How Many Golfers Have Won the Same PGA Tour Event 3 Years in a Row?
Winning on the PGA Tour is hard, even if some guys might not make it look that way on occasion. Tiger Woods‘ ridiculous run in 2000-2001, which included his famous “Tiger Slam,” certainly comes to mind.
But even as great as Tiger was in his prime, he obviously didn’t win every week. Sure, he’s got the highest winning percentage in PGA Tour history among golfers with at least 200 starts. But think about this.
When Woods earned his 82nd victory, tying Sam Snead atop the all-time wins list, it was his 359th start, giving him a 22.8% winning percentage. The only other option in the golf GOAT conversation, 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus, had a winning percentage of just over 12%.
Now, in any other sport, winning percentages like those are atrocious. On the PGA Tour, however, they’re incredible. And, again, it just goes to show how difficult it is for even those at the top of the start to win.
And that also brings us to the topic we’re here to discuss. As we’ve proven, winning even one golf tournament is hard. So winning the same tournament two years in a row is obviously even harder. And winning that same tournament three years in a row is certainly rare.
And just how rare is it? Since the end of World War II, only nine players have achieved the feat. And who are those nine? Let’s take a look.
How many PGA Tour players have won the same tournament three years in a row?
Now, we should clarify that while nine players have won the same PGA Tour event at least three years in a row since the end of World War II, the feat has been accomplished 15 times, as Tiger Woods did it six times and Arnold Palmer did it twice.
We should also clarify that in two instances in which Tiger did it, he added a fourth victory. Ridiculous, right? Here’s a look at the complete list.
| Player | Tournament | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Gene Littler | Tournament of Champions | 1955-1957 |
| Billy Casper | Portland Open | 1959-1961 |
| Arnold Palmer | Texas Open | 1960-1962 |
| Arnold Palmer | Phoenix Open | 1961-1963 |
| Jack Nicklaus | Disney World Golf Classic | 1971-1973 |
| Johnny Miller | Tucson Open | 1974-1976 |
| Tom Watson | AT&T Byron Nelson | 1978-1980 |
| Tiger Woods | Memorial Tournament | 1999-2001 |
| Tiger Woods | WGC-Bridgestone Invitational | 1999-2001 |
| Tiger Woods | Arnold Palmer Invitational | 2000-2003 |
| Stuart Appleby | Sentry Tournament of Champions | 2004-2006 |
| Tiger Woods | Farmers Insurance Open | 2005-2008 |
| Tiger Woods | WGC-Bridgestone Invitational | 2005-2007 |
| Tiger Woods | WGC-Cadillac Championship | 2005-2007 |
| Steve Stricker | John Deere Classic | 2009-2011 |
Of the nine PGA Tour players on this list, only Stuart Appleby and Steve Stricker, the only two players not named Tiger Woods to accomplish the feat in the last four decades, are not members of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
