The Nine Most Surprising Winners in Masters History

The Masters is one of the most prestigious events on the PGA Tour. Jack Nicklaus, with six wins, and Tiger Woods, with five wins, are among the legendary players who dominated the sport for years after their success at The Masters.

However, a handful of past Masters champions have won the green jacket with career-defining performances. Many of these golfers struggled to replicate their once-in-a-lifetime performances at Augusta National. With the 2026 event taking place April 9-12, we’re going to take a look back at the nine most unexpected Masters champions. 

In putting together this list, we considered several factors, including whether the player had a modest career, failed to win another major, and didn’t follow the same career trajectory as other notable Masters champions. We’re talking about PGA golfers who many likely have forgotten about. Happy Gilmore doesn’t count, being that he won a gold jacket. 

Wondering who made the list? Keep reading to learn more about nine former Masters champions who ended having modest careers on the PGA Tour compared to current World Golf Ranking leaders Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.

Nine Most Unexpected Masters Winners

Danny Willett - 2016 Masters Champion

Danny Willett turned pro in 2008 and, to this day, has only one PGA Tour win. That would be the 2016 Masters when the Englishman won with a 5-under par to top fellow countryman Lee Westwood and American Jordan Spieth by three strokes. Willett has not been in the conversation for another major championship since. 

Willett achieved the highest Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) of his career (9th) after winning The Masters. He is currently ranked 382nd. Willett will be making his 12th appearance next month and has extremely long odds of winning again.

Trevor Immelmen - 2008 Masters Champion

Trevor Immelman holds two PGA Tour victories, one of which predated his 2008 Masters victory, in which he finished an impressive 8-under par, three strokes ahead of Woods. The South African finished 16th in the FedEx Cup standings that year. The lowest round of his career was at the 2011 McGladrey Classic (62), where he finished fifth.

Unfortunately, after showing great promise, Immelman, who was 27 when he won the Masters, had his career cut short by injuries. His best OWGR was 12th. Immelman never really seriously contended for another major title. He now serves as the lead golf analyst for CBS Sports. In 2025, he replaced Peter Dawson as OWGR chairman.

Charl Schwartzel - 2011 Masters Champion 

Since turning pro in 2002, Charl Schwartzel has won a total of two PGA Tour events. One came at the 2015-16 Valspar Championship. However, his 2011 Masters win is by far the biggest of his career. At the 75th Masters, the South African closed out his final round strong with birdies on holes 15, 16, 17, and 18.

He finished third at the 2017 Masters and 10th in 2022, with the latter a fluky year as he missed the cut in 7 of 15 events. His 92 career top-25 finishes are spread over 24 years. The year after winning the green jacket, Schwartzel tied for 50th at The Masters.     

Larry Mize - 1987 Masters Champion 

Larry Mize turned pro nearly five decades ago, and his one-and-only victory came at the 1987 Masters. His opening odds were +3000. Two playoff holes were needed to decide that year’s winner. Mize had a chip shot for birdie on the second playoff hole to clinch his victory over Greg Norman.  The American, who was born in Augusta, is no longer active on the PGA Tour.

The 2023 tournament was his final appearance, and Mize missed the cut that year. Mize has placed in the top 10 just twice at The Masters since 1987. Regarding the other majors, he tied for fourth at the 1987 U.S. Open.   

Mike Weir - 2003 Masters Champion

Canadian Mike Weir enjoyed a career year in 2003 with three Tour wins, the biggest of which was, of course, The Masters. He opened as a 30-1 longshot. The victory was decided in a playoff against Len Mattiace. In the process, Weir became Canada’s first male major champion. His other wins that year came at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and Nissan Open. 

Out of the 21 events Weir competed in that year, he had 16 top-25 finishes. He hasn’t won a PGA Tour event since 2007. Five of Weir’s eight career wins came prior to taking home the green jacket.  

Mark O’Meara - 1998 Masters Champion

When Mark O’Meara looks back at his time playing on the PGA Tour, 1998 definitely stands out as a career year. It doesn’t get much better than winning both The Masters and the Open Championship. They also happen to be the last two times the now 69-year-old won on the PGA Tour. 

The Masters victory ended up being a thrilling finish as O’Meara birdied the last two holes and defeated Fred Couples and David Duval by 1 stroke. It only took him until age 41 to finally win a green jacket.  

Sandy Lyle - 1988 Masters Champion 

Scotland’s Sandy Lyle is another golfer whose Masters victory highlighted the best year of his career. He picked up three Tour wins in 1988 and has not won another PGA event since. Lyle birdied the 18th hole at Augusta for the lone Masters victory of his career. He won by one shot over Mark Calcavecchia.

Lyle is one of those players who enjoyed a few very good years, as his 1985 Open Championship win predated that thrilling Masters finish. Lyle, now 68,  made his final Masters appearance in 2023. He ended having just one top-25 finish at the Masters following the 1998 event.   

Craig Stadler - 1982 Masters Champion

American golfer Craig Stadler can look back and say 1982 was a very good year. Besides winning the green jacket at Augusta, he also finished first that year at the World Series of Golf and the Kemper Open, and Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open. The Masters win, in particular, ended up being extra special as Stadler played in the tournament with his son Kevin. It was a historic moment as they became the first father-son duo to play together in the same Masters. 

Craig Stadler shot a 3-over 75 in the first round and still managed to defeat Dan Pohl in a one-hole playoff. It ended up being the only major title of Stadler’s career.

Zach Johnson - 2007 Masters Champion  

Zach Johnson entered the 2007 Masters tournament as a contender nobody saw coming, opening at 125-1 to win. All he did was defeat Tiger Woods, Rory Sabbatini, and Retief Goosen by two strokes. His final score was 1-over-par 289. 

Up until last year’s T-8 performance at Augusta National, Johnson showed glimpses of promise over the years that included winning the 2015 Open Championship, which also happens to be his most recent Tour win. Johnson has missed the cut at The Masters seven times in the years following his win.