document_title: Men's major golf championships

question_text: how many majors are there in pga golf

question_tokens: how many majors are there in pga golf

text: Men's major golf championships

text: Importance[edit]

text: Alongside the biennial Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup team competitions, the majors are golf's marquee events. Elite players from all over the world participate in them, and the reputations of the greatest players in golf history are largely based on the number and variety of major championship victories they accumulate. The top prizes are not actually the largest in golf, being surpassed by The Players Championship, three of the four World Golf Championships events (the HSBC Champions, promoted to WGC status in 2009, has a top prize comparable to that of the majors), and some other invitational events. However, winning a major boosts a player's career far more than winning any other tournament. If he is already a leading player, he will probably receive large bonuses from his sponsors and may be able to negotiate better contracts. If he is an unknown, he will immediately be signed up. Perhaps more importantly, he will receive an exemption from the need to annually re-qualify for a tour card on his home tour, thus giving a tournament golfer some security in an unstable profession. Currently, the PGA Tour gives a five-year exemption to all major winners, while the European Tour gives a seven-year exemption.

text: Three of the four majors take place in the United States. The Masters is played at the same course, Augusta National Golf Club, every year, while the other three rotate courses (the Open Championship, however, is always played on a links course). Each of the majors has a distinct history, and they are run by four different golf organizations, but their special status is recognized worldwide. Major championship winners receive the maximum possible allocation of 100 points from the Official World Golf Ranking, which is endorsed by all of the main tours, and major championship prize money is official on the three richest regular (i.e. under-50) golf tours, the PGA Tour, European Tour and Japan Golf Tour.

text: Although the majors are considered prestigious due to their history and traditions, there are still other non-"major" tournaments which prominently feature top players competing for purses meeting or exceeding those of the four traditional majors, such as the World Golf Championships, the European Tour's DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, and the PGA Tour's Players Championship. As The Players has the largest prize fund of any golf event, and is promoted as the tour's flagship tournament, it is frequently considered to be an unofficial "fifth major" by players and critics. After the announcement that the Evian Masters would be recognized as the fifth women's major by the LPGA Tour, players shared objections to the concept of having a fifth men's major, owing to the long-standing traditions that the existing four have established.[3][4]

text: History[edit]

text: The majors originally consisted of two British tournaments, The Open Championship and The Amateur Championship, and two American tournaments, the U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur. With the introduction of the Masters Tournament in 1934, and the rise of professional golf in the late 1940s and 1950s, the term "major championships" eventually came to describe the Masters, the U.S. Open, the Open Championship, and the PGA Championship. It is difficult to determine when the definition changed to include the current four tournaments, although many trace it to Arnold Palmer's 1960 season. After winning the Masters and the U.S. Open to start the season, he remarked that if he could win the Open Championship and PGA Championship to finish the season, he would complete "a grand slam of his own" to rival Bobby Jones's 1930 feat. Until that time, many U.S. players such as Byron Nelson also considered the Western Open and the North and South Open as two of golf's "majors,"[5] and the British PGA Matchplay Championship was as important to British and Commonwealth professionals as the PGA Championship was to Americans.

text: During the 1950s, the short-lived World Championship of Golf was viewed as a "major" by its competitors, as its first prize was worth almost ten times any other event in the game, and it was the first event whose finale was televised live on U.S. television. The oldest of the majors is The Open Championship, commonly referred to as the "British Open" outside the United Kingdom. Dominated by American champions in the 1920s and 1930s, the comparative explosion in the riches available on the U.S. Tour from the 1940s onwards meant that the lengthy overseas trip needed to qualify and compete in the event became increasingly prohibitive for the leading American professionals. Their regular participation dwindled after the war years. Ben Hogan entered just once in 1953 and won, but never returned. Sam Snead won in 1946 but lost money on the trip (first prize was $600) and did not return until 1962.

text: Golf writer Dan Jenkins, often seen as the world authority on majors since he's attended more (200+) than anyone else, has noted that "the pros didn't talk much about majors back then. I think it was Herbert Warren Wind who starting using the term. He said golfers had to be judged by the major tournaments they won, but it's not like there was any set number of major tournaments."[6]

text: In 1960, Arnold Palmer entered The Open Championship in an attempt to emulate Hogan's 1953 feat of winning on his first visit. Though a runner-up by a stroke in his first attempt, Palmer returned and won the next two in 1961 and 1962. Scheduling difficulties persisted with the PGA Championship, but more Americans began competing in the 1960s, restoring the event's prestige (and with it the prize money that once again made it an attractive prospect to other American pros). The advent of transatlantic jet travel helped to boost American participation in The Open. A discussion between Palmer and Pittsburgh golf writer Bob Drum led to the concept of the modern Grand Slam of Golf.[7]

text: In August 2017, after the previous year's edition was scheduled earlier due to golf at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the PGA of America announced that the PGA Championship would be moved to late-May beginning in 2019, in between the Masters and U.S. Open. The PGA Tour concurrently announced that it would move the Players Championship back to March the same year; as a result, the Players and the four majors will still be played across five consecutive months.[8][2]

text: Television coverage[edit]

text: United Kingdom & Ireland[edit]

text: In the United Kingdom, the BBC used to be the exclusive TV home of the Masters Tournament and the Open Championship, however from 2011 onwards Sky Sports has exclusive live coverage of the first two days of the Masters, with the weekend rounds shared with the BBC. The U.S. Open is shown exclusively on Sky Sports. Beginning in 2016, Sky Sports also became the exclusive broadcaster of the Open Championship; the BBC elected to forego the final year of its contract.[9] The BBC continues to hold rights to broadcast a nightly highlights programme.[10]

text: Sky also held rights to the PGA Championship, but in July 2017, it was reported that the PGA of America had declined to renew its contract, seeking a different media model for the tournament in the United Kingdom.[11] The BBC acquired rights to the PGA Championship for 2017, with most coverage relegated to BBC Red Button and the conclusion of coverage on BBC Two. The PGA reached a separate deal to also stream coverage in the UK via Facebook Live, hosted by GiveMeSport.[12] [13]

text: United States[edit]

text: As none of the majors fall under the direct jurisdiction of tours, broadcast rights for these events are negotiated separately with each sanctioning body. All four majors have been broadcast at some point by one of the "big three" networks—all of whom are currently or have previously been PGA Tour broadcast partners. In 2015, CBS was the only big three network that held weekend-round rights to one or more majors, as the remainder, along with early round coverage of all four, were held either by Fox or cable networks.

text: The Masters has been televised by CBS since 1956. Beginning in 1966, ABC obtained the broadcast rights for the other three majors and held them for a quarter century. The PGA Championship moved to CBS in 1991 and the U.S. Open returned to NBC in 1995.[14][15]

text: ABC retained The Open Championship as its sole major, but moved its live coverage on the weekend to sister cable network ESPN in 2010. In June 2015, it was announced that NBC and Golf Channel would acquire rights to the Open Championship under a 12-year deal.[16] While the NBC deal was originally to take effect in 2017, ESPN chose to opt out of its final year of Open rights, so the NBC contract took effect beginning in 2016 instead.[9]

text: The Masters operates under one-year contracts; CBS has been the main TV partner every year since 1956, with ESPN broadcasting CBS-produced coverage of the first and second rounds since 2008, replacing USA Network, which had shown the event since the early 1980s.[17] As of 2015, Fox Sports holds broadcast rights to the U.S. Open and other USGA events, replacing NBC and ESPN, with Fox Sports 1 as the primary pay TV outlet.[18] CBS and Turner Sports hold rights to the PGA Championship, with TNT handling early round and weekend morning coverage, and CBS airing weekend afternoon coverage. Their respective contracts with the PGA of America run through 2019.[19][20]

text: Distinctive characteristics of majors[edit]

text: Because each major was developed and is run by a different organization, they each have different characteristics that set them apart. These involve the character of the courses used, the composition of the field, and other idiosyncrasies.

