
Thomas picking up his first win since 2022 took him off a tough list of talented golfers continuing to fall short on the PGA Tour
Thomas picking up his first win since 2022 took him off a tough list of talented golfers continuing to fall short on the PGA Tour
If 2024 was the year of Scottie Scheffler’s dominance, perhaps 2025 can be the year of redemption on the PGA Tour. The last two weeks have seen two of the biggest names in golf break long droughts. Rory McIlroy has been one of the greatest winners on Tour in normal and signature events, but at the 2025 Masters, he not only achieved a career goal by capturing a green jacket and career grand slam, he broke an 11-year drought without adding a major championship to his resume. Just seven days later, Justin Thomas solidified his resurgence with his first PGA Tour win — of any kind — at the 2025 RBC Heritage.
Winning on the PGA Tour is really hard, and Thomas is far from the only player who has been on a years-long drought. As golf moves forward into the remainder of the season — with three majors, the Ryder Cup and a plethora of signature events remaining — let’s take a look at the best players hoping to follow in Thomas’ footsteps and get back into the winner’s circle after long absences.
Along with the listed length of their droughts are a look at their odds for the 2025 PGA Championship, per BetMGM Sportsbook, the next standard event in which most are expected to compete in the same field.
Collin Morikawa
Last PGA Tour win: 2023 ZOZO Championship — The only player on this list who has a win in the last two calendar years, Morikawa deserves a spot because no one has put themselves in contention more and ended on top less. It’s remarkable that Morikawa has held on to the No. 4 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking despite being winless for a year and a half, but as close calls pile up, the more frustrating it has to be to see others collecting trophies. It feels like, once Morikawa finally gets across the finish line, he might be able to rip off a few wins in short order; however, he’s got to get certain parts of his game (namely putting) to hold up under Sunday pressure. PGA Championship odds: 20-1
Tommy Fleetwood
Last win: None — Fleetwood is easily the best player in the world without a PGA Tour win in his career. He’s ranked 11th in the OWGR and has eight career worldwide wins, including the 2024 Dubai Invitational, but he has simply never broken through on the PGA Tour. Fleetwood has finished second five times and third another five times with 15 additional top-five finishes. At some point, you feel like it has to happen with his talent level, but at 34 years old, Fleetwood is no longer a “young player on the rise.” His challenge seems to be more mental than anything, as the longer he waits to finally win, the more pressure he puts on himself to get the job done. PGA Championship odds: 40-1
Patrick Cantlay
Last win: 2022 BMW Championship — Cantlay piled up eight wins from 2017-22, including the 2021 Tour Championship, but it’s now been more than two years since he last collected a trophy on the PGA Tour. He’s still 15th in the world, but his drought has shuffled him down a tier or two in the Tour’s hierarchy. It has to have been a bit tough to watch his friend and Ryder Cup partner Xander Schauffele, long discussed in the same breath as Cantlay, leap into a different stratosphere with his two major wins a year ago. PGA Championship odds: 33-1
Sungjae Im
Last win: 2021 Shriner’s Children’s Open — When Sungjae broke through with two wins in his first three years on Tour, he looked like a potential star in the making. However, he’s not been able to keep up that pace and has now gone nearly four years without a win. He’s only 27 years old, so he’s just entering his prime, but he occupies a similar space to Fleetwood where he’s often lurking in the top 10 (48 in his career) but has not been able to find that gear needed to win events. PGA Championship odds: 66-1
Daniel Berger
Last win: 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am — Berger was a rising star in his 20s, winning four times early in his career, but a back injury derailed his rise by taking him off the course for 18 months. He’s spent the last year and a half grinding his way back into the top 50 in the world, improving to 29th after his third-place finish at the RBC Heritage last weekend. His comeback is one of the best stories on the PGA Tour in 2025, and he seems to be trending towards getting his first win in more than four years. PGA Championship odds: n/a
Adam Scott
Last win: 2020 Genesis Invitational — Even though Scott is in his 40s now, it was wild to realize his last win came five years ago. He’s been so steady that it feels like he should’ve gotten another win somewhere in that period of time. To still be a top 50 player in the world (39th) at 44 shows he still has serious game, and his name is always up there near the first page of the leaderboard — he’s finished in the top 10 in more than 25% of his career PGA Tour starts. Perhaps Scott still has one more win in him to get his 15th on the PGA Tour, even in his advancing age. PGA Championship odds: 125-1
Jordan Spieth
Last win: 2022 RBC Heritage — Spieth has, for some time, been trying to recapture the magic he possessed when bursting onto the scene and taking the PGA Tour by storm, winning 10 times from 2015-17. However, it’s now been three years since his last win, and with 2024 effectively being a lost year amid a wrist injury, he’s fallen outside the top 50 in the world (59th). There have been flashes of brilliance that show that player is still in there somewhere, but he has struggled to put together four consecutive positive days of golf. We’ve seen Spieth snap a three-year drought in the past (he didn’t win from 2017 until 2020), and of everyone on this list, there’s no one fans want to see get back to the top of the sport more than him. PGA Championship odds: 50-1
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