, DeChambeau celebrated with the gallery by letting them touch the U.S. Open trophy. That was because of how much he heard them throughout the tournament. DeChambeau also finished sixth at the Masters and was one stroke short at the PGA Championship.
Related: The 10 biggest and winners from the 2024 U.S. Open, including Bryson DeChambeau
Wyndham Clark has had a good year, except in major championships. Clark has three missed cuts and a T56 at the U.S. Open. It was not the major season that Clark had hoped for after winning the U.S. Open in 2023. In addition, he won at a U.S. Open course at Pebble Beach and was a runner-up at the Players Championship one month before the Masters. That success was unable to translate to the four majors.
Prior to the Open Championship, Sungjae Im was having a good season, except in major championships. After the Masters, he had a span of four top 10s in six starts, not including the major tournaments. Im showed how difficult the major championships courses were. He went 7-over at the Masters, 3-over at Valhalla Golf Club for the PGA Championship and 10-over at Pinehurst No. 2 in the U.S. Open. This came before he was able to put it together with his seventh-place finish at the Open.
Also read: Golfers with the most major wins all time: how Tiger and Phil compare to previous generations
Collin Morikawa had the best resume without a win. Morikawa and Schauffele were the only two players to finish top-20 or better at all four majors in 2024. He was in the final group with Schauffele at the PGA Championship and also contended at the Masters. During the U.S. Open and the Open Championship, Morikawa played well, but not quite enough to be in contention. It was definitely a year to build off heading into 2025.
Rory McIlroy did not live up to his expectations this major season with just one top 10 across four major championships. Furthermore, in his start at the U.S. Open, he had the opportunity to win but blew it. He missed two putts inside five feet on the back nine in the final round. It would have been McIlroy’s first major title in 10 years. Since the 2015 major season, McIlroy has 19 top 10s, 11 top 5s and four runner-up finishes. He has been one of those players that have come so close, but not enough to be in the winner’s circle.
Also read: List of U.S. Open winners: Every champion since 1895, including Rory McIlroy
Russell Henley had his best major season of his career. This year marked the first time that Henley finished inside the top 40 in all four majors. Furthermore, he was getting higher and higher up the leaderboards as all four majors progressed. That was concluded by his best finishes at the U.S. Open and the Open Championship, respectively. Henley had two separate finishing round scores of 66-69 at the PGA Championship and the Open Championship to end on a high note at both events.
Also read: How Russell Henley earned one of 27 exemptions in the Open Championship
Shane Lowry had a solid 2024 major season, which was capped off by two sixth place finishes at the PGA Championship and the Open Championship. This was the second time, and first since 2021, Lowry made the cut in all four majors in a single year. Like 2024, his worst finish was a T43 at the 2021 U.S. Open. Lowry, who won the 2019 Open Championship, had the 36-hole lead at the Open before struggling the rest of the way due to the conditions.
Also read: How Shane Lowry earned of 23 exemptions into the 2024 U.S. Open