text:
The Masters Tournament (sometimes referred to as the U.S. Masters) is the only major that is played at the same course every year (Augusta National Golf Club), being the invitational tournament of that club. The Masters invites the smallest field of the majors, generally under 100 players (although, like all the majors, it now ensures entry for all golfers among the world's top 50 prior to the event), and is the only one of the four majors that does not use "alternates" to replace qualified players who do not enter the event (usually due to injury). Former champions have a lifetime invitation to compete, and also included in the field are the current champions of the major amateur championships, and most of the previous year's PGA Tour winners (winners of "alternate" events held opposite a high-profile tournament do not receive automatic invitations). The traditions of Augusta, such as the awarding of a green jacket to the champion, create a distinctive character for the tournament, as does the course itself, with its lack of primary rough but severely undulating fairways and greens, and punitive use of ponds and creeks on several key holes on the back nine.
The U.S. Open is notorious for being played on difficult courses that have tight fairways, challenging greens, demanding pin positions and thick and high rough, placing a great premium on accuracy, especially with driving and approach play. Additionally, while most regular tour events are played on courses with par 72, the U.S. Open has almost never been held on a par-72 course in recent decades; the 2017 event will be the first since 1992 to be played at par 72.[21] During this time, the tournament course has occasionally been played to a par of 71 but most commonly par 70. The U.S. Open is rarely won with a score much under par. The event is the championship of the United States Golf Association, and in having a very strict exempt qualifiers list – made up of recent major champions, professionals currently ranked high in the world rankings or on the previous year's money lists around the world, and leading amateurs from recent USGA events – about half of the 156-person field still enters the tournament through two rounds of open qualification events, mostly held in the U.S. but also in Europe and Japan. The U.S. Open has no barrier to entry for either women or junior players, as long as they are a professional or meet amateur handicap requirements. As of 2016, however, no female golfer has yet qualified for the U.S. Open, although in 2006 Michelle Wie made it to the second qualifying stage. The U.S. Open continues to have an 18-hole playoff if players are tied after four rounds. (The Open and PGA Championships use four- and three-hole aggregate playoffs respectively, followed by sudden death if necessary, and most regular events as well as the Masters only have simple sudden-death playoffs.) The Sunday of the Championship has also in recent years fallen on Father's Day (at least as recognized in the US and the UK) which has lent added poignancy to winners' speeches.
The Open Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Open) is organized by The R&A, an offshoot of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, and is typically played on a links-style course in the United Kingdom (primarily England or Scotland). It carries the prestige of being the oldest professional golf tournament currently in existence and the original "Open" championship (although the very first event was held only for British professionals). It is respected for maintaining the tradition of links play that dates back to the very invention of the game in Scotland. Links courses are generally typified as coastal, flat and often very windswept, with the fairways cut through dune grass and gorse bushes that make up the "rough", and have deep bunkers. The course is generally not "doctored" to make it more difficult, effectively making the variable weather the main external influence on the field's score.[22] As well as exempting from qualifying recent professional major and amateur champions, all former Open Championship winners under age 60, and leading players from the world rankings, the R&A ensures that leading golfers from around the globe are given the chance to enter by holding qualifying events on all continents, as well as holding final qualifying events around the UK in the weeks prior to the main tournament. The champion receives (and has his name inscribed on the base of) the famous Claret Jug, a trophy that dates back to 1872 (champions from 1860 until 1871 received instead a championship belt, much like a champion professional boxer's belt nowadays) and the engraving of the champions' name on the trophy prior to them receiving it is, in itself, one of the traditions of the closing ceremony of the championship, as is the award of the silver medal to the leading amateur player to have made the cut to play the last 36 holes.
The PGA Championship (sometimes referred to as the U.S. PGA) is traditionally played at a parkland club in the United States, and the courses chosen tend to be as difficult as those chosen for the U.S. Open, with several, such as Baltusrol Golf Club, Medinah Country Club, Oakland Hills Country Club, Oak Hill Country Club, and Winged Foot Golf Club, having hosted both. The PGA generally does not set up the course as difficult as the USGA does. The PGA of America enters into a profit-sharing agreement with the host club (except when the event is hosted by Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, a club that it owns). In a parallel with The Masters, previous winners of the PGA Championship have a lifetime invitation to compete. As well as inviting recent champions of the other three professional majors and leading players from the world rankings, the PGA Championship field is completed by qualifiers held among members of the PGA of America, the organization of club and teaching professionals that are separate from the members of the PGA Tour. The PGA Championship is also the only one of the four majors to invite all winners of PGA Tour events in the year preceding the tournament. Amateur golfers do not normally play on the PGA Tour, and could only qualify by winning one of the other three majors, winning a PGA Tour event while playing under a sponsor's exemption, or having a high world ranking. The PGA tends to be played in high heat and humidity that characterize the American climate in August, which often sets it apart as a challenge from (in particular) the Open Championship which precedes it, that is often played in cooler and rainy weather.

text: Major championship winners[edit]

text: Win number out of total wins is shown in parentheses for golfers with more than one major championship.

text:
Year
Masters Tournament[23]
U.S. Open[24]
The Open Championship[25]
PGA Championship[26]

2018
April 5–8, Augusta National
June 14–17, Shinnecock Hills
July 19–22, Carnoustie Golf Links
August 9–12, Bellerive Country Club

