What Does Wire To Wire Mean In Golf?
One phrase that you may have heard when watching golf on TV before is ‘wire to wire’.
This article explains in detail what ‘wire to wire’ means in golf. If you’re eager to find out more about the sport then read on!
Definition Of Wire-To-Wire
Wire-to-wire is a term used in many sports, including golf and horse racing. It means to lead from the start of a competition or tournament all the way through to its finish. In other words, it’s when you hold onto first place right up until the end!
The term originated in horse racing where the start and finish lines would have a wire so horse that led from start to finish went wire-to-wire.
In golf, this usually happens when one golfer dominates their opponents and has such an impressive level of skill that week that they can’t be overtaken no matter how hard everyone else tries.
Because there can be as many as 156 players in a professional tournament it’s pretty rare to see many wire-to-wire winners in golf. Especially if you don’t include golfers who were tied for the lead at the end of any round.
Of course, because not every player starts at the same time you have to use the positions at the end of every round.
Wire-To-Wire Major Champions
There are only 4 major championships per year so the chances of a wire-to-wire victory are reduced straight away. Despite this, one of the four majors has been won wire-to-wire on quite a few occasions. Over four rounds of the toughest championships in golf, it’s a surprise to me that it has happened as often as it has.
Let’s run through major championship history to see which of the greats of the game have managed to hold the lead from start to finish in one of the tournaments.
The Masters Tournament
| Year | Player | Ties or No Ties | Scores | Margin of Victory |
| 1941 | Craig Wood | No Ties | 66-71-71-72=280 | 3 |
| 1960 | Arnold Palmer | No Ties | 67-73-72-70=282 | 1 |
| 1972 | Jack Nicklaus | No Ties | 68-71-73-74=286 | 3 |
| 1976 | Raymond Floyd | No Ties | 65-66-70-70=271 | 8 |
| 2015 | Jordan Spieth | No Ties | 64-66-70-70=270 | 4 |
| 2020 | Dustin Johnson | Ties | 65-70-65-68=268 | 5 |
The Masters’ committee doesn’t consider wire-to-wire victories where the player was tied at any time but I think that’s a little unfair so I have included Dustin Johnson’s win in 2020 since he crossed the finish line with the record-low score of 268.
US Open
| Year | Player | Ties or No Ties | Score | Margin of Victory |
| 1903 | Willie Anderson | Ties | 73-76-76-82=307 | Playoff |
| 1906 | Alex Smith | Ties | 73-74-73-75=295 | 7 |
| 1914 | Walter Hagen | No Ties | 68-74-75-73=290 | 1 |
| 1916 | Charles Evans Jr. (Chick Evans) (amateur) | Ties | 70-69-74-73=286 | 2 |
| 1921 | Jim Barnes | No Ties | 69-75-73-72=289 | 9 |
| 1953 | Ben Hogan | No Ties | 67-72-73-71=283 | 6 |
| 1958 | Tommy Bolt | Ties | 71-71-69-72=283 | 4 |
| 1970 | Tony Jacklin | No Ties | 71-70-70-70=281 | 7 |
| 1972 | Jack Nicklaus | Ties | 71-73-72-74=290 | 3 |
| 1977 | Hubert Green | Ties | 69-67-72-70=278 | 1 |
| 1980 | Jack Nicklaus | Ties | 63-71-70-68=272 | 2 |
| 1991 | Payne Stewart | Ties | 67-70-73-72=282 | Playoff |
| 2000 | Tiger Woods | No Ties | 65-69-71-67=272 | 15 |
| 2001 | Retief Goosen | Ties | 66-70-69-71=276 | Playoff |
| 2002 | Tiger Woods | No Ties | 67-68-70-72=277 | 3 |
| 2011 | Rory McIlroy | No Ties | 65-66-68-69=268 | 8 |
| 2014 | Martin Kaymer | No Ties | 65-65-72-69=271 | 8 |
The victory of Chick Evans in 1916 is noteworthy for two other reasons. Firstly is one of the few amateur golfers to win a major championship and secondly, he did so with only seven golf clubs in his bag!
