Ruqayyah Snyder
Australia has produced some of the world's best golfing talent, with players racking up an impressive number of wins over the last few decades. The country has had multiple major winners, including Karrie Webb, Peter Thomson, Jan Stephenson, Greg Norman, and David Graham. Webb is the most successful Australian golfer of all time, with seven major victories. However, Peter Thomson is the only Australian golfer to have won a major three times in a row, with a total of five PGA Tour wins in his career. Other notable Australian golfers include Hannah Green, Ian Baker-Finch, Steve Elkington, Adam Scott, and Greg Norman.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Australian golfer with the most major tournament wins | Karrie Webb (7 wins) |
| Golfer with the second-most major tournament wins | Peter Thomson (5 wins) |
| Golfer with the third-most major tournament wins | Jan Stephenson (3 wins) |
| Other Australian golfers with multiple major tournament wins | Greg Norman, David Graham, Hannah Green, Ian Baker-Finch, Steve Elkington, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Wayne Grady, Kel Nagle, Jim Ferrier |
| Number of Australian golfers who have won a major tournament | 11 men, 4 women |
| Number of Australian golfers who have won multiple major tournaments | 3 men, 1 woman |
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What You'll Learn
Peter Thomson: the most successful Australian golfer
Peter Thomson, born in Brunswick, Melbourne, Australia, was the country's most successful golfer. He won the British Open five times (1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, and 1965) and was the first Australian to do so. Thomson's win in 1965 was particularly notable, as he beat a field of the world's best players, including Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Tony Lema—three of the top four American golfers from the previous year.
Thomson was a prolific tournament champion, winning national championships in ten countries, including the New Zealand Open nine times and the Australian Open three times. He was active on the international golf tour and captured several other open titles. He was also the only man to win the Open Championship tournament for three consecutive years in the 20th century.
Thomson rarely competed on the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) of America Tour. His only PGA win was at the Texas International Open in 1956, and he achieved his best finish in one of the three majors staged in the United States with a fourth-place finish at the U.S. Open in 1956. Thomson preferred the UK/European tour and golf courses, and from 1958 onwards, he travelled from Australia to play his summer season in the UK.
Following his successful playing career, Thomson began designing golf courses with Michael Wolveridge in the 1960s. Over 51 years, he and his business partners developed more than 180 courses in over 30 countries. Thomson was also a golf writer, contributing to The Age of Melbourne for about 50 years from the early 1950s. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988 and was awarded many other honours throughout his career, including being named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1980 and an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2001.
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Karrie Webb: the most successful Australian female golfer
Karrie Webb, born on December 21, 1974, in Ayr, Queensland, is an Australian professional golfer who plays mainly on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and occasionally on the ALPG Tour in Australia. Webb has had a distinguished career, winning 41 LPGA Tour titles, including seven career majors, and being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2005.
Webb's journey to becoming one of the most successful Australian female golfers began at a young age. Encouraged by her family, who were also avid golfers, she started playing with plastic clubs at the age of four and received her first set on her eighth birthday. By her early teens, she was competing against top local male players.
In 1994, Webb turned professional and joined the Women's Professional Golfers' European Tour. The following year, she won the Women's British Open, which was not yet classified as a major. This win, along with her subsequent success on the LPGA Tour, cemented her status as a rising star. In 1997, Webb won three LPGA Tour events, including the Weetabix Women's British Open, and was voted the ESPY Best Female Golfer.
Webb continued her winning streak into the 2000s, claiming her first major championship at the du Maurier Ltd. Classic in 1999 and two more majors in 2000: the Nabisco Championship and the U.S. Women's Open. She successfully defended her U.S. Women's Open title in 2001 and also won the LPGA Championship, becoming the youngest woman to win all four modern-day majors. Webb completed the "Super Slam" in 2002 by winning the Women's British Open, which had become an LPGA major the previous year. This made her the first player in LPGA history to win all five Majors available in her career.
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Hannah Green: the third Australian woman to win a major
Hannah Green, born on December 20, 1996, in Perth, Western Australia, became the third Australian woman to win a major golf tournament. Green turned professional in 2016 and plays on the LPGA and ALPG Tours. She had won three times on the 2017 Futures Tour to earn Player of the Year honours.
In June 2019, Green won her first major (and first LPGA Tour event), the Women's PGA Championship, by one stroke over defending champion Park Sung-hyun. It was the first wire-to-wire win at the Women's PGA Championship since Yani Tseng in 2011 and the first major win by an Australian since Karrie Webb at the 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship. Green's victory was a surprise to many as she was ranked 114th in the world and was previously winless on the LPGA Tour.