2017
 Sergio García
 Brooks Koepka
 Jordan Spieth (3/3)
 Justin Thomas

2016
 Danny Willett
 Dustin Johnson
 Henrik Stenson
 Jimmy Walker

2015
 Jordan Spieth (1/3)
 Jordan Spieth (2/3)
 Zach Johnson (2/2)
 Jason Day

2014
 Bubba Watson (2/2)
 Martin Kaymer (2/2)
 Rory McIlroy (3/4)
 Rory McIlroy (4/4)

2013
 Adam Scott
 Justin Rose
 Phil Mickelson (5/5)
 Jason Dufner

2012
 Bubba Watson (1/2)
 Webb Simpson
 Ernie Els (4/4)
 Rory McIlroy (2/4)

2011
 Charl Schwartzel
 Rory McIlroy (1/4)
 Darren Clarke
 Keegan Bradley

2010
 Phil Mickelson (4/5)
 Graeme McDowell
 Louis Oosthuizen
 Martin Kaymer (1/2)

2009
 Ángel Cabrera (2/2)
 Lucas Glover
 Stewart Cink
 Yang Yong-eun

2008
 Trevor Immelman
 Tiger Woods (14/14)
 Pádraig Harrington (2/3)
 Pádraig Harrington (3/3)

2007
 Zach Johnson (1/2)
 Ángel Cabrera (1/2)
 Pádraig Harrington (1/3)
 Tiger Woods (13/14)

2006
 Phil Mickelson (3/5)
 Geoff Ogilvy
 Tiger Woods (11/14)
 Tiger Woods (12/14)

2005
 Tiger Woods (9/14)
 Michael Campbell
 Tiger Woods (10/14)
 Phil Mickelson (2/5)

2004
 Phil Mickelson (1/5)
 Retief Goosen (2/2)
 Todd Hamilton
 Vijay Singh (3/3)

2003
 Mike Weir
 Jim Furyk
 Ben Curtis
 Shaun Micheel

2002
 Tiger Woods (7/14)
 Tiger Woods (8/14)
 Ernie Els (3/4)
 Rich Beem

2001
 Tiger Woods (6/14)
 Retief Goosen (1/2)
 David Duval
 David Toms

2000
 Vijay Singh (2/3)
 Tiger Woods (3/14)
 Tiger Woods (4/14)
 Tiger Woods (5/14)

1999
 José María Olazábal (2/2)
 Payne Stewart (3/3)
 Paul Lawrie
 Tiger Woods (2/14)

1998
 Mark O'Meara (1/2)
 Lee Janzen (2/2)
 Mark O'Meara (2/2)
 Vijay Singh (1/3)

1997
 Tiger Woods (1/14)
 Ernie Els (2/4)
 Justin Leonard
 Davis Love III

1996
 Nick Faldo (6/6)
 Steve Jones
 Tom Lehman
 Mark Brooks

1995
 Ben Crenshaw (2/2)
 Corey Pavin
 John Daly (2/2)
 Steve Elkington

1994
 José María Olazábal (1/2)
 Ernie Els (1/4)
 Nick Price (2/3)
 Nick Price (3/3)

1993
 Bernhard Langer (2/2)
 Lee Janzen (1/2)
 Greg Norman (2/2)
 Paul Azinger

1992
 Fred Couples
 Tom Kite
 Nick Faldo (5/6)
 Nick Price (1/3)

1991
 Ian Woosnam
 Payne Stewart (2/3)
 Ian Baker-Finch
 John Daly (1/2)

1990
 Nick Faldo (3/6)
 Hale Irwin (3/3)
 Nick Faldo (4/6)
 Wayne Grady

1989
 Nick Faldo (2/6)
 Curtis Strange (2/2)
 Mark Calcavecchia
 Payne Stewart (1/3)

1988
 Sandy Lyle (2/2)
 Curtis Strange (1/2)
 Seve Ballesteros (5/5)
 Jeff Sluman

1987
 Larry Mize
 Scott Simpson
 Nick Faldo (1/6)
 Larry Nelson (3/3)

1986
 Jack Nicklaus (18/18)
 Raymond Floyd (4/4)
 Greg Norman (1/2)
 Bob Tway

1985
 Bernhard Langer (1/2)
 Andy North (2/2)
 Sandy Lyle (1/2)
 Hubert Green (2/2)

1984
 Ben Crenshaw (1/2)
 Fuzzy Zoeller (2/2)
 Seve Ballesteros (4/5)
 Lee Trevino (6/6)

1983
 Seve Ballesteros (3/5)
 Larry Nelson (2/3)
 Tom Watson (8/8)
 Hal Sutton

1982
 Craig Stadler
 Tom Watson (6/8)
 Tom Watson (7/8)
 Raymond Floyd (3/4)

1981
 Tom Watson (5/8)
 David Graham (2/2)
 Bill Rogers
 Larry Nelson (1/3)

1980
 Seve Ballesteros (2/5)
 Jack Nicklaus (16/18)
 Tom Watson (4/8)
 Jack Nicklaus (17/18)

1979
 Fuzzy Zoeller (1/2)
 Hale Irwin (2/3)
 Seve Ballesteros (1/5)
 David Graham (1/2)

1978
 Gary Player (9/9)
 Andy North (1/2)
 Jack Nicklaus (15/18)
 John Mahaffey

1977
 Tom Watson (2/8)
 Hubert Green (1/2)
 Tom Watson (3/8)
 Lanny Wadkins

1976
 Raymond Floyd (2/4)
 Jerry Pate
 Johnny Miller (2/2)
 Dave Stockton (2/2)

1975
 Jack Nicklaus (13/18)
 Lou Graham
 Tom Watson (1/8)
 Jack Nicklaus (14/18)

1974
 Gary Player (7/9)
 Hale Irwin (1/3)
 Gary Player (8/9)
 Lee Trevino (5/6)

1973
 Tommy Aaron
 Johnny Miller (1/2)
 Tom Weiskopf
 Jack Nicklaus (12/18)

1972
 Jack Nicklaus (10/18)
 Jack Nicklaus (11/18)
 Lee Trevino (4/6)
 Gary Player (6/9)

1971
 Charles Coody
 Lee Trevino (2/6)
 Lee Trevino (3/6)
 Jack Nicklaus (9/18)

1970
 Billy Casper (3/3)
 Tony Jacklin (2/2)
 Jack Nicklaus (8/18)
 Dave Stockton (1/2)

1969
 George Archer
 Orville Moody
 Tony Jacklin (1/2)
 Raymond Floyd (1/4)

1968
 Bob Goalby
 Lee Trevino (1/6)
 Gary Player (5/9)
 Julius Boros (3/3)

1967
 Gay Brewer
 Jack Nicklaus (7/18)
 Roberto DeVicenzo
 Don January

1966
 Jack Nicklaus (5/18)
 Billy Casper (2/3)
 Jack Nicklaus (6/18)
 Al Geiberger

1965
 Jack Nicklaus (4/18)
 Gary Player (4/9)
 Peter Thomson (5/5)
 Dave Marr

1964
 Arnold Palmer (7/7)
 Ken Venturi
 Tony Lema
 Bobby Nichols

1963
 Jack Nicklaus (2/18)
 Julius Boros (2/3)
 Bob Charles
 Jack Nicklaus (3/18)

1962
 Arnold Palmer (5/7)
 Jack Nicklaus (1/18)
 Arnold Palmer (6/7)
 Gary Player (3/9)

1961
 Gary Player (2/9)
 Gene Littler
 Arnold Palmer (4/7)
 Jerry Barber

1960
 Arnold Palmer (2/7)
 Arnold Palmer (3/7)
 Kel Nagle
 Jay Hebert

1959
 Art Wall, Jr.
 Billy Casper (1/3)
 Gary Player (1/9)
 Bob Rosburg

1958
 Arnold Palmer (1/7)
 Tommy Bolt
 Peter Thomson (4/5)
 Dow Finsterwald

1957
 Doug Ford (2/2)
 Dick Mayer
 Bobby Locke (4/4)
 Lionel Hebert

1956
 Jack Burke, Jr. (1/2)
 Cary Middlecoff (3/3)
 Peter Thomson (3/5)
 Jack Burke, Jr. (2/2)

1955
 Cary Middlecoff (2/3)
 Jack Fleck
 Peter Thomson (2/5)
 Doug Ford (1/2)

1954
 Sam Snead (7/7)
 Ed Furgol
 Peter Thomson (1/5)
 Chick Harbert

1953
 Ben Hogan (7/9)
 Ben Hogan (8/9)
 Ben Hogan (9/9)
 Walter Burkemo

1952
 Sam Snead (6/7)
 Julius Boros (1/3)
 Bobby Locke (3/4)
 Jim Turnesa

1951
 Ben Hogan (5/9)
 Ben Hogan (6/9)
 Max Faulkner
 Sam Snead (5/7)

1950
 Jimmy Demaret (3/3)
 Ben Hogan (4/9)
 Bobby Locke (2/4)
 Chandler Harper

1949
 Sam Snead (3/7)
 Cary Middlecoff (1/3)
 Bobby Locke (1/4)
 Sam Snead (4/7)

1948
 Claude Harmon
 Ben Hogan (3/9)
 Henry Cotton (3/3)
 Ben Hogan (2/9)

1947
 Jimmy Demaret (2/3)
 Lew Worsham
 Fred Daly
 Jim Ferrier

1946
 Herman Keiser
 Lloyd Mangrum
 Sam Snead (2/7)
 Ben Hogan (1/9)

1945
Not held due to World War II
Not held due to World War II
Not held due to World War II
 Byron Nelson (5/5)

1944
 Bob Hamilton

1943
Not held due to World War II

1942
 Byron Nelson (4/5)
 Sam Snead (1/7)

1941
 Craig Wood (1/2)
 Craig Wood (2/2)
 Vic Ghezzi

1940
 Jimmy Demaret (1/3)
 Lawson Little
 Byron Nelson (3/5)

1939
 Ralph Guldahl (3/3)
 Byron Nelson (2/5)
 Dick Burton
 Henry Picard (2/2)

1938
 Henry Picard (1/2)
 Ralph Guldahl (2/3)
 Reg Whitcombe
 Paul Runyan (2/2)

1937
 Byron Nelson (1/5)
 Ralph Guldahl (1/3)
 Henry Cotton (2/3)
 Denny Shute (3/3)

1936
 Horton Smith (2/2)
 Tony Manero
 Alf Padgham
 Denny Shute (2/3)

1935
 Gene Sarazen (7/7)
 Sam Parks, Jr.
 Alf Perry
 Johnny Revolta

1934
 Horton Smith (1/2)
 Olin Dutra (2/2)
 Henry Cotton (1/3)
 Paul Runyan (1/2)

1933
Not yet founded
 Johnny Goodman
 Denny Shute (1/3)
 Gene Sarazen (6/7)

1932
 Gene Sarazen (5/7)
 Gene Sarazen (4/7)
 Olin Dutra (1/2)

1931
 Billy Burke
 Tommy Armour (3/3)
 Tom Creavy

1930
 Bobby Jones (7/7)
 Bobby Jones (6/7)
 Tommy Armour (2/3)

1929
 Bobby Jones (5/7)
 Walter Hagen (11/11)
 Leo Diegel (2/2)

1928
 Johnny Farrell
 Walter Hagen (10/11)
 Leo Diegel (1/2)

1927
 Tommy Armour (1/3)
 Bobby Jones (4/7)
 Walter Hagen (9/11)

1926
 Bobby Jones (3/7)
 Bobby Jones (2/7)
 Walter Hagen (8/11)

1925
 Willie MacFarlane
 Jim Barnes (4/4)
 Walter Hagen (7/11)

1924
 Cyril Walker
 Walter Hagen (5/11)
 Walter Hagen (6/11)

1923
 Bobby Jones (1/7)
 Arthur Havers
 Gene Sarazen (3/7)

1922
 Gene Sarazen (1/7)
 Walter Hagen (4/11)
 Gene Sarazen (2/7)

1921
 Jim Barnes (3/4)
 Jock Hutchison (2/2)
 Walter Hagen (3/11)

1920
 Ted Ray (2/2)
 George Duncan
  Jock Hutchison (1/2)

1919
 Walter Hagen (2/11)
Not held due to World War I
 Jim Barnes (2/4)

1918
Not held due to World War I
Not held due to World War I

1917

1916
 Chick Evans
 Jim Barnes (1/4)

1915
 Jerome Travers
Not yet founded

1914
 Walter Hagen (1/11)
 Harry Vardon (7/7)

1913
 Francis Ouimet
 John Henry Taylor (5/5)

1912
 John McDermott (2/2)
 Ted Ray (1/2)

1911
 John McDermott (1/2)
 Harry Vardon (6/7)

1910
 Alex Smith (2/2)
 James Braid (5/5)

1909
 George Sargent
 John Henry Taylor (4/5)

1908
 Fred McLeod
 James Braid (4/5)

1907
 Alec Ross
 Arnaud Massy

1906
 Alex Smith (1/2)
 James Braid (3/5)

1905
 Willie Anderson (4/4)
 James Braid (2/5)

1904
 Willie Anderson (3/4)
 Jack White

1903
 Willie Anderson (2/4)
 Harry Vardon (5/7)

1902
 Laurie Auchterlonie
 Sandy Herd

1901
 Willie Anderson (1/4)
 James Braid (1/5)

1900
 Harry Vardon (4/7)
 John Henry Taylor (3/5)

1899
 Willie Smith
 Harry Vardon (3/7)

1898
 Fred Herd
 Harry Vardon (2/7)

1897
 Joe Lloyd
 Harold Hilton (2/2)

1896
 James Foulis
 Harry Vardon (1/7)

1895
 Horace Rawlins
 John Henry Taylor (2/5)

1894
Not yet founded
 John Henry Taylor (1/5)

1893
 Willie Auchterlonie

1892
 Harold Hilton (1/2)

1891
 Hugh Kirkaldy

1890
 John Ball, Jnr

1889
 Willie Park, Jr. (2/2)

1888
 Jack Burns

1887
 Willie Park, Jr. (1/2)

1886
 David Brown

1885
 Bob Martin (2/2)

1884
 Jack Simpson

1883
 Willie Fernie

1882
 Bob Ferguson (3/3)

1881
 Bob Ferguson (2/3)

1880
 Bob Ferguson (1/3)

1879
 Jamie Anderson (3/3)

1878
 Jamie Anderson (2/3)

1877
 Jamie Anderson (1/3)

1876
 Bob Martin (1/2)

1875
 Willie Park, Sr. (4/4)

1874
 Mungo Park

1873
 Tom Kidd

1872
 Young Tom Morris (4/4)

1871
Not played

1870
 Young Tom Morris (3/4)

1869
 Young Tom Morris (2/4)

1868
 Young Tom Morris (1/4)

1867
 Old Tom Morris (4/4)

1866
 Willie Park, Sr. (3/4)

1865
 Andrew Strath

1864
 Old Tom Morris (3/4)

1863
 Willie Park, Sr. (2/4)

1862
 Old Tom Morris (2/4)

1861
 Old Tom Morris (1/4)

1860
 Willie Park, Sr. (1/4)

tag: table

text: Major champions by nationality[edit]

text: The table below shows the number of major championships won by golfers from various countries. Tallies are also shown for major wins by golfers from Europe and from the "Rest of the World" (RoW), i.e. the world excluding Europe and the United States. The United States plays Europe in the Ryder Cup and an International Team representing the Rest of the World in the Presidents Cup. The table is complete through to the 2016 season. Since the establishment of The Masters in 1934, an American has won at least one major every year, with the exception of 1994.

text:
Decade
Total
ARG
AUS
CAN
ENG
FIJ
FRA
GER
JER
KOR
NZL
NIR
IRE
SCO
RSA
ESP
SWE
USA
WAL
ZIM
Eur
RoW

Total
443
3
17
1
35
3
1
4
9
1
2
7
3
55
22
8
1
267
1
3
124
52

2010s
32
–
2
–
2
–
–
2
–
–
–
6
–
–
3
1
1
15
–
–
12
5

2000s
40
2
1
1
–
2
–
–
–
1
1
–
3
–
4
–
–
25
–
–
3
12

1990s
40
–
4
–
4
1
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
1
2
2
–
21
1
3
9
10

1980s
40
–
2
–
2
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
2
–
4
–
29
–
–
9
2

1970s
40
–
1
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
4
1
–
33
–
–
2
5

1960s
40
1
2
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
4
–
–
31
–
–
1
8

1950s
40
–
4
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
4
–
–
31
–
–
1
8

1940s
26
–
1
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
–
1
–
–
1
–
–
22
–
–
2
2

1930s
36
–
–
–
6
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
30
–
–
6
–

1920s
30
–
–
–
4
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
2
–
–
–
23
–
–
7
–

1910s
15
–
–
–
3
–
–
–
3
–
–
–
–
2
–
–
–
7
–
–
8
–

1900s
20
–
–
–
3
–
1
–
2
–
–
–
–
14
–
–
–
–
–
–
20
–

1890s
15
–
–
–
7
–
–
–
3
–
–
–
–
5
–
–
–
–
–
–
15
–

1880s
10
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
10
–
–
–
–
–
–
10
–

1870s
9
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
9
–
–
–
–
–
–
9
–

1860s
10
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
10
–
–
–
–
–
–
10
–

text: Scoring records[edit]

text: Scoring records - aggregate[edit]

text: The aggregate scoring records for each major are tabulated below. Green indicates an outright record and yellow indicates a shared record.