PGA Championship
The US PGA championship only changed from matchplay to strokeplay in 1958 so there have been fewer opportunities for a dominant golfer to lead after each of the four rounds of play. Tiger Woods managed to win two majors with wire-to-wire victories in his miraculous 2000 season of course he went on to win the Masters in 2001 to complete the Tiger Slam.
| Year | Player | Ties or No Ties | Scores | Margin of Victory |
| 1964 | Bobby Nichols | No Ties | 64-71-69-67=271 | 3 |
| 1969 | Raymond Floyd | Ties | 69-66-67-74=276 | 1 |
| 1971 | Jack Nicklaus | No Ties | 70-69-66-69=274 | 7 |
| 1982 | Raymond Floyd | No Ties | 63-69-68-72=272 | 3 |
| 1983 | Hal Sutton | No Ties | 65-66-72-71=274 | 1 |
| 2000 | Tiger Woods | Ties | 66-67-70-67=270 | Playoff |
| 2019 | Brooks Koepka | No Ties | 63-65-70-74=272 | 2 |
The Open Championship
The oldest major golf tournament which started in 1860 has seen its fair share of players leading from the first round to the last.
| Year | Player | Ties or No Ties | Scores | Margin of Victory |
| 1899 | Harry Vardon | Ties | 76-76-81-77=310 | 5 |
| 1900 | J.H. Taylor | Ties | 79-77-78-75=309 | 8 |
| 1903 | Harry Vardon | Ties | 73-77-72-78=300 | 6 |
| 1912 | Ted Ray | No Ties | 71-73-76-75=295 | 4 |
| 1927 | Bobby Jones (amateur) | No Ties | 68-72-73-72=285 | 6 |
| 1932 | Gene Sarazen | No Ties | 70-69-70-74=283 | 5 |
| 1934 | Henry Cotton | No Ties | 67-65-72-79=283 | 5 |
| 1971 | Lee Trevino | Ties | 69-70-69-70=278 | 1 |
| 1973 | Tom Weiskopf | No Ties | 68-67-71-70=276 | 3 |
| 1974 | Gary Player | Ties | 69-68-75-70=282 | 4 |
| 2005 | Tiger Woods | No Ties | 66-67-71-70=274 | 5 |
| 2014 | Rory McIlroy | No Ties | 66-66-68-71=271 | 2 |
| 2017 | Jordan Spieth | Ties | 65-69-65-69=268 | 3 |
Players With Multiple Wire-to-Wire Triumphs
In majors, the only players to date (April 2023) to have multiple wire-to-wire wins are:
Jack Nicklaus – 4
Tiger Woods – 4
Raymond Floyd – 3
Rory McIlroy – 2
Jordan Spieth – 2
Harry Vardon – 2
Women’s Major Championships That Have Been Won Wire-to-Wire
The women’s majors have much shorter histories than the men’s but even so, they have still managed to produce some champions that have led from the beginning to the end.
Chevron Championship
None of these winners were tied at the end of any round.
| 1986 | Pat Bradley |
| 1987 | Betsy King |
| 1989 | Juli Inkster |
| 1991 | Amy Alcott |
| 1998 | Pat Hurst |
| 2000 | Karrie Webb |
| 2021 | Patty Tavatanakit |
US Women’s Open
| 1954 | Babe Zaharias |
| 1955 | Fay Crocker (no ties) |
| 1958 | Mickey Wright (no ties) |
| 1963 | Mary Mills |
| 1967 | Catherine Lacoste |
| 1968 | Susie Berning (no ties) |
| 1970 | Donna Caponi |
| 1971 | JoAnne Carner |
KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
| 1955 | Beverly Hanson |
| 1958 | Mickey Wright (no ties) |
| 1962 | Judy Kimball |
| 1967 | Kathy Whitworth |
| 1968 | Sandra Post |
| 1982 | Jan Stephenson |
| 1985 | Nancy Lopez (no ties) |
| 1992 | Betsy King |
| 1998 | Se Ri Pak (no ties) |
| 2010 | Christie Kerr |
| 2011 | Yani Tseng (no ties) |
| 2019 | Hannah Green (no ties) |
| 2022 | Ingee Chun (no ties) |
Women’s Open Championship
| 2005 | Jeong Jang (no ties) |
| 2007 | Lorena Ochoa (no ties) |
Evian Championship
No wire-to-wire champions so far.
Female Players With Multiple Wire-to-Wire Triumphs
Betsy King – 2
Mickey Wright – 2
What Does Wire To Wire Mean In Golf: Summary
In summary, a wire-to-wire win is an impressive feat that has been accomplished by some of the greatest golfers in history. It takes exceptional skill and focus to win a tournament in such a fashion and probably a little bit of luck too, which makes it all the more impressive when someone manages to do so.
Whether you hope to achieve your own wire-to-wire victory or just appreciate the spectacle of others doing so, understanding what wire-to-wire means in golf is essential for any fan of the sport.
Go here if you want more golf terminology explained.
