"No Win Again This Year... Things Just Aren't Working Out"

Hyejin Choi, 33 Career Top-10 Finishes Without a Win

Byung-Hun An, Second in Career Earnings Without a Victory

Westwood, Major Title Eludes the English Star

There are golfers with world-class skills who find it difficult to clinch a victory. Despite being named as favorites to win at every tournament and earning hundreds of billions of won in prize money, they have yet to overcome the final hurdle and remain 'champions without a title.'

According to the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour on September 4, world No. 23 Hyejin Choi made her debut on the LPGA Tour in 2022 but has not yet secured her first win. She has finished in the top 10 a total of 33 times and has been a runner-up on four occasions, but each time, she fell short at the final stage.

Hyejin Choi entered the LPGA Tour in 2022 but has yet to secure a victory. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Hyejin Choi was called a 'golf prodigy' since her amateur days. She was considered as the next big thing following Hyo Joo Kim, who has earned nine career wins on the LPGA Tour. Both players grew up under the sponsorship of Lotte.

Choi made her name known internationally by finishing as runner-up at the U.S. Women’s Open, a major, in 2017 as an amateur. After competing for the win against elite players, there were widespread expectations among local observers that she would soon advance to the American stage.

On the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, Choi has achieved a total of 11 victories, including two as an amateur. She won the Player of the Year award for three consecutive years from 2018 to 2020, and in 2019 alone, she claimed five victories in a single season.

In December 2021, Choi finished tied for eighth in the LPGA Tour Qualifying (Q) Series and advanced to the regular tour the following year. There were high expectations that she would win quickly, but she could not seize her chances at crucial moments. She finished second in the Rookie of the Year race in her debut season, just behind Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand.

This year, Choi has continued to compete for titles. She finished tied for third at the Mizuho Americas Open in May and was runner-up at the Dow Championship in June. Several times, she entered the final round in contention, but could not close it out on the last day.

An Byeonghwoon ranks 2nd all-time in career earnings among players without a win on the PGA Tour. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

Byung-Hun An is also known as a 'strong contender without a title' on the PGA Tour. Known as the son of table tennis stars Jae-Hyung An and Zhao Zhimin, he first distinguished himself on the European stage. He claimed two European victories, including winning the flagship tournament of the DP World Tour, the 2015 BMW PGA Championship.

Since joining the PGA Tour in the 2016-2017 season, An has played in 229 tournaments, achieving five runner-up and five third-place finishes, as well as 30 top-10s overall. Although he has consistently delivered strong performances each year, he has not managed to raise the winner’s trophy. Until moving to LIV Golf this year, he was one of Korea’s leading male golfers.

Byung-Hun An has earned a total of $21,535,424 (approximately KRW 29.26 billion) in career earnings on the PGA Tour. He ranks 121st all-time in earnings and was the highest-earning player without a PGA Tour win until last year.

This year, Denny McCarthy of the United States surpassed An, accumulating $23,003,629 (about KRW 31.26 billion) in total PGA Tour earnings. McCarthy currently sits at 107th in career earnings among all players and leads all players without a PGA Tour win. Since transferring to LIV Golf, An has added $3,057,381 to his earnings this year.

Lee Westwood has accumulated a total of 44 professional wins but does not have a major championship trophy. Photo by AP Yonhap News

England’s Lee Westwood has earned the nickname 'the king without a crown' due to his lack of a major championship victory. A world-class golfer, Westwood boasts 44 professional wins, including 25 DP World Tour victories and 2 PGA Tour wins. He has been named DP World Tour Player of the Year four times and has finished as the tour’s leading money winner three times. However, he never managed to win a major title. He was runner-up at The Open in 2010 and at the Masters in both 2010 and 2016. He finished third at the PGA Championship in 2009 and at the U.S. Open in both 2008 and 2022.

Westwood joined LIV Golf in 2022. As he currently does not have a PGA Tour card, his opportunities to compete for a major victory in the future will be even more limited.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.