text:
Date
Tournament
Player
Country
Rounds
Score
To par

Apr 13, 1997
Masters Tournament
Woods, TigerTiger Woods
 United States
70-66-65-69
270
−18

Apr 12, 2015
Masters Tournament
Spieth, JordanJordan Spieth
 United States
64-66-70-70
270
−18

Aug 19, 2001
PGA Championship
Toms, DavidDavid Toms
 United States
66-65-65-69
265
−15

Jun 19, 2011
U.S. Open
McIlroy, RoryRory McIlroy
 Northern Ireland
65-66-68-69
268
−16

Jul 17, 2016
The Open Championship
Stenson, HenrikHenrik Stenson
 Sweden
68-65-68-63
264
−20

text: Scoring records - to par[edit]

text: The scoring records to par for each major are tabulated below. Green indicates an outright record and yellow indicates a shared record.

text:
Date
Tournament
Player
Country
Rounds
Score
To par
Finish

Apr 13, 1997
Masters Tournament
Woods, TigerTiger Woods
 United States
70-66-65-69
270
−18
Won

Jun 19, 2011
U.S. Open
McIlroy, RoryRory McIlroy
 Northern Ireland
65-66-68-69
268
−16
Won

Apr 12, 2015
Masters Tournament
Spieth, JordanJordan Spieth
 United States
64-66-70-70
270
−18
Won

Aug 16, 2015
PGA Championship
Day, JasonJason Day
 Australia
68-67-66-67
268
−20
Won

Jul 17, 2016
The Open Championship
Stenson, HenrikHenrik Stenson
 Sweden
68-65-68-63
264
−20
Won

Jun 18, 2017
U.S. Open
Koepka, BrooksBrooks Koepka
 United States
67-70-68-67
272
−16
Won

text: Single round records[edit]

text: The record for a single round in a major championship is 62 which was recorded by South African golfer Branden Grace in the third round of the 2017 Open Championship.

text:
#
Player
Country
Major
Date
Course
Rnd
To par
Finish

1
Grace, BrandenBranden Grace
 South Africa
The Open Championship
Jul 22, 2017
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
3
−8
7000600000000000000♠T6

text: Many players have recorded a score of 63.[27] This has occurred 32 times by 30 golfers between 1973 and 2017. Greg Norman and Vijay Singh are the only golfers to record two rounds of 63 in the majors. Johnny Miller was the first golfer to shoot 63 in a major and was the only golfer to shoot 63 in the final round to win a major until Henrik Stenson did so as well during the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club.

text:
#
Player
Country
Major
Date
Course
Rnd
To par
Finish

1
Miller, JohnnyJohnny Miller
 United States
U.S. Open
Jun 17, 1973
Oakmont Country Club
4
−8
7000100000000000000♠1

2
Crampton, BruceBruce Crampton
 Australia
PGA Championship
Aug 8, 1975
Firestone Country Club
2
−7
7000200000000000000♠2

3
Hayes, MarkMark Hayes
 United States
The Open Championship
Jul 7, 1977
Turnberry
2
−7
7000900000000000000♠T9

4
Weiskopf, TomTom Weiskopf
 United States
U.S. Open
Jun 12, 1980
Baltusrol Golf Club
1
−7
7001370000000000000♠37

5
Nicklaus, JackJack Nicklaus
 United States
U.S. Open
Jun 12, 1980
Baltusrol Golf Club (2)
1
−7
7000100000000000000♠1

6
Aoki, IsaoIsao Aoki
 Japan
The Open Championship
Jul 19, 1980
Muirfield
3
−8
7001120000000000000♠T12

7
Floyd, RaymondRaymond Floyd
 United States
PGA Championship
Aug 5, 1982
Southern Hills Country Club
1
−7
7000100000000000000♠1

8
Player, GaryGary Player
 South Africa
PGA Championship
Aug 17, 1984
Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club
2
−9
7000200000000000000♠T2

9
Price, NickNick Price
 Zimbabwe
Masters Tournament
Apr 12, 1986
Augusta National Golf Club
3
−9
7000500000000000000♠5

10
Norman, GregGreg Norman
 Australia
The Open Championship
Jul 18, 1986
Turnberry (2)
2
−7
7000100000000000000♠1

11
Broadhurst, PaulPaul Broadhurst
 England
The Open Championship
Jul 21, 1990
Old Course at St Andrews
3
−9
7001120000000000000♠T12

12
Mudd, JodieJodie Mudd
 United States
The Open Championship
Jul 21, 1991
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
4
−7
7000500000000000000♠T5

13
Faldo, NickNick Faldo
 England
The Open Championship
Jul 16, 1993
Royal St George's Golf Club
2
−7
7000200000000000000♠2

14
Stewart, PaynePayne Stewart
 United States
The Open Championship
Jul 18, 1993
Royal St George's Golf Club (2)
4
−7
7001120000000000000♠12

15
Singh, VijayVijay Singh
 Fiji
PGA Championship
Aug 13, 1993
Inverness Club
2
−8
7000400000000000000♠4

16
Bradley, MichaelMichael Bradley
 United States
PGA Championship
Aug 10, 1995
Riviera Country Club
1
−8
7001540000000000000♠T54

17
Faxon, BradBrad Faxon
 United States
PGA Championship
Aug 13, 1995
Riviera Country Club (2)
4
−8
7000500000000000000♠5

18
Norman, GregGreg Norman (2)
 Australia
Masters Tournament
Apr 11, 1996
Augusta National Golf Club (2)
1
−9
7000200000000000000♠2

19
Olazábal, José MaríaJosé María Olazábal
 Spain
PGA Championship
Aug 19, 2000
Valhalla Golf Club
3
−9
7000400000000000000♠T4

20
O'Meara, MarkMark O'Meara
 United States
PGA Championship
Aug 17, 2001
Atlanta Athletic Club
2
−7
7001220000000000000♠T22

21
Singh, VijayVijay Singh (2)
 Fiji
U.S. Open
Jun 13, 2003
Olympia Fields Country Club
2
−7
7001200000000000000♠T20

22
Bjørn, ThomasThomas Bjørn
 Denmark
PGA Championship
Aug 13, 2005
Baltusrol Golf Club (3)
3
−7
7000200000000000000♠T2

23
Woods, TigerTiger Woods
 United States
PGA Championship
Aug 10, 2007
Southern Hills Country Club (2)
2
−7
7000100000000000000♠1

24
McIlroy, RoryRory McIlroy
 Northern Ireland
The Open Championship
Jul 15, 2010
Old Course at St Andrews (2)
1
−9
7000300000000000000♠T3

25
Stricker, SteveSteve Stricker
 United States
PGA Championship
Aug 11, 2011
Atlanta Athletic Club (2)
1
−7
7001120000000000000♠T12

26
Dufner, JasonJason Dufner
 United States
PGA Championship
Aug 9, 2013
Oak Hill Country Club
2
−7
7000100000000000000♠1

27
Iwata, HiroshiHiroshi Iwata
 Japan
PGA Championship
Aug 14, 2015
Whistling Straits
2
−9
7001210000000000000♠T21

28
Mickelson, PhilPhil Mickelson
 United States
The Open Championship
Jul 14, 2016
Royal Troon Golf Club
1
−8
7000200000000000000♠2

29
Stenson, HenrikHenrik Stenson
 Sweden
The Open Championship
Jul 17, 2016
Royal Troon Golf Club (2)
4
−8
7000100000000000000♠1

30
Streb, RobertRobert Streb
 United States
PGA Championship
Jul 29, 2016
Baltusrol Golf Club (4)
2
−7
7000700000000000000♠T7

31
Thomas, JustinJustin Thomas
 United States
U.S. Open
Jun 17, 2017
Erin Hills
3
−9
7000900000000000000♠T9

32
Haotong, LiLi Haotong
 China
The Open Championship
Jul 23, 2017
Royal Birkdale Golf Club (2)
4
−7
7000300000000000000♠3

text: 'Player of the Year' in major championships[edit]

text: There is no official award presented to the player with the best overall record in the four majors, although the PGA's Player of the Year system favors performances in the major championships. Since 1984, world ranking points have been assigned to finishes in the majors, which has allowed a calculation of which player has earned the most ranking points in majors in a season – in almost every year since, one of the year's major winners has either won two of them, or has been the only player to win one and record a high finish in another (like Justin Leonard in 1997, David Duval in 2001, Lucas Glover in 2009 or Dustin Johnson in 2016), enough to finish top of such a merit table in those years. The single exception was Nick Faldo in 1988, whose finishes of 2nd, 3rd and 4th earned him more world ranking points than any of that year's champions achieved during the season.

text: Tables are occasionally constructed for interest showing the overall scoring records for those players who have completed all 288 holes in the majors during a season. In the 1970s, Jack Nicklaus led such a table in 1970–73, 1975 and 1979, with Gary Player leading in 1974, Raymond Floyd in 1976, and Tom Watson in 1977 and 1978. In the 1980s a notable leader was in 1987, when Ben Crenshaw was top of this compilation after finishing 4th, 4th, 4th and 7th in the four majors. In total Crenshaw took 1,140 strokes, only 12 more than the sum total of the four respective champions' scores of 1,128. Recent 'winners' of this accolade are Pádraig Harrington in 2008, Ross Fisher in 2009, Phil Mickelson in 2010, Charl Schwartzel in 2011, and Adam Scott in 2012. In 2013 Scott and fellow Australian Jason Day tied for this accolade with a cumulative score of +2. Rickie Fowler led in 2014 with −32 after top-five finishes in all four tournaments, while in 2015 Jordan Spieth led the standings by achieving the lowest all-time cumulative score in a year of −54, one shot better than the cumulative score of Tiger Woods in 2000. In 2016, Jason Day again led with −9, achieved despite not winning any of the major tournaments during the year. In 2017, Brooks Koepka topped the list with a cumulative scored of −21, one shot better than Matt Kuchar and Hideki Matsuyama.

text: Consecutive victories at a major championship[edit]

text:
Nationality
Player
Major
#
Years

 Scotland
Tom Morris, Jr.
The Open Championship
4
1868, 1869, 1870, 1872[a]

