The United States Golf Association, also known as the USGA, is one of two governing bodies that help maintain a single code for the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status, Equipment Standards, and World Amateur Golf Rankings. This ensures fair play for all amateur and professional golfers around the world.
The USGA was formed in 1894 and is the governing body for golf in the United States and Mexico – as opposed to the R&A, which was formed in 1754 (became a separate entity in 2004) and is the governing body for golf in the rest of the world. Golf wouldn’t be the same today if it weren’t for the USGA and R&A.
And since there’s often a lot of confusion around the way golf works, the USGA and R&A are separate entities from the PGA Tour. While the USGA oversees the PGA Tour, it’s important to remember that the USGA is the governing body, while the PGA Tour is simply a tour (or league) in which golfers compete.
Golfers With the Most USGA Championship Wins
Aside from being the governing body for golf in the U.S. and Mexico, the USGA conducts a total of 14 national championships every year – including the U.S. Open and Women’s U.S. Open (both are major championships) and the U.S. Senior Open and U.S. Senior Women’s Open (both are for senior golfers).
The other 10 USGA championships are geared toward amateur golfers, including eight individual amateur championships – the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Girls’ Junior, U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Senior Amateur, U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur, and the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.
The final two amateur championships are team events – the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball and the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. There are a variety of other tournaments and competitions conducted by the USGA, but they aren’t considered national championships and aren’t as notable as their counterparts.
With that being said, it might come as a surprise to know that there are only 17 golfers who have won at least five USGA Championships in their careers – how many of them can you name? Well, let’s find out!
17. Nathan Smith – 5 USGA Championships
Nathan Smith is a 45-year-old American amateur golfer who won five (5) USGA championships during his stellar amateur career. His wins include the United States Mid-Amateur championship four times (2003, 2009, 2010, and 2012) and the inaugural United States Amateur Four-Ball championship in 2015.
In addition to his five USGA championship wins, Smith won the Pennsylvania Amateur twice, the West Penn Amateur four consecutive times, the R. Jay Sigel Match Play four times, and the Sunnehanna Amateur once. He played in three Walker Cups, four Masters Tournaments, and one U.S. Open.
16. Juli Inkster – 5 USGA Championships
Juli Inkster is a 63-year-old professional golfer who won five (5) USGA championships during her stellar career. Her wins include the United States Women’s Amateur championship three consecutive years in a row (1980, 1981, and 1982) and the United States Women’s Open twice (1999 and 2002).
Inkster is one of the greatest female golfers of all-time. She turned professional in 1983 and won 31 times on the LPGA Tour – including seven major championships. She was the LPGA Rookie of the Year in 1984, the ESPY Best Female Golfer in 2000, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000.
15. Hale Irwin – 5 USGA Championships
Hale Irwin is a 78-year-old former professional golfer who won five (5) USGA championships during his stellar career. His wins include the United States Open three times (1974, 1979, and 1990) and the United States Senior Open twice (1998 and 2000). He was one of the best golfers of the 1970s and 1980s.
Irwin turned professional in 1968 and went on to win 20 times on the PGA Tour, 45 times on the PGA Tour Champions (ranks 2nd all-time), and three major championships. He was a three-time Champions Tour Player of the Year in 1997, 1998, and 2002, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.
14. Jay Sigel – 5 USGA Championships
Jay Sigel is a 79-year-old former professional golfer who won five (5) USGA championships during his stellar career. His wins include the United States Amateur Championship in 1982 and 1983, and the United States Mid-Amateur Championship in 1983, 1985, and 1987. He turned professional in 1993.
While he never competed on the PGA Tour, Sigel turned in quite the career on the PGA Tour Champions. He earned 8 wins on the tour between 1994 and 2003. He also competed in 11 Masters Tournaments, 5 U.S. Opens, and two The Open Championships – his best major finish was T-26 at the 1980 Masters.
13. Dorothy Germain Porter – 5 USGA Championships
Dorothy Germain Porter is a former American amateur golfer who passed away in 2012 at the age of 88. She won five (5) USGA championships during her career – including the United States Women’s Amateur in 1949 and the United States Senior Women’s Amateur in 1977, 1980, 1981, and 1983.