Green's triumph at the Women's PGA Championship etched her name in history as only the third Australian woman to win a major, after Webb and Jan Stephenson. She led the tournament from day one and needed to get up and down from the left greenside trap at the par-four 18th to win. Green hit a terrific trap shot from a delicate spot, leaving herself a right-to-left knee-knocker to win it outright. She was immediately congratulated by Webb, a seven-time major champion who had mentored her, and fellow pro Su Oh.
Following her victory at the Women's PGA Championship, Green won her second LPGA Tour event at the Cambia Portland Classic in September 2019. In December 2019, she was awarded the Greg Norman Medal as the best Australian golfer on the world stage. Green's triumph at the Women's PGA Championship marked a significant milestone in her career and solidified her place among Australia's greatest golfers.
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Steve Elkington: the first Australian golfer to pursue the PGA via college
Steve Elkington is an Australian professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions. He was formerly on the PGA Tour and spent more than fifty weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking from 1995 to 1998. Elkington was born in Inverell, New South Wales, and grew up in Wagga Wagga. He moved to the United States to attend college at the University of Houston, where he played on the Cougar golf team that won national titles in 1982, 1984, and 1985.
Elkington was the first prominent Australian to play college golf in the US and turned professional in 1985. He had a total of ten PGA Tour victories, all in the 1990s, and won four events twice. In addition to his PGA Tour success, he won the 1992 Australian Open and 1996 Honda Invitational on the Asian Tour. He was also a participant in the first four editions of the Presidents Cup, on the International Team in 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2000.
Elkington won a major title at the PGA Championship in 1995, beating Colin Montgomerie in a playoff. He is a two-time winner of The Players Championship, with victories in 1991 and 1997. He posted six top-three results in majors, including a four-way playoff loss at the 2002 British Open and a share of second at the 2005 PGA. In 1995, he was awarded the Vardon Trophy, given annually by the PGA of America to the tour player with the lowest scoring average.
Elkington met his wife, Lisa, while at the University of Houston, and they have two children. The family has residences in both Australia and the US, in Sydney and Houston. His son, Sam, played on the golf team at the University of Houston from 2015 to 2020, while his daughter works as a ceramics teacher.
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Ian Baker-Finch: winner of the 1991 British Open
Ian Baker-Finch is an Australian golfer and sports commentator best known for winning the British Open in 1991. Baker-Finch was born in Nambour, Queensland, Australia, in 1960. He grew up in the same neighbourhood as fellow golfers Greg Norman and Wayne Grady.
Baker-Finch turned professional in 1979, inspired by Jack Nicklaus, whose book *Golf My Way* influenced his game. He began his career on the PGA Tour of Australasia, winning his first professional tournament, the New Zealand Open, in 1983. This victory earned him an entry to The Open Championship in 1984, where he took the 36-hole lead but ultimately finished ninth.
Baker-Finch joined the European Tour in 1985, winning the Scandinavian Enterprise Open and finishing in the top 20 on the order of merit for two consecutive years. During this time, he also continued playing in Australasia and occasionally on the Japan Golf Tour. He won his first PGA Tour title at the 1989 Southwestern Bell Colonial, gaining a two-year exemption on the Tour.
Baker-Finch's greatest achievement came in 1991 when he won the British Open at Royal Birkdale, securing his sole major title. He produced a scintillating performance, firing closing rounds of 64 and 66 to finish two shots ahead of fellow Australian Mike Harwood. This victory granted him a 10-year exemption on the U.S. and Australasian tours and an invite to the British Open until he turned 65.
Despite this major win, Baker-Finch was not considered part of the elite group of international golfers. After 1991, he experienced a steep decline in form, losing confidence in his game and tinkering with his swing. He suffered a complete collapse, with psychological factors affecting his performance. Baker-Finch eventually retired from tournament golf, pursuing careers in broadcasting and golf course design and management.
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Frequently asked questions
Karrie Webb is the most successful Australian golfer of all time, with seven major victories.
Peter Thomson is the most successful male Australian golfer, with five major wins. He is the only golfer to have won a major three times in a row.
Other successful Australian golfers include Jan Stephenson (three-time major winner), Greg Norman (two-time major winner), David Graham (two-time major winner), Hannah Green, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Ian Baker-Finch, Wayne Grady, Kel Nagle, and Jim Ferrier.