 United States
Walter Hagen
PGA Championship
4
1924, 1925, 1926, 1927

 Scotland
Jamie Anderson
The Open Championship
3
1877, 1878, 1879

 Scotland
Bob Ferguson
The Open Championship
3
1880, 1881, 1882

 Scotland
Willie Anderson
U.S. Open
3
1903, 1904, 1905

 Australia
Peter Thomson
The Open Championship
3
1954, 1955, 1956

 Scotland
Tom Morris, Sr.
The Open Championship
2
1861, 1862

 Jersey
Harry Vardon
The Open Championship
2
1898, 1899

 Scotland
James Braid
The Open Championship
2
1905, 1906

 England
John Henry Taylor
The Open Championship
2
1894, 1895

 United States
John McDermott
U.S. Open
2
1911, 1912

 England
Jim Barnes
PGA Championship
2
1916, 1919[a]

 United States
Gene Sarazen
PGA Championship
2
1922, 1923

 United States
Bobby Jones
The Open Championship
2
1926, 1927

 United States
Walter Hagen
The Open Championship
2
1928, 1929

 United States
Leo Diegel
PGA Championship
2
1928, 1929

 United States
Bobby Jones
U.S. Open
2
1929, 1930

 United States
Denny Shute
PGA Championship
2
1936, 1937

 United States
Ralph Guldahl
U.S. Open
2
1937, 1938

 South Africa
Bobby Locke
The Open Championship
2
1949, 1950

 United States
Ben Hogan
U.S. Open
2
1950, 1951

 United States
Arnold Palmer
The Open Championship
2
1961, 1962

 United States
Jack Nicklaus
Masters Tournament
2
1965, 1966

 United States
Lee Trevino
The Open Championship
2
1971, 1972

 United States
Tom Watson
The Open Championship
2
1982, 1983

 United States
Curtis Strange
U.S. Open
2
1988, 1989

 England
Nick Faldo
Masters Tournament
2
1989, 1990

 United States
Tiger Woods
PGA Championship
2
1999, 2000

 United States
Tiger Woods
Masters Tournament
2
2001, 2002

 United States
Tiger Woods
The Open Championship
2
2005, 2006

 United States
Tiger Woods
PGA Championship (2)
2
2006, 2007

 Ireland
Pádraig Harrington
The Open Championship
2
2007, 2008

text: a These are consecutive because no tournaments were played in between at The Open Championship in 1871 or at the PGA Championship in 1917 and 1918.

text: Wire-to-wire major victories[edit]

text: Players who have led or been tied for the lead after each round of a major.

text:
Outright leader after every round

Nationality
Player
Year
Major

 Jersey
Ted Ray
1912
Open

 United States
Walter Hagen
1914
U.S.

 England
Jim Barnes
1921

 United States
Bobby Jones
1927
Open

Gene Sarazen
1932

 England
Henry Cotton
1934

 United States
Craig Wood
1941
Masters

Ben Hogan
1953
U.S.

Arnold Palmer
1960
Masters

Bobby Nichols
1964
PGA

 England
Tony Jacklin
1970
U.S.

 United States
Jack Nicklaus
1971
PGA

1972
Masters

Tom Weiskopf
1973
Open

Raymond Floyd
1976
Masters

1982
PGA

Hal Sutton
1983

Tiger Woods
2000
U.S.

2002

2005
Open

 Northern Ireland
Rory McIlroy
2011
U.S.

 Germany
Martin Kaymer
2014

 Northern Ireland
Rory McIlroy
Open

 United States
Jordan Spieth
2015
Masters

Tied for the lead at the end of least one round

Nationality
Player
Year
Major

 Scotland
Willie Anderson
1903
U.S.

Alex Smith
1906

 United States
Chick Evans
1916

Tommy Bolt
1958

Arnold Palmer
1964
Masters

Raymond Floyd
1969
PGA

Jack Nicklaus
1972
U.S.

Hubert Green
1977

 Spain
Seve Ballesteros
1980
Masters

 United States
Jack Nicklaus
U.S.

Payne Stewart
1991

 Zimbabwe
Nick Price
1994
PGA

 United States
Tiger Woods
2000

 South Africa
Retief Goosen
2001
U.S.

 United States
Phil Mickelson
2005
PGA

 South Africa
Trevor Immelman
2008
Masters

 United States
Jimmy Walker
2016
PGA

Jordan Spieth
2017
Open

text: Top ten finishes in all four modern majors in one season[edit]

text: It was rare, before the early 1960s, for the leading players from around the world to have the opportunity to compete in all four of the 'modern' majors in one season, because of the different qualifying criteria used in each at the time, the costs of traveling to compete (in an era when tournament prize money was very low, and only the champion himself would earn the chance of ongoing endorsements), and on occasion even the conflicting scheduling of the Open and PGA Championships. In 1937, the U.S. Ryder Cup side all competed in The Open Championship, but of those who finished in the top ten of that event, only Ed Dudley could claim a "top ten" finish in all four of the majors in 1937, if his defeat in the last-16 round of that year's PGA Championship (then at matchplay) was considered a "joint 9th" position.

text: Following 1960, when Arnold Palmer's narrowly failed bid to add the Open Championship to his Masters and U.S. Open titles (and thus emulate Hogan's 1953 "triple crown") helped to establish the concept of the modern professional "Grand Slam", it has become commonplace for the leading players to be invited to, and indeed compete in, all four majors each year. Even so, those who have recorded top-ten finishes in all four, in a single year, remains a small and select group.

text:
Three majors won in calendar year that the top ten was completed  #

Two majors won in calendar year that the top ten was completed  ‡

One major won in calendar year that the top ten was completed  †

No majors won in calendar year that the top ten was completed  ^

Never won a regular tour major championship in his career  *

text:
Nationality
Player
Year
Wins
Major championship results
Lowest
placing

Masters
U.S. Open
Open Ch.
PGA Ch.

 United States
Ed Dudley  *
1937
0
3rd
5th
6th
R16
R16

 United States
Arnold Palmer  ‡
1960
2
1
1
2nd
T7
T7

 South Africa
Gary Player  ^
1963
0
T5
T8
T7
T8
T8

 United States
Arnold Palmer (2)  ^
1966
0
T4
2nd
T8
T6
T8

 United States
Doug Sanders  *
1966
0
T4
T8
T2
T6
T8

 United States
Miller Barber  *
1969
0
7th
T6
10th
T5
10th

 United States
Jack Nicklaus  †
1971
1
T2
2nd
T5
1
T5

 United States
Jack Nicklaus (2)  †
1973
1
T3
T4
4th
1
T4

 United States
Jack Nicklaus (3)  ^
1974
0
T4
T10
3rd
2nd
T10

 South Africa
Gary Player (2)  ‡
1974
2
1
T8
1
7th
T8

 United States
Hale Irwin  ^
1975
0
T4
T3
T9
T5
T9

 United States
Jack Nicklaus (4)  ‡
1975
2
1
T7
T3
1
T7

 United States
Tom Watson  †
1975
1
T8
T9
1
9th
T9

 United States
Jack Nicklaus (5)  ^
1977
0
2nd
T10
2nd
3rd
T10

 United States
Tom Watson (2)  ‡
1977
2
1
T7
1
T6
T7

 United States
Tom Watson (3)  ‡
1982
2
T5
1
1
T9
T9

 United States
Ben Crenshaw  ^
1987
0
T4
T4
T4
T7
T7

 United States
Tiger Woods  #
2000
3
5th
1
1
1
5th

 Spain
Sergio García  ^
2002
0
8th
4th
T8
10th
10th

 South Africa
Ernie Els  ^
2004
0
2nd
T9
2nd
T4
T9

 United States
Phil Mickelson  †
2004
1
1
2nd
3rd
T6
T6

 Fiji
Vijay Singh  ^
2005
0
T5
T6
T5
T10
T10

 United States
Tiger Woods (2)  ‡
2005
2
1
2nd
1
T4
T4

 United States
Rickie Fowler  *
2014
0
T5
T2
T2
T3
T5

 United States
Jordan Spieth  ‡
2015
2
1
1
T4
2nd
T4

text: On 13 of the 25 occasions the feat has been achieved, the player in question did not win a major that year – indeed, three of the players (Dudley, Sanders and Barber) failed to win a major championship in their careers (although Barber would go on to win five senior majors), and Fowler has also yet to win one (as of the end of the 2017 Open Championship).

text: Multiple major victories in a calendar year[edit]

text: Four[edit]

text: 1930:  Bobby Jones; The Open Championship, U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur Championship, The Amateur Championship

text: Three[edit]

text:
1953:  Ben Hogan; Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, and The Open Championship
2000:  Tiger Woods; U.S. Open, The Open Championship, and The PGA Championship

text: Two[edit]

text: Masters and U.S. Open[edit]

text:
1941:  Craig Wood
1951:  Ben Hogan
1960:  Arnold Palmer
1972:  Jack Nicklaus
2002:  Tiger Woods
2015:  Jordan Spieth

text: Masters and Open Championship[edit]

text:
1962:  Arnold Palmer
1966:  Jack Nicklaus
1974:  Gary Player
1977:  Tom Watson
1990:  Nick Faldo
1998:  Mark O'Meara
2005:  Tiger Woods

text: Masters and PGA Championship[edit]

text:
1949:  Sam Snead
1956:  Jack Burke, Jr
1963:  Jack Nicklaus
1975:  Jack Nicklaus

text: U.S. Open and Open Championship[edit]

text:
1926:  Bobby Jones
1932:  Gene Sarazen
1971:  Lee Trevino
1982:  Tom Watson

text: U.S. Open and PGA Championship[edit]

text:
1922:  Gene Sarazen
1948:  Ben Hogan
1980:  Jack Nicklaus

text: Open Championship and PGA Championship[edit]

text:
1924:  Walter Hagen
1994:  Nick Price
2006:  Tiger Woods
2008:  Pádraig Harrington
2014:  Rory McIlroy

text: Consecutive major victories (including over multiple years)[edit]

text: Four[edit]

text:
1868–72:  Young Tom Morris 1868 Open, 1869 Open, 1870 Open, 1872 Open (No Open Championship played in 1871)
1930:  Bobby Jones 1930 Amateur, 1930 Open, 1930 U.S. Open, 1930 U.S. Amateur
2000–01:  Tiger Woods 2000 U.S. Open, 2000 Open, 2000 PGA, 2001 Masters

text: Three[edit]

text:
1877–79:  Jamie Anderson 1877 Open, 1878 Open, 1879 Open
1880–82:  Bob Ferguson 1880 Open, 1881 Open, 1882 Open

text: Two[edit]

text: Note: The order in which the majors were contested was inconsistent between 1895 and 1953. Since 1954, the majors have been played in their modern order (Masters, U.S. Open, Open Championship, PGA), except 1971, when the PGA was played prior to the Masters.

