Men’s Major Champions Episodes

Corey Pavin, winner of the 1995 U.S. Open and Ryder Cup Player and Captain, reflects on his younger days growing up in Southern California and learning the game of golf. He was a 1st-Team All-American at UCLA, won the 1981 North and South Amateur which got him on the winning Walker Cup team that same year, and eventually turned professional at age 22. As we recap Corey's playing record, he recounts his days competing in South Africa, Europe and Oceania, before getting his start on the PGA Tour. ...

Dave Stockton has amassed a golf playing and teaching career worthy of induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Hear Dave recount his experience in the majors including the Masters that got away in 1974 and the 1978 U.S. Open that could have been his. He relives his PGA Championship win at Southern Hills, recalling the advice from Don January that later helped him cope in his final-round pairing with Arnold Palmer in 1970 as well as his victory at Congressional in 1976. Dave tells the tale of...

Two-time winner of the PGA Championship and winning Ryder Cup Captain in the 1991 “War by the Shore”, Dave Stockton looks back on his start in golf under the watchful eye of his father Gail, an accomplished golf professional in his own right. Dave and Bruce reminisce about life on the Tour in the early days and their love of the small-town stops, the side hustles and the “trash talkers”. Dave recounts each of his regular PGA Tour wins including the encouragement he received from Ben Hogan on the...

The major champion who didn't learn the game until age 22, Larry Nelson looks back on his trips over the pond for the Open Championship before taking us back into the transformative years of the Ryder Cup. His first was in 1979, the year the GB&I squad added continental European players for the first time including Seve Ballesteros and Sandy Lyle. Larry and his partner Lanny Wadkins took down Seve three times in team play and then prevailed against Seve in singles going 4-0. He went...

World Golf Hall of Fame member Larry Nelson looks back on his three major championship wins and a few of the near misses. He begins by recounting his hometown win at the 1981 PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club sporting the iconic Amana hat for which players were paid $100 per week to wear. Larry then bested Seve Ballesteros and Tom Watson at the 1983 U.S. Open at Oakmont CC shooting 65-67 on the weekend to set a U.S. Open final 36-hole scoring record which has yet to be equalled, hitting ...

Larry Nelson, 2006 inductee into the World Golf Hall of Fame and winner of 3 majors, joins us to tell his story beginning with his days growing up in Georgia, getting drafted to serve in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and getting exposed to the game of golf at age 21. His game developed quickly as Larry turned professional at age 24 and qualified for the PGA Tour 3 years later. He reminisces about his first few Tour wins from the Jackie Gleason in 1979 to the Greater Greensboro Open in 1981. Larry Nel...

Forty years after his Open Championship win at Royal St. George’s, Bill “Buck” Rogers takes us through his major championship experiences, including that victory in 1981 when he was the PGA Tour Player of the Year and winner of seven events around the world. He gave David Graham a run at Merion in the 1981 U.S. Open and was in the final group with Tom Watson at Pebble Beach in 1982. Ben Crenshaw had to talk him into playing the British Open and he almost missed his tee-time in the first round. F...

Winner of the Open Championship at Royal St. George's in 1981, Bill Rogers was likely the hottest player on the planet that year. Join us as he reflects on his start in the game, his time at the University of Houston, competing in the Walker Cup at Brookline and the tremendous pressure of Tour School 1974. Bill recalls making the Top 60 in 1977 as being much more "emotionally satisfying" than his first Tour win at the Hope the following year. Hear about his days with IMG, traveling the world,...

In this closing episode with Ireland's finest golfer, Padraig Harrington, we look back on how he found joy in the game again and his involvement with the return of golf to the Olympic Games in 2016. Padraig recalls his start on the Senior Tour in 2021 and, later that year, captaining the European side in the COVID-delayed 2021 Ryder Cup. We wrap up with him reflecting on his legacy, the work of his foundation, representing the R&A as their "Working for Golf" Ambassador and the success of ...

6-time Ryder Cup player Padraig Harrington recalls the preparation required to position himself to contend and ultimately win major championships. Much of this episode is devoted to Padraig recounting his three major championships that came in quick succession beginning with the 2007 Open Championship at Carnoustie where he changed drivers after 36 holes and prevailed over Sergio Garcia in a 4-hole playoff. Padraig came into the 2008 Open Championship at Birkdale with a wrist injury and he didn'...

World Golf Hall of Fame member Padraig Harrington takes us back through his early years (1995 - 2005) as a professional including the influence of his teacher, Bob Torrance. Padraig recalls winning the 1997 World Cup with Paul McGinley and competing in his first Ryder Cup in 1999 at Brookline. He takes us through his early pro wins and his "quick" transition to the PGA Tour, winning his first event at the 2005 Honda Classic. Padraig quickly validated that debut victory, prevailing at the 2005 Ba...

Get ready for an engaging conversation with the winner of 37 professional events (so far) Padraig Harrington, a golfing great whose amateur record is as impressive as his professional career. We'll kick off this episode reminiscing about Padraig's early golf influences, particularly his admiration for Christy O'Connor Sr. and his 'perfect golf swing'. Listen in as he recounts his early amateur successes featuring three Walker Cups that included a win over the U.S. side at Royal Porthcawl in 1995...

