Winning a golf major with a score over par seems like it should be impossible, but it happens more often than you'd think. While we are accustomed to seeing champions shoot double-digits under par, the toughest tests in golf have produced winners with black numbers next to their names. This article will break down the highest scores to ever win a major championship and, more importantly, distill the powerful lessons every amateur golfer can learn from these gritty victories.
When a major championship course is set up at its most punishing and Mother Nature decides to join the party, par becomes more of a suggestion than a standard. The goal for the best players in the world shifts from making birdies to simply surviving. Here’s a look at some of the highest winning totals in the history of the men's majors.
The highest score to win a major in relation to par is a staggering 9-over-par. This has happened a few times in golf’s long history, most notably by:
While these are the record-holders, several other memorably high scores have sealed a major victory.
Beyond Daly's win, The Open is famous for chaotic, windy finishes. The most famous modern example is the 1999 Open at Carnoustie, which was so difficult it earned the nickname "Car-nasty." While Paul Lawrie eventually won in a playoff, he started the final round 10 shots back. The leaders at the beginning of the day crumbled under pressure and fierce winds, with the 72-hole lead ultimately being posted at 6-over-par, leading to the infamous collapse of Jean van de velde and a three-way playoff.
The U.S. Open is deliberately organized to be the hardest exam in golf. Par is always a great score.
Augusta National and the various PGA Championship venues tend to yield lower scores, but they aren't immune to tough conditions. The highest winning score at The Masters is 1-over-par (289), which has happened three times:
For Johnson’s win, cold and windy weather made Augusta National play incredibly long and difficult. Similarly, the highest winning score at the PGA Championship is 1-over-par, accomplished by both Julius Boros in 1968 and Larry Nelson in 1987.
The takeaway is clear: winning a major isn't always about going low. Sometimes, it’s about hanging on when everyone else is falling apart.
Shooting over par might be normal for us, but for a touring pro, it’s a different story. These scores are a testament to the brutal difficulty layered into a major championship week.
The bodies that run the majors (Augusta National, the USGA, the R&A, and the PGA of America) deliberately push the courses to their absolute limit. They want to identify the best player, and they do it by intensifying every aspect of the golf course.
Wind is the great equalizer in golf, and it’s often a main character at major championships, especially The Open. A strong, gusting wind can wreak havoc on club selection, shot trajectory, and putting. Add in rain or cold, and the course becomes even longer and the task of just holding onto the club becomes a challenge.
This is the invisible hazard. The stress of playing for a place in history is immense. Every shot carries more weight, and a bad swing can lead to compounding mistakes. Even pros, who are masters of mental control, can start guiding the club or making indecisive swings under pressure, leading to the kind of big numbers you’d normally see at your local club.
The fact that the world's best can win majors with over-par scores is filled with fantastic lessons for us regular golfers. This is where you can take inspiration from the pros and apply it directly to your own game. Here's a "golf coach" breakdown.
When Hale Irwin won at +7, he wasn’t playing flawless golf. He was grinding. He was fighting for every par and minimizing mistakes. The lesson is that golf isn’t about perfection, it’s about management.
Your Actionable takeaway: Adopt a "damage control" mentality. When you hit a bad shot, your goal is to prevent a double or triple bogey. Forget what happened, assess your new situation, and hit the smartest shot - not the hero shot - that gets you back in play. Remind yourself that a bogey is never a disaster.
In tough conditions, nobody hits all 18 greens. Champions who win with high scores are almost always magicians around the greens. They have an uncanny ability to "get up and down" from impossible places.
Your Actionable Takeaway: Dedicate more practice time to scrambling. Don't just chip from perfect lies on the practice green. Toss balls in the rough, on sidehill lies, or short-side yourself. Create scramble drills: throw nine balls around a green, and see how many you can get up and down. This builds the confidence and skill to save pars when your swing isn’t cooperating.
When Zach Johnson won the 2007 Masters at +1, he famously never went for a single par-5 in two. Not once. He meticulously laid up to his favorite wedge distance and trusted his short game. He played his game and refused to take unnecessary risks.
Your Actionable takeaway: Identify the "sucker pins" and ignore them. Aim for the center of the green. The goal is to give yourself a putt for birdie or a simple two-putt for par. On a tough tee shot, consider trading the driver for a 3-wood or hybrid to guarantee you find the fairway. Smart course management saves more strokes than a perfect swing ever will.
The pros who win ugly know that everyone is struggling. They don’t panic when they make a bogey because they know birdies are scarce and pars are valuable. They stay patient, understanding that their competitors are just as likely to make mistakes on a difficult course.
Your Actionable takeaway: Next time you’re playing on a windy day or a tough course and you start getting frustrated, stop. Take a breath and look around. The conditions are the same for everyone. Adjust your expectations. Celebrate a par like it’s a birdie, and don’t let one bad hole ruin the next. The mentally toughest golfer - not always the best ball-striker - often posts the best score on a hard day.
The highest winning scores in major history remind us that resilience, strategy, and mental fortitude are just as important as a beautiful swing. These champions won not because they were perfect, but because they managed their games better than anyone else when the conditions were at their worst.
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