text:
1861–62:  Old Tom Morris 1861 Open, 1862 Open
1894–95:  J.H. Taylor 1894 Open, 1895 Open
1920–21:  Jock Hutchison 1920 PGA, 1921 Open (The Open Championship was the first major contested in 1921)
1921–22:  Walter Hagen 1921 PGA, 1922 Open (The Open Championship was the first major contested in 1922)
1922:  Gene Sarazen 1922 U.S. Open, 1922 PGA
1924:  Walter Hagen 1924 Open, 1924 PGA
1926:  Bobby Jones 1926 Open, 1926 U.S. Open (The Open Championship was played before the U.S. Open in 1926)
1927–28:  Walter Hagen 1927 PGA, 1928 Open (The Open Championship was the first major contested in 1928)
1930–31:  Tommy Armour 1930 PGA, 1931 Open (The Open Championship was the first major contested in 1931)
1932:  Gene Sarazen 1932 Open, 1932 U.S. Open (The Open Championship was the first major contested in 1932, followed by the U.S. Open)
1941:  Craig Wood 1941 Masters, 1941 U.S. Open
1948:  Ben Hogan 1948 PGA, 1948 U.S. Open (The PGA was played between the Masters and U.S. Open in 1948)
1949:  Sam Snead 1949 Masters, 1949 PGA (As in 1948, the 1949 PGA was played between the Masters and U.S. Open)
1951:  Ben Hogan 1951 Masters, 1951 U.S. Open
1953:  Ben Hogan; 1953 Masters, 1953 U.S. Open (The 1953 Open Championship, also won by Hogan, was actually concluded only 3 days after 1953 PGA)
1960:  Arnold Palmer 1960 Masters, 1960 U.S. Open
1971:  Lee Trevino 1971 U.S. Open, 1971 Open
1972:  Jack Nicklaus 1972 Masters, 1972 U.S. Open (The 1971 PGA, also won by Nicklaus, was not consecutive due to being played prior to the Masters in 1971)
1982:  Tom Watson 1982 U.S. Open, 1982 Open
1994:  Nick Price 1994 Open, 1994 PGA
2002:  Tiger Woods 2002 Masters, 2002 U.S. Open
2005–06:  Phil Mickelson 2005 PGA, 2006 Masters
2006:  Tiger Woods 2006 Open, 2006 PGA
2008:  Pádraig Harrington 2008 Open, 2008 PGA
2014:  Rory McIlroy 2014 Open, 2014 PGA
2015:  Jordan Spieth 2015 Masters, 2015 U.S. Open

text: Most runner-up finishes in major championships[edit]

text: For the purposes of this section a runner-up is defined as someone who either (i) tied for the lead after 72 holes (or 36 holes in the case of the early championships) but lost the playoff or (ii) finished alone or in a tie for second place. In a few instances players have been involved in a playoff for the win or for second place prize money and have ended up taking the third prize (e.g. 1870 Open Championship, 1966 Masters Tournament). These players are still regarded as being runners-up. For match play PGA Championships up to 1957 the runner-up is the losing finalist.

text: Along with his record 18 major victories, Jack Nicklaus also holds the record for most runner-up finishes in major championships, with 19, including a record 7 at the Open Championship. Phil Mickelson has the second most with 11 runner-up finishes after the 2016 Open Championship, which includes a record 6 runner-up finishes at the U.S. Open, the one major he has never won. Arnold Palmer had 10 second places, including three in the major he never won, the PGA Championship. There have been three golfers with 8 runner-up finishes – Sam Snead, Greg Norman and Tom Watson. Norman shares the distinction of having lost playoffs in each of the four majors with Craig Wood (who lost the 1934 PGA final – at match play – on the second extra hole).

text:
Jack Nicklaus: 19 (1960–1983)
 Phil Mickelson: 11 (1999–2016)
 Arnold Palmer: 10 (1960–1970)
 Sam Snead: 8 (1937–1957)
 Greg Norman: 8 (1984–1996)
 Tom Watson: 8 (1978–2009)

text: Players with most runner-up finishes but no major victories[edit]

text:
Colin Montgomerie 5: U.S. Open 1994, 1997, 2006; Open 2005; PGA 1995
/ Harry Cooper 4: U.S. Open 1927, 1936; Masters 1936, 1938
 Doug Sanders 4: U.S. Open 1961; Open 1966, 1970; PGA 1959
 Bruce Crampton 4: Masters 1972; U.S. Open 1972; PGA 1973, 1975[a]

text: a Crampton was second to Jack Nicklaus on each occasion.


document_title: Economic history of Germany

question_text: what kind of economic system did west germany have

question_tokens: what kind of economic system did west germany have

root

text: Economic history of Germany

text: Middle Ages[edit]

text: Medieval Germany, lying on the open Northern European Plain, was divided into hundreds of contending kingdoms, principalities, dukedoms/duchyes, bishoprics/dioceses, and free cities. Economic prosperity did not mean geographical expansion; it required collaboration with some, competition with others, and an intimate understanding among government, commerce, and production. A desire to save was also born in the German experience of political, military, and economic uncertainty.[2]

tag: p

text: Towns and cities[edit]

text: The German lands had a population of about 5 or 6 million. The great majority were farmers, typically in a state of serfdom under the control of nobles and monasteries.[3] A few towns were starting to emerge. From 1100, new towns were founded around imperial strongholds, castles, bishops' palaces and monasteries. The towns began to establish municipal rights and liberties (see German town law). Several cities such as Cologne became Imperial Free Cities, which did not depend on princes or bishops, but were immediately subject to the Emperor.[4] The towns were ruled by patricians (merchants carrying on long-distance trade). The craftsmen formed guilds, governed by strict rules, which sought to obtain control of the towns; a few were open to women. Society was divided into sharply demarcated classes: the clergy, physicians, merchants, various guilds of artisans; full citizenship was not available to paupers. Political tensions arose from issues of taxation, public spending, regulation of business, and market supervision, as well as the limits of corporate autonomy.[5] Cologne's central location on the Rhine river placed it at the intersection of the major trade routes between east and west and was the basis of Cologne's growth.[6] The economic structures of medieval and early modern Cologne were characterized by the city's status as a major harbor and transport hub upon the Rhine. It was governed by its burghers.[7]

text: Hanseatic League[edit]

text: Long-distance trade in the Baltic intensified, as the major trading towns came together in the Hanseatic League, under the leadership of Lübeck.

text: It was a business alliance of trading cities and their guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe and flourished from 1200 to 1500, and continued with lesser importance after that. The chief cities were Cologne on the Rhine River, Hamburg and Bremen on the North Sea, and Lübeck on the Baltic.[8]

text: The Hanseatic cities each had its own legal system and a degree of political autonomy.[9]

text: Early modern era[edit]

text: Thirty Years War[edit]

text: The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) was ruinous to the twenty million civilians and set back the economy for generations, as marauding armies burned and destroyed what they could not seize. The fighting often was out of control, with marauding bands of hundreds or thousands of starving soldiers spreading plague, plunder, and murder. The armies that were under control moved back and forth across the countryside year after year, levying heavy taxes on cities, and seizing the animals and food stocks of the peasants without payment. The enormous social disruption over three decades caused a dramatic decline in population because of killings, disease, crop failures, declining birth rates and random destruction, and the emigration of terrified people. One estimate shows a 38% drop from 16 million people in 1618 to 10 million by 1650, while another shows "only" a 20% drop from 20 million to 16 million. The Altmark and Württemberg regions were especially hard hit. It took generations for Germany to fully recover.[10]

text: According to John Gagliardo, the recovery period lasted for about fifty years until the end of the century and was over by the 1700s. At that time, Germany probably had reached its pre-war population (though this is disputed). Then, there was a period of steady though quite slow growth to the 1740s. Afterward came a period of rapid but not exceptional economic expansion, that mainly occurred in the great states in the east (Austria, Saxony, Prussia) rather than in the small states of central or south Germany.[11]

text: Peasants and rural life[edit]

text: Peasants continued to center their lives in the village, where they were members of a corporate body and help manage the community resources and monitor the community life. Across Germany and especially in the east, they were serfs who were bound permanently to parcels of land.[12] In most of Germany, farming was handled by tenant farmers who paid rents and obligatory services to the landlord, who was typically a nobleman.[13] Peasant leaders supervised the fields and ditches and grazing rights, maintained public order and morals, and supported a village court which handled minor offenses. Inside the family the patriarch made all the decisions, and tried to arrange advantageous marriages for his children. Much of the villages' communal life centered around church services and holy days. In Prussia, the peasants drew lots to choose conscripts required by the army. The noblemen handled external relationships and politics for the villages under their control, and were not typically involved in daily activities or decisions.[14][15]

text: The emancipation of the serfs came in 1770-1830, beginning with then Danish Schleswig in 1780. Prussia abolished serfdom with the October Edict of 1807, which upgraded the personal legal status of the peasantry and gave them the chance to purchase for cash part of the lands they were working. They could also sell the land they already owned. The edict applied to all peasants whose holdings were above a certain size, and included both Crown lands and noble estates. The peasants were freed from the obligation of personal services to the lord and annual dues. A bank was set up so that landowner could borrow government money to buy land from peasants (the peasants were not allowed to use it to borrow money to buy land until 1850). The result was that the large landowners obtained larger estates, and many peasant became landless tenants, or moved to the cities or to America. The other German states imitated Prussia after 1815. In sharp contrast to the violence that characterized land reform in the French Revolution, Germany handled it peacefully. In Schleswig the peasants, who had been influenced by the Enlightenment, played an active role; elsewhere they were largely passive. Indeed, for most peasants, customs and traditions continued largely unchanged, including the old habits of deference to the nobles whose legal authority remained quite strong over the villagers. Although the peasants were no longer tied to the same land like serfs had been, the old paternalistic relationship in East Prussia lasted into the 20th century.[16]

