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In the late 1990s, golf became more mainstream than the sport had ever been, undoubtedly thanks to the arrival of one Tiger Woods. Attendance and TV ratings for PGA Tour events soared as those who’d never taken much of an interest in the sport changed their tune.

But it’s not as if Tiger was the only great player teeing it up in that era, as the likes of Phil Mickelson, David Duval, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, and plenty of others were racking up victories and becoming more and more popular in their own right.

Now, back then, the top players in the world didn’t get together as often as they do now. It was more often than some might think, but as the TV coverage wasn’t as extensive at that time, some of the only times golf fans were able to see the big names battle it out was during the four major championships.

Enter the World Golf Championships, which were first introduced in 1999 as a means of getting the top golfers in the world on the same course at the same time on a more frequent basis.

The World Golf Championships era started with three events: the WGC Championship, the WGC Match Play, and the WGC Invitational, all of which ran for more than two decades. A team event, the WGC World Cup, was added in 2000 but lost its WGC status in 2006. A fourth individual event, the WGC Champions, was added in 2009.

But after close to a quarter-century, the World Golf Championships era has come to an end as the 2023 edition of the WGC Match Play closed things out. The WGC Champions, which is played in China, is technically still a thing but hasn’t been played since 2019, and there are no plans to resurrect it at this time.

So with that in mind, we thought it might be fun to take a look at who won the most World Golf Championships. But we’re betting you already know the answer.

Who won the most World Golf Championships?

As you probably guessed, Tiger Woods owns the most World Golf Championships victories, and it’s not even close. In 44 starts in individual WGC events over the years, Woods won 18 times. And that doesn’t even include the win with David Duval in the World Cup during his ridiculous 2000 season.

Tiger took eight wins at the WGC Invitational, seven wins at the WGC Championship, and three wins at the WGC Match Play.

Up next on the list is Dustin Johnson, who took six World Golf Championships and is the only player to win all four individual events. Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy, and Rory McIlroy won three, and a group of 11 took two WGC titles each.

Every World Golf Championships winner

World Golf Championships logo
World Golf Championships logo | Stan Badz/PGA Tour

Here’s a quick look at every World Golf Championships winner by year.

YearWGC Match PlayWGC InvitationalWGC ChampionshipWGC World Cup
1999Jeff MaggertTiger WoodsTiger WoodsN/A
2000Darren ClarkeTiger WoodsMike WeirTiger Woods
David Duval
2001Steve StrickerTiger WoodsN/AErnie Els
Retief Goosen
2002Kevin SutherlandCraig ParryTiger WoodsToshimitsu Izawa
Shigeki Maruyama
2003Tiger WoodsDarren ClarkeTiger WoodsTrevor Immelman
Rory Sabbatini
2004Tiger WoodsStewart CinkErnie ElsPaul Casey
Luke Donald
2005David TomsTiger WoodsTiger WoodsStephen Dodd
Bradley Dredge
2006Geoff OgilvyTiger WoodsTiger WoodsBernhard Langer
Marcel Siem
YearWGC Match PlayWGC ChampionshipWGC InvitationalWGC Champions
2007Henrik StensonTiger WoodsTiger WoodsN/A
2008Tiger WoodsGeoff OgilvyVijay SinghN/A
2009Geoff OgilvyPhil MickelsonTiger WoodsPhil Mickelson
2010Ian PoulterErnie ElsHunter MahanFrancesco Molinari
2011Luke DonaldNick WatneyAdam ScottMartin Kaymer
2012Hunter MahanJustin RoseKeegan BradleyIan Poulter
2013Matt KucharTiger WoodsTiger WoodsDustin Johnson
2014Jason DayPatrick ReedRory McIlroyBubba Watson
YearWGC ChampionshipWGC Match PlayWGC InvitationalWGC Champions
2015Dustin JohnsonRory McIlroyShane LowryRussell Knox
2016Adam ScottJason DayDustin JohnsonHideki Matsuyama
2017Dustin JohnsonDustin JohnsonHideki MatsuyamaJustin Rose
2018Phil MickelsonBubba WatsonJustin ThomasXander Schauffele
2019Dustin JohnsonKevin KisnerBrooks KoepkaRory McIlroy
2020Patrick ReedN/AJustin ThomasN/A
2021Collin MorikawaBilly HorschelAbraham AncerN/A
2022N/AScottie SchefflerN/AN/A
2023N/ASam BurnsN/AN/A

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Senior Writer, Programmer

Luke Norris

Luke Norris began his sportswriting career in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2020. The former Section Editor of the NFL and Motorsports sections, he now spends his time here in the role of Senior Writer-Programmer. His well-rounded sports knowledge allows him to cover the NFL, NBA, PGA Tour, MLB, boxing, WWE, and NASCAR for Sportscasting.

Luke is an avid golfer who finds inspiration in the way sports can bring people together and provide a distraction from the real world. He hopes to provide a little entertainment or an escape from the real world with every article he writes, even if only for a few minutes.

In addition to his work here at Sportscasting, Luke’s work has appeared on  The Sportster, Inquisitr, GiveMeSport, FanSided, Yahoo! Fox Sports, and Sports Illustrated.