Another reason history flourishes in golf is that the major championships return to familiar venues, reviving golden memories of momentous victories and, yes, unforgettable blunders. Yes, golf is a sport steeped in tradition, and many of the most illustrious remembrances revolve around special events, particularly the four major championships. This restrictive number, of course, means excluding many popular favorites, such as Greg Norman, Lee Trevino, Seve Ballesteros, Jimmy Demaret and future stars David Duval and Tiger Woods. His 70 PGA Tour victories are second only to Sam Snead's 81. Perhaps his most remarkable achievement was his span of 24 years between his '62 U.S. Open triumph and his emotional Masters victory in 1986, at 46.
Nobody is even second.
After almost 10 years of obscurity, he found the winning touch and dominated the game. He won nine majors, including four U.S. Opens, and almost always was in contention. From 1940-60, he never was out of the top 10. In addition to his two Masters championships, he was second four times and never finished worse than seventh from 1941-56. A grim, often sour, competitor, he came back from a near-fatal auto accident in 1949 to win six majors.