text: Industrial revolution[edit]

text: Before 1850 Germany lagged behind the leaders in industrial development, Britain, France and Belgium. However, the country had considerable assets : a highly skilled labor force, a good educational system, a strong work ethic, good standards of living and a sound protectionist strategy based on the Zollverein. By midcentury, the German states were catching up, and by 1900 Germany was a world leader in industrialization, along with Britain and the United States. In 1800, Germany's social structure was poorly suited to any kind of social or industrial development. Domination by modernizing France during the era of the French Revolution (1790s to 1815) produced important institutional reforms, including the abolition of feudal restrictions on the sale of large landed estates, the reduction of the power of the guilds in the cities, and the introduction of a new, more efficient commercial law. Nevertheless, traditionalism remained strong in most of Germany. Until midcentury, the guilds, the landed aristocracy, the churches, and the government bureaucracies had so many rules and restrictions that entrepreneurship was held in low esteem, and given little opportunity to develop.[17]

text: From the 1830s and 1840s, Prussia, Saxony, and other states reorganized agriculture, introducing sugar beets, turnips, and potatoes, yielding a higher level of food production that enabled a surplus rural population to move to industrial areas. The beginning of the industrial revolution in Germany came in the textile industry, and was facilitated by eliminating tariff barriers through the Zollverein, starting in 1834. The takeoff stage of economic development came with the railroad revolution in the 1840s, which opened up new markets for local products, created a pool of middle managers, increased the demand for engineers, architects and skilled machinists, and stimulated investments in coal and iron.[18] The political decisions about the economy of Prussia (and after 1871, all of Germany) were largely controlled by a coalition of "rye and iron", that is the Junker landowners of the east and the heavy industry of the west.[19]

text: Regions[edit]

text: The north German states were for the most part richer in natural resources than the southern states. They had vast agricultural tracts from Schleswig-Holstein in the west through Prussia in the east. They also had coal and iron in the Ruhr Valley. Through the practice of primogeniture, widely followed in northern Germany, large estates and fortunes grew. So did close relations between the owners and local as well as national governments.

text: The south German states were relatively poor in natural resources and those Germans therefore engaged more often in small economic enterprises. They also had no primogeniture rule but subdivided the land among several offspring, leading those offspring to remain in their native towns but not fully able to support themselves from their small parcels of land. The south German states, therefore, fostered cottage industries, crafts, and a more independent and self-reliant spirit less closely linked to the government.

text: Coal[edit]

text: The first important mines appeared in the 1750s, in the valleys of the rivers Ruhr, Inde and Wurm where coal seams outcropped and horizontal adit mining was possible. In 1782 the Krupp family began operations near Essen. After 1815 entrepreneurs in the Ruhr Area, which then became part of Prussia, took advantage of the tariff zone (Zollverein) to open new mines and associated iron smelters. New railroads were built by British engineers around 1850. Numerous small industrial centres sprang up, focused on ironworks, using local coal. The iron and steel works typically bought mines and erected coking ovens to supply their own requirements in coke and gas. These integrated coal-iron firms ("Huettenzechen") became numerous after 1854; after 1900 they became mixed firms called "Konzern."

text: The output of an average mine in 1850 was about 8,500 short tons; its employment about 64. By 1900, this output had risen to 280,000 and employment to about 1,400.[20] Total Ruhr coal output rose from 2.0 million short tons in 1850 to 22 in 1880, 60 in 1900, and 114 in 1913, on the verge of war. In 1932 output was down to 73 million short tons, growing to 130 in 1940. Output peaked in 1957 (at 123 million), declining to 78 million short tons in 1974.[21] By the end of 2010, only five coal mines were producing in Germany.

text: The miners in the Ruhr region were divided by ethnicity (Germans and Poles) and religion (Protestants and Catholics). Mobility in and out of the mining camps to nearby industrial areas was high. The miners split into several unions, with an affiliation to a political party. As a result, the socialist union (affiliated with the Social Democratic Party) competed with Catholic and Communist unions until 1933, when the Nazis took over all of them. After 1945 the socialists came to the fore.[22]

text: Banks and cartels[edit]

text: German banks played central roles in financing German industry. Different banks formed cartels in different industries. Cartel contracts were accepted as legal and binding by German courts although they were held to be illegal in Britain and the United States.

text: The process of cartelization began slowly, but the cartel movement took hold after 1873 in the economic depression that followed the postunification speculative bubble. It began in heavy industry and spread throughout other industries. By 1900 there were 275 cartels in operation; by 1908, over 500. By some estimates, different cartel arrangements may have numbered in the thousands at different times, but many German companies stayed outside the cartels because they did not welcome the restrictions that membership imposed.

text: The government played a powerful role in the industrialization of the German Empire founded by Otto von Bismarck in 1871 during a period known as the Second Industrial Revolution. It supported not only heavy industry but also crafts and trades because it wanted to maintain prosperity in all parts of the empire. Even where the national government did not act, the highly autonomous regional and local governments supported their own industries. Each state tried to be as self-sufficient as possible.

text: Despite the several ups and downs of prosperity and depression that marked the first decades of the German Empire, the ultimate wealth of the empire proved immense. German aristocrats, landowners, bankers, and producers created what might be termed the first German economic miracle, the turn-of-the-century surge in German industry and commerce during which bankers, industrialists, mercantilists, the military, and the monarchy joined forces.

text: Class and the welfare state[edit]

text: Germany's middle class, based in the cities, grew exponentially, but it never gained the political power it had in France, Britain or the United States. The Association of German Women's Organizations (BDF) was established in 1894 to encompass the proliferating women's organizations that had sprung up since the 1860s. From the beginning the BDF was a bourgeois organization, its members working toward equality with men in such areas as education, financial opportunities, and political life. Working-class women were not welcome; they were organized by the Socialists.[23]

text: Bismarck built on a tradition of welfare programs in Prussia and Saxony that began as early as in the 1840s. In the 1880s he introduced old age pensions, accident insurance, medical care and unemployment insurance that formed the basis of the modern European welfare state. His paternalistic programs won the support of German industry because its goals were to win the support of the working classes for the Empire and reduce the outflow of immigrants to America, where wages were higher, but welfare did not exist.[24] Bismarck further won the support of both industry and skilled workers by his high tariff policies, which protected profits and wages from American competition, although they alienated the liberal intellectuals who wanted free trade.[25]

text: Railways[edit]

text: Political disunity of three dozen states and a pervasive conservatism made it difficult to build railways in the 1830s. However, by the 1840s, trunk lines did link the major cities; each German state was responsible for the lines within its own borders. Economist Friedrich List summed up the advantages to be derived from the development of the railway system in 1841:

text:
as a means of national defence, it facilitates the concentration, distribution and direction of the army.
It is a means to the improvement of the culture of the nation…. It brings talent, knowledge and skill of every kind readily to market.
It secures the community against dearth and famine, and against excessive fluctuation in the prices of the necessaries of life.
It promotes the spirit of the nation, as it has a tendency to destroy the Philistine spirit arising from isolation and provincial prejudice and vanity. It binds nations by ligaments, and promotes an interchange of food and of commodities, thus making it feel to be a unit. The iron rails become a nerve system, which, on the one hand, strengthens public opinion, and, on the other hand, strengthens the power of the state for police and governmental purposes.[26]

tag: ul

text: Lacking a technological base at first, the Germans imported their engineering and hardware from Britain, but quickly learned the skills needed to operate and expand the railways. In many cities, the new railway shops were the centres of technological awareness and training, so that by 1850, Germany was self-sufficient in meeting the demands of railroad construction, and the railways were a major impetus for the growth of the new steel industry. Observers found that even as late as 1890, their engineering was inferior to Britain’s. However, German unification in 1870 stimulated consolidation, nationalisation into state-owned companies, and further rapid growth. Unlike the situation in France, the goal was support of industrialisation, and so heavy lines crisscrossed the Ruhr and other industrial districts, and provided good connections to the major ports of Hamburg and Bremen. By 1880, Germany had 9,400 locomotives pulling 43,000 passengers and 30,000 tons of freight, and pulled ahead of France.[27][28]

text: Agriculture[edit]

text: Perkins (1981) argues that more important than Bismarck's new tariff on imported grain was the introduction of the sugar beet as a primary crop. Farmers quickly abandoned traditional, inefficient practices for modern new methods, including use of new fertilizers and new tools. The knowledge and tools gained from the intensive farming of sugar and other root crops made Germany the most efficient agricultural producer in Europe by 1914.[29] Even so, farms were small in size, and women did much of the field work. An unintended consequence was the increased dependence on migratory workers, especially from German's Polish districts.[30]

text: Chemicals[edit]

text: The economy continued to industrialize and urbanize, with heavy industry (coal and steel especially) becoming important in the Ruhr, and manufacturing growing in the cities, the Ruhr, and Silesia.[31] Based on its leadership in chemical research in the universities and industrial laboratories, Germany became dominant in the world's chemical industry in the late 19th century. Big businesses such as BASF and Bayer led the way in their production and distribution of artificial dyes and pharmaceuticals during the Wilhelmine era, leading to the German monopolisation of the global chemicals market at 90 percent of the entire share of international volumes of trade in chemical products by 1914.[32]

text: Steel[edit]

text: Germany became Europe's leading steel-producing nations in the late 19th century, thanks in large part to the protection from American and British competition afforded by tariffs and cartels.[33] The leading firm was "Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp" run by the Krupp family[34] The "German Steel Federation" was established in 1874.[35]

text: 20th century[edit]

text: The merger of four major firms into the Vereinigte Stahlwerke (United Steel Works) in 1926 was modeled on the U.S. Steel corporation in the U.S. The goal was to move beyond the limitations of the old cartel system by incorporating advances simultaneously inside a single corporation. The new company emphasized rationalization of management structures and modernization of the technology; it employed a multi-divisional structure and used return on investment as its measure of success.[36]

text: By 1913 American and German exports dominated the world steel market, as Britain slipped to third place.[37]

text: In machinery, iron and steel and other industries, German firms avoided cut-throat competition and instead relied on trade associations. Germany was a world leader because of its prevailing "corporatist mentality", its strong bureaucratic tradition, and the encouragement of the government. These associations regulated competition and allowed small firms to function in the shadow of much larger companies.[38]

