Most Wins In a Single Season on the PGA Tour
We'll answer those questions, too, in this article, with the list of all golfers who've won eight or more tournaments in a single PGA Tour season.
Double-digit wins (10 or more) is something that has happened only four times in PGA Tour history. Sixteen times in tour history has a golfer won eight or more tournaments in one season. (Related: PGA Tour wins leaders by year)
The List: Golfers With Most Single-Season PGA Tour Wins
18 Wins: Byron Nelson, 1945
One of the most-famous records in golf, and one of the most unbreakable records in golf — Byron Nelson won 18 times on the PGA Tour in 1945, including 11 consecutively. He entered 30 tournaments total, and he had seven runner-up finishes in addition to all those wins. There was only one major played that year, the 1945 PGA Championship, and Nelson won it.This year does come with a caveat: It was a war year, and many PGA Tour golfers, both stars and rank-and-file, missed all or part of the season serving in the military. Nelson's biggest rivals, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, were around long enough to log 11 wins between them, however.
13 Wins: Ben Hogan, 1946
One year after Nelson's record-setting efforts, Ben Hogan won 13 times in 1946. Those victories included Hogan's first win in a major at the 1946 PGA Championship.
11 Wins: Sam Snead, 1950
All of the double-digit win seasons in PGA Tour history were recorded by the "Big 3" of their era, Nelson, Hogan and Snead. In 1950, Snead notched 11 victories. None of those wins were in majors, however. And although Snead led the tour in earnings, he lost out to Hogan (who had one win, the U.S. Open, returning from his near-fatal car crash) in an obviously sentimental vote for the Player of the Year Award.
10 Wins: Ben Hogan, 1948
Hogan is the only golfer in PGA Tour history to post 10 or more wins in two different seasons. Two years after his 13-victory season, he won 10 times in 1948. Those included two majors, the 1948 PGA Championship and 1948 U.S. Open.The four years above are the only double-digit-win seasons in PGA Tour history. Following are all the 9- and 8-win seasons.
9 Wins: Three Times
- Paul Runyan, 1933
- Tiger Woods, 2000
- Vijay Singh, 2004
Woods won three-fourths of his Tiger Slam (the U.S. and British opens plus the PGA Championship) in 2000. In 2004, Singh's wins included the PGA Championship.
8 Wins: Nine Times
- Horton Smith, 1929
- Gene Sarazen, 1930
- Sam Snead, 1938
- Byron Nelson, 1944
- Arnold Palmer, 1960
- Arnold Palmer, 1962
- Johnny Miller, 1974
- Tiger Woods, 1999
- Tiger Woods, 2006
In 1960, Palmer won The Masters and the U.S. Open; in 1962, he won The Masters and British Open. Woods won the 1999 PGA Championship and, in 2006, the British Open and PGA Championship.
Nelson's eight wins in 1944 combined with his 18 in 1945 produced 26 wins in back-to-back years, which is the PGA Tour record for consecutive seasons. Nelson also holds the record for three years running: Adding his six wins in 1946, he won 32 times in the three years from 1944-46.
Notice anyone missing from the list above? Jack Nicklaus. Nicklaus never won more than seven times in a single season, a number he hit twice (1972 and 1973).