Germain Porter also won the 1950 Curtis Cup as a member of the United States and was named captain of the team for the 1966 Curtis Cup – the US won, of course. In 1984, she won the U.S. Espirito Santo Trophy as captain of the US team. She was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.
12. Carolyn Cudone – 5 USGA Championships
Carolyn Cudone is a former American amateur golfer who passed away in 2009 at the age of 90 years old. She competed in 10 United States Senior Women’s Amateur championships and won five of them – all in a row between 1968 and 1972. No other golfer has ever won five straight USGA championships.
Cudone earned a victory at the 1958 North and South Women’s Amateur and competed in two Curtis Cups as a member of Team USA – she was named captain in 1970. She was inducted into the South Carolina Golf Hall of Fame, Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame, and Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame.
11. Mickey Wright – 5 USGA Championships
Mickey Wright was a former professional American golfer who passed away in 2020 at the age of 85 years old. She won five (5) USGA championships during her stellar career – including the United States Girls’ Junior title in 1952 and the United States Women’s Open four times (1958, 1959, 1961, and 1964).
Wright is one of the greatest golfers of all-time. She turned professional in 1954 and ended up winning 82 titles on the LPGA Tour, which currently ranks second all-time. She was also a 13-time major champion, a two-time AP Female Athlete of the Year, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1976.
10. Jerome Travers – 5 USGA Championships
Jerome Travers was a former American professional golfer who died in 1951 at the age of 63 years old. He won five (5) USGA championships during his stellar career – including the United States Amateur Open four times in 1907, 1908, 1912, and 1913, and the United States Open once in 1915.
Travers also won the 1904 Nassau Invitational, was a five-time Metropolitan Amateur champion, won the New Jersey Amateur championship four times, and won the 1914 Prince of Wales Medal. He is one of the greatest amateur golfers of all-time and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1976.
9. Hollis Stacy – 6 USGA Championships
Hollis Stacy is a 69-year-old former American professional golfer who won six (6) USGA championships during her stellar career. Her wins include the United States Girls’ Junior championship three years in a row (1969, 1970, 1971) and the United States Women’s Open three times (1977, 1978, and 1984).
Stacy turned professional in 1974 and spent 26 years on the LPGA Tour, where she won 18 times – she also had a title on the LPGA of Japan Tour. In addition to her three US Women’s Open titles, she won a fourth major at the 1983 du Maurier Classic. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012.
8. Glenna Collett-Vare – 6 USGA Championships
Glenna Collett-Vare was an American amateur golfer who passed away in 1989 at the age of 85 years old. She won six (6) USGA championships during her stellar amateur career – all of which came at the United States Women’s Amateur Championship (1922, 1925, 1928, 1929, 1930, and 1935).
Collett-Vare had one of the most dominant stretches between 1928 and 1931, when she won 16 straight titles – including six North and South Women’s Amateurs and six Women’s Eastern Amateurs. She also won the French Women’s Amateur and was eventually inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1975.
7. Carol Semple Thompson – 7 USGA Championships
Carol Semple Thompson is a 74-year-old former amateur American golfer who won seven (7) USGA championships during her career. Her wins include the US Women’s Amateur in 1973, the US Women’s Mid-Amateur in 1990 and 1997, and the US Senior Women’s Amateur four years in a row (1999-2002).
Thompson is one of five golfers to win three different USGA events and has been on more Curtis Cup teams than any other golfer – she appeared 14 times and won 10 times. She’s also a five-time competitor and four-time winner of the Espirito Santo Trophy and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2008.
6. Ellen Port – 7 USGA Championships
Ellen Port is a 61-year-old former amateur American golfer who won seven (7) USGA championships during her stellar career – including the United States Women’s Mid-Amateur four times (1995, 1996, 2000, and 2011) and the United States Senior Women’s Open three times (2012, 2013, and 2016).