text: First World War[edit]

text: Unexpectedly Germany plunged into World War I (1914–1918). It rapidly mobilized its civilian economy for the war effort. The economy suffered under the British blockade, which cut off supplies.[39]

text: Weimar Republic[edit]

text: British economist John Maynard Keynes denounced the 1919 Treaty of Versailles as ruinous to German and global prosperity. In his book The Economic Consequences of the Peace.[40] Keynes said the Treaty was a "Carthaginian peace", a misguided attempt to destroy Germany on behalf of French revanchism, rather than to follow the fairer principles for a lasting peace set out in President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points, which Germany had accepted at the armistice. Keynes argued the sums being asked of Germany in reparations were many times more than it was possible for Germany to pay, and that these would produce drastic instability.[41] French economist Étienne Mantoux disputed that analysis in The Carthaginian Peace, or the Economic Consequences of Mr. Keynes (1946). More recently economists have argued that the restriction of Germany to a small army in the 1920s saved it so much money it could afford the reparations payments.[42]

text: In reality, the total German Reparation payments actually made were far smaller than anyone expected. The total came to 20 billion German gold marks, worth about $5 billion US dollars or £1 billion British pounds. German reparations payments ended in 1931.[43]

text: The war and the treaty were followed by the Hyper-inflation of the early 1920s that wreaked havoc on Germany's social structure and political stability. During that inflation, the value of the nation's currency, the Papiermark, collapsed from 8.9 per US$1 in 1918 to 4.2 trillion per US$1 by November 1923. Prosperity reigned 1923–29, supported by large bank loans from New York.

text: The Great Depression struck Germany hard, starting in late 1929.[44] There were no new American loans. Unemployment soared, especially in larger cities, fueling extremism and violence on the far right and far left, as the centre of the political spectrum weakened. Germany had paid about one-eighth of its war reparations when they were suspended in 1932 by the Lausanne Conference of 1932. The failure of major banks in Germany and Austria in 1931 worsened the worldwide banking crisis.[45]

text: So, as known, Germany was among the countries most severely affected by the great depression because its recovery and rationalization of major industries was financed by unsustainable foreign lending. And as mentioned, war reparation obligations reduced investment propensity and, perhaps most importantly, the government implemented a rigid austerity policy that resulted in deflation. [46]

text: As unemployment reached very high levels, the national socialists accumulated government power and began to pursue their inhuman policies against the Jewish minority, political leftists and many other groups. After being elected, the national socialists undertook a series of rapid steps to abolish democracy. Their trade policy in Germany consisted of an autarkic policy regime that aimed to cancel all imports, such as foodstuffs, that could be replaced with domestic substitutes or raw materials for the consumer-oriented industries. Only imports of iron ore and similar items were considered necessary because a main aim of the government was to strengthen the production capacity of military products. Interestingly, both the persecuted and non-persecuted German groups suffered from these autarkic and trade-restraining policies. [47]

text: Nazi economy[edit]

text: During the Hitler era (1933–45), the economy developed a hothouse prosperity, supported with high government subsidies to those sectors that tended to give Germany military power and economic autarky, that is, economic independence from the global economy.[48] During the war itself the German economy was sustained by the exploitation of conquered territories and people.

text: Physical capital in the occupied territories was destroyed by the war, insufficient reinvestment and maintenance, whereas the industrial capacity of Germany increased substantially until the end of the war despite heavy bombing. (However, much of this capacity was useless after the war because it specialized in armament production.) [49]

text: With the loss of the war, the country entered into the period known as Stunde Null ("Zero Hour"), when Germany lay in ruins and the society had to be rebuilt from scratch.

text: Post-World War II[edit]

text: The first several years after World War II were years of bitter penury for the Germans. Seven million forced laborers left for their own land, but about 14 million Germans came in from the East, living for years in dismal camps. It took nearly a decade for all the German POWs to return. In the West, farm production fell, food supplies were cut off from eastern Germany (controlled by the Soviets) and food shipments extorted from conquered lands ended. The standard of living fell to levels not seen in a century, and food was always in short supply. High inflation made savings (and debts) lose 99% of their value, while the black market distorted the economy. In the East, the Soviets crushed dissent and imposed another police state, often employing ex-Nazis in the dreaded Stasi.[50] The Soviets extracted about 23% of the East German GNP for reparations, while in the West reparations were a minor factor.[51]

text: The man who took full advantage of Germany's postwar opportunity was Ludwig Erhard, who was determined to shape a new and different kind of German economy. He was given his chance by United States officials, who found him working in Nuremberg and who saw that many of his ideas coincided with their own.

text: Erhard abolished the Reichsmark and then created a new currency, the Deutsche Mark, on 21 June 1948, with the concurrence of the Western Allies but also taking advantage of the opportunity to abolish most Nazi and occupation rules and regulations. It established the foundations of the West German economy and of the West German state.

text: Productivity improves[edit]

text: After 1950, Germany overtook Britain in comparative productivity levels for the whole economy, primarily as a result of trends in services rather than trends in industry. The Marshall Plan was eagerly adopted in west Germany as a way to modernize business procedures and utilize the best practices, while these changes were resisted in Britain.[52] Britain's historic lead in productivity of its services sector was based on external economies of scale in a highly urbanized economy with an international orientation. On the other hand, the low productivity in Germany was caused by the underdevelopment of services generally, especially in rural areas that comprised a much larger sector. As German farm employment declined sharply after 1950 thanks to mechanization, catching-up occurred in services. This process was aided by a sharp increase in human and physical capital accumulation, a pro-growth government policy, and the effective utilization of the education sector to create a more productive work force.[53]

text: Social market economy[edit]

text: The Germans proudly label their economy a "soziale Marktwirtschaft," or "social market economy," to show that the system as it has developed after World War II has both a material and a social—or human—dimension. They stress the importance of the term "market" because after the Nazi experience they wanted an economy free of state intervention and domination. The only state role in the new West German economy was to protect the competitive environment from monopolistic or oligopolistic tendencies—including its own. The term "social" is stressed because West Germans wanted an economy that would not only help the wealthy but also care for the workers and others who might not prove able to cope with the strenuous competitive demands of a market economy. The term "social" was chosen rather than "socialist" to distinguish their system from those in which the state claimed the right to direct the economy or to intervene in it.

text: Beyond these principles of the social market economy, but linked to it, comes a more traditional German concept, that of Ordnung, which can be directly translated to mean order but which really means an economy, society, and policy that are structured but not dictatorial. The founders of the social market economy insisted that Denken in Ordnungen—to think in terms of systems of order—was essential. They also spoke of Ordoliberalism because the essence of the concept is that this must be a freely chosen order, not a command order.

text: Over time, the term "social" in the social market economy began to take on a life of its own. It moved the West German economy toward an extensive social welfare system that has become one of the most expensive in the world. Moreover, the West German federal government and the states (Länder ; sing., Land ) began to compensate for irregularities in economic cycles and for shifts in world production by beginning to shelter and support some sectors and industries. In an even greater departure from the Erhard tradition, the government became an instrument for the preservation of existing industries rather than a force for renewal.[54] In the 1970s, the state assumed an ever more important role in the economy. During the 1980s, Chancellor Helmut Kohl tried to reduce that state role, and he succeeded in part, but German unification again compelled the German government to assume a stronger role in the economy. Thus, the contradiction between the terms "social" and "market" has remained an element for debate in Germany.

text: Given the internal contradiction in its philosophy, the German economy is both conservative and dynamic. It is conservative in the sense that it draws on the part of the German tradition that envisages some state role in the economy and a cautious attitude toward investment and risk-taking.[54] It is dynamic in the sense that it is directed toward growth—even if that growth may be slow and steady rather than spectacular. It tries to combine the virtues of a market system with the virtues of a social welfare system.

text: Economic miracle and beyond[edit]

text: The economic reforms and the new West German system received powerful support from a number of sources: investment funds under the European Recovery Program, more commonly known as the Marshall Plan; the stimulus to German industry provided by the diversion of other Western resources for Korean War production; and the German readiness to work hard for low wages until productivity had risen. But the essential component of success was the revival of confidence brought on by Erhard's reforms and by the new currency.

text: The West German boom that began in 1950 was truly memorable. The growth rate of industrial production was 25.0 percent in 1950 and 18.1 percent in 1951. Growth continued at a high rate for most of the 1950s, despite occasional slowdowns. By 1960 industrial production had risen to two-and-one-half times the level of 1950 and far beyond any that the Nazis had reached during the 1930s in all of Germany. GDP rose by two-thirds during the same decade. The number of persons employed rose from 13.8 million in 1950 to 19.8 million in 1960, and the unemployment rate fell from 10.3 percent to 1.2 percent.[citation needed]

text: Labor also benefited in due course from the boom. Although wage demands and pay increases had been modest at first, wages and salaries rose over 80 percent between 1949 and 1955, catching up with growth. West German social programs were given a considerable boost in 1957, just before a national election, when the government decided to initiate a number of social programs and to expand others.

text: In 1957 West Germany gained a new central bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank, generally called simply the Bundesbank, which succeeded the Bank deutscher Länder and was given much more authority over monetary policy. That year also saw the establishment of the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office), designed to prevent the return of German monopolies and cartels. Six years later, in 1963, the Bundestag, the lower house of Germany's parliament, at Erhard's urging established the Council of Economic Experts to provide objective evaluations on which to base German economic policy.

text: The West German economy did not grow as fast or as consistently in the 1960s as it had during the 1950s, in part because such a torrid pace could not be sustained, in part because the supply of fresh labor from East Germany was cut off by the Berlin Wall, built in 1961, and in part because the Bundesbank became disturbed about potential overheating and moved several times to slow the pace of growth. Erhard, who had succeeded Konrad Adenauer as chancellor, was voted out of office in December 1966, largely—although not entirely—because of the economic problems of the Federal Republic. He was replaced by the Grand Coalition consisting of the Christian Democratic Union (Christlich Demokratische Union—CDU), its sister party the Christian Social Union (Christlich-Soziale Union—CSU), and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands—SPD) under Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger of the CDU.

text: Under the pressure of the slowdown, the new West German Grand Coalition government abandoned Erhard's broad laissