With just one first-time major championship winner this year (Xander Schauffele at the PGA Championship, before he went on to also claim The Open) and a repeat champion at the Masters (Scottie Scheffler) and U.S. Open (Bryson DeChambeau), it’s worth wondering whether another first-time champ could sneak in to take home the Green Jacket next April.
While The Masters is still relatively far off, it's worth wondering which of golf’s up-and-coming stars that have yet to finish atop the leaderboard at a major will do so next, with a star-studded cast that includes players like Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, and Patrick Cantlay all looking for that career-defining victory.
Utilizing North Carolina DraftKings Sportsbook, we utilized odds to win the next major championship (The 2025 Masters) as our deciding factor of who the best golfers are that don’t have a major championship on their resume.
⛳️ More: How To Bet On Golf In NC
Best Golfers Never To Win A Major: Odds Based On 2024 U.S. Open*
The information below may be something you want to consider as you wager on these great golfers using North Carolina sports betting apps.
Golfer | Odds (2025 Masters) | Best Finish At A Major** |
Ludvig Aberg | +1400 | 2 (2024 Masters) |
Viktor Hovland | +2000 | T2 (2023 PGA Championship) |
Will Zalatoris | +2800 | T-2 (2022 US Open) |
Max Homa | +2800 | T-3 (2024 Masters) |
Tommy Fleetwood | +3000 | 2 (2019 Open Championship) |
Patrick Cantlay | +3000 | T3 (2024 US Open) |
Joaquin Niemann | +3000 | T-16 (2023 Masters) |
Cameron Young | +3000 | 2 (2022 Open Championship) |
Tony Finau | +4000 | T-3 (2024 US Open) |
Tyrell Hatton | +5000 | T-5 (2016 Open Championship) |
*Will be updated after each major championship
**Latest best finish if finished at same position multiple times
Which Golfers Will Break Through in a Major Next?
Based on the odds from DraftKings North Carolina Sportsbook on next year's Masters, it seems like oddsmakers are counting on Aberg and Hovland to be the frontrunners to break the ice next.
That’s because the Swede is listed at +1400 to win the Masters (he finished second to Scheffler this past year), while the Norwegian is No. 2 at +2000 and Americans Will Zalatoris and Max Homa are listed third at +2800, ahead of Patrick Cantlay and Tommy Fleetwood, who are both listed at +3000.
Throw in LIV players Joaquin Niemann (also +3000) and Tyrell Hatton (+5000), and the duo of Cameron Young (+3000) and Tony Finau (+4000) you have the full rundown on which players oddsmakers from DraftKings Sportsbook North Carolina see as legit contenders at next year's first major.
Of the group, Hovland, Aberg, Zalatoris, Fleetwood and Young all have runner-up finishes to their name at majors, doing so at the 2023 PGA Championship (Hovland), the 2024 Masters (Aberg), the 2022 U.S. Open (Zalatoris), the 2019 Open Championship (Fleetwood) and the 2022 Open Championship (Young).
Whether any of those pros can break at Augusta National through the way that Schauffele did at the PGA Championship in May remains to be seen, though oddsmakers from one of the nation’s premier sportsbooks are giving the cadre of young stars a fighting chance on the hallowed grounds outside of Georgia.
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Author
Christopher Boan is a lead writer at BetCarolina.com specializing in covering state issues. He has covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.