2024 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee and winner of three major championships, Padraig Harrington, takes us back to the days of his youth growing up in Rathfarnham, Ireland during the time of "The Troubles" in the North. Coming from a sporting family, Padraig competed in Gaelic football, soccer and hurling but was drawn to golf while growing up on the course his father and mates built in the southern hills of Dublin. Playing with a handful of clubs, he honed his short game at Stackstown GC and p...

We conclude our visit with Shaun Micheel, 2003 PGA Championship winner, with a look back at this second-place finish to Tiger Woods in the 2006 PGA at Medinah CC and making it to the final match in the World Match Play at Wentworth GC that same year. Shaun reminisces about making a rare albatross at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, the 2nd player ever to accomplish this feat. He remembers the emotional toll of losing his parents and how their passing impacted his game and his psyche. After di...

Shaun Micheel begins this episode by recounting his breakthrough win at the 2003 PGA Championship at Oak Hill CC which featured a closing 7-iron shot for the ages to within inches on the hole. Ironically, this triumph only added to the self-induced pressures caused by unmet expectations and unrealized potential for Shaun. While he had another chance at glory with his second place finish to Tiger Woods at the 2006 PGA, Shaun never won again on Tour and began suffering through health issues that k...

The winner of the 2003 PGA Championship Shaun Micheel continues his story with a look back on his early professional days traveling the globe. Shaun first headed to the Sunshine Tour in South Africa and then the mini-tours in the U.S. before making his way to Asia where he broke through for a win at the 1998 Ericsson Open in Singapore. He shares his struggles with international travel and the pressures of competing at the highest levels. It was these trials and tests that prepared him for later ...

Major championship winner Shaun Micheel begins his life story by recounting his childhood and early interest in aviation instilled by his father Buck, one of FedEx's original pilots. After a family relocation near a golf course in Memphis, Shaun picked up golf and was essentially self-taught. After winning two state golf titles in high school and Big Ten team and individual championships, he was off to South Africa to begin a career in professional golf. Shaun Micheel shares his memories of his ...

Major Championship winner, Steve Elkington, reflects on how a close call at the Open Championship at St. Andrews in 1995 prepared him to win the PGA at Riviera weeks later. He talks about his two Tournament Players Championship victories, his President’s Cup experiences and his memories of Tiger Woods and some of the other greats in the game. Steve Elkington shares the rest of his story “FORE the Good of the Game.” Give Bruce & Mike some feedback via Text. Support the show Follow our show and/o...

Victorious at the 1995 PGA Championship and two-time winner of the Players Championship, Steve Elkington remembers his early days of golf in Wagga Wagga, Australia and those who influenced and mentored him including Alex Mercer, Jackie Burke, Jr. and Bruce Devlin. Included with Elk's recollections of his collegiate successes and PGA Tour wins are terrific stories (Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and more) sure to entertain. Steve Elkington reflects back on his superb PGA career, "FORE the Good of th...

Mark Brooks, winner of the 1996 PGA Championship, takes us through that win at Valhalla in a playoff with Kenny Perry, the last time the sudden death format was used in that event. Mark recounts his experiences in the other majors, the intimidation he felt at Augusta, the Texas-like conditions of playing in the Open Championship and the gut punches you were bound to take at the U.S. Open. We wind up this final episode with a brief look back at his President's Cup memories from 1996 and review hi...

Winner of the PGA Championship in 1996, Mark Brooks takes us through each of his PGA Tour victories beginning with the "Greater Slam", winning the Greater Hartford Open, the Greater Greensboro Open and the Greater Milwaukee Open in succession. He remembers when a $35,000 year in winnings kept him exempt in the top 125 and finding a Ray Cook putter in a garage that led to a win at the Bob Hope. Only two months later, that putter was history but he made everything with the Odyssey he put in play a...

Major Championship winner Mark Brooks recalls being introduced to golf by his grandfather and his first golf experiences playing on a 6-hole sand green course in rural Oklahoma. He looks back on his collegiate career at the University of Texas where he was a 3-time All-American and remembers the difficulties of making it on the Tour and staying on the Tour as he went in and out of Tour Qualifying Schools throughout the 1980's. Mark relates an unconventional technique used by Harvey Penick during...

We conclude our 7-part series with Bernhard Langer by looking back on his final two Senior majors including his win at the 2023 U.S. Senior Open at SentryWorld. He took down Wisconsin natives Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly to capture his 12th major and his record-breaking 46th win on the Champions Tour, surpassing Hale Irwin's total by one. Bernhard was quite candid in this episode about his putting woes that plagued him throughout his career and give us insights into how he overcame the "Y" wor...

In this sixth episode of our seven part series with World Golf Hall of Fame member Bernhard Langer, we begin with him reflecting on his recently passed mother and how she influenced him as a human being. Bernhard then delves into his incredible senior career which to-date includes these highlights: 2008 Rookie of the Year, 9-time Player of the Year, 11-time Money Leader, 7-time Byron Nelson Award winner for lowest scoring average, 6-time Charles Schwab Cup winner, winner of 12 Senior majors and ...