Port is one of the greatest female amateur golfers of all-time. In addition to her seven USGA wins, she won more than 20 amateur championships conducted by the Missouri Golf Association and Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association between 1992 and 2021. She won the Curtis Cup team as a captain in 2014.
5. Anne Quast – 7 USGA Championships
Anne Quast is an 86-year-old former American amateur golfer who won seven (7) USGA championships during her stellar amateur career. Her USGA wins include the US Women’s Amateur three times (1958, 1961, and 1963) and the US Senior Women’s Amateur four times (1987, 1990, 1992, and 1993).
In addition to her seven USGA wins, Quast won the 1980 British Ladies Amateur championship, won back-to-back North and South Women’s Amateur championships in 1982 and 1983, and was a three-time Women’s Western Amateur champion in 1956, 1961, and 1988. She’s a member of three Hall of Fames.
4. Jack Nicklaus – 8 USGA Championships
Jack Nicklaus is an 83-year-old former professional American golfer who is one of four golfers to win at least eight (8) USGA championships in their career. His wins include the US Amateur twice (1959 and 1961), the US Open four times (1962, 1967, 1972, 1980), and the US Senior Open twice (1991 and 1993).
Nicklaus is one of the greatest golfers of all-time. He turned professional in 1961 and went on to win 73 titles on the PGA Tour (currently ranks 3rd all-time) and 117 total wins. He holds a record for most major championship wins in golf history with 18 total and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
3. JoAnne Carner – 8 USGA Championships
JoAnne Carner is an 84-year-old former professional American golfer who is one of four golfers to win at least eight (8) USGA championships in their career. Her wins include the US Girls’ Junior in 1956, the US Women’s Amateur in 1957, 1960, 1962, 1966, and 1968, and the US Women’s Open in 1971 and 1976.
She’s one of five golfers to win three different USGA championship events – in fact, she was the first to ever do so – and went on to earn 43 wins on the PGA Tour between 1970 and 2005. She was named LPGA Tour Player of the Year three times and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1982.
2. Bobby Jones – 9 USGA Championships
Bobby Jones was an amateur American golfer who passed away in 1971 at the age of 69 years old. His nine (9) USGA Championship wins are tied for the most all-time. He won the US Open four times (1923, 1926, 1929, 1930) and the US Amateur championship five times (1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, and 1930).
Jones is one of the most influential figures in golf history. He not only founded the August National Golf Club, but he was a co-founder of the Masters Tournament – the most notable golf tournament in the world. He won 13 major championships before being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
1. Tiger Woods – 9 USGA Championships
Tiger Woods is a 47-year-old professional American golfer who has won nine (9) USGA championships during his career. His wins include the US Junior Amateur three years in a row (1991, 1992, 1993), the US Amateur three years in a row (1994, 1995, 1996), and the US Open three times (2000, 2002, 2008).
Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all-time and perhaps one of the most dominant. He turned pro in 1996 and has 110 wins ever since – including 82 wins on the PGA Tour, which is tied for the most all-time. He also has 41 wins on the European Tour (3rd all-time) and 15 major championships (2nd all-time).
Which Golfers Won a USGA Championship in 2023?
As we explained above, there are 14 USGA national championships every year, which means 14 national champions are named every year – but who were the winners in 2023? Perhaps the most notable winner this year was Wyndham Clark, who beat Rory McIlroy by one stroke at the 2023 U.S. Open in June.
Allisen Corpuz won the U.S. Women’s Open in July, Bernhard Langer won the U.S. Senior Open in July, Trish Johnson won the U.S. Women’s Senior Open in August, Nick Dunlap won the U.S. Amateur Championship in August, and Megan Schofill won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in August.
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We would also like to congratulate Kiara Romero (Girls’ Junior), Bryan Kim (Junior Amateur), Todd White (Senior Amateur), Shelly Stouffer (Senior Women’s Amateur), Aaron Du and Sampson Zheng (Amateur Four-Ball), and Gianna Clemente and Avery Zweigh (Women’s Amateur Four-Ball) for their wins this year.
**The 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur Golf Championship and the 2023 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Golf Championship will take place September 9-14**
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