Who Has Won the Most Majors in Golf? Jack Nicklaus Leads

Jack Nicklaus has won the most men’s golf majors: 18. His total is six Masters, five PGA Championships, four U.S. Opens and three Open Championships. Tiger Woods is second with 15. The count below covers the four modern men’s majors, not senior-tour or amateur majors, and it is separate from the career Grand Slam, the Claret Jug, the Masters green jacket and the longest drive in golf history.

Who leads the men’s major-championship record?

Jack Nicklaus leads with 18 professional major titles.

Rank	Player	Major wins	Masters	PGA	U.S. Open	Open
1	Jack Nicklaus	18	6	5	4	3
2	Tiger Woods	15	5	4	3	3
3	Walter Hagen	11	2	2	2	1
3	Ben Hogan	9	2	2	4	1
3	Gary Player	9	3	2	1	3

The table uses the standard modern major count. Historical comparisons need care because tournament status and fields changed over time.

Why is Nicklaus’s 18 still the benchmark?

Nicklaus combined victories across all four majors and remained a contender for more than two decades.

His six Masters wins are the most in that tournament, while his five PGA Championships show that the record was not built around one event alone. The spread across four championship types is a useful part of the record’s context.

How are major wins counted?

A major win counts once for each recognised edition of the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open or Open Championship.

Senior majors, amateur titles, tour wins and unofficial events are not added to this table. That keeps the answer aligned with the usual “most majors” query rather than mixing career categories.

Do women’s major records use the same list?

No. Women’s professional golf has a separate set of recognised majors and a different historical schedule.

SportsLook keeps the categories separate because combining them would create a misleading total and ignore the different championships that define each side of the game.

Does winning 18 majors also mean winning a career Grand Slam?

No, although Nicklaus did complete the career Grand Slam.

The Grand Slam asks whether a player won all four majors at least once. Major totals ask how many wins a player accumulated. A golfer can win many majors without winning all four.

Frequently asked questions

Who has the most majors?

Jack Nicklaus with 18.

How many did Woods win?

Tiger Woods won 15.

How many Masters did Nicklaus win?

Six.

Do senior majors count?

No. They are a separate record category.

Are women’s majors combined?

No. Women’s majors are tracked separately.

Did Nicklaus complete the Grand Slam?

Yes, in 1966.

Bottom line

Nicklaus’s 18 major titles remain the men’s benchmark, with Woods on 15. The clean comparison requires a fixed definition: four modern men’s majors, one title per edition, and no senior or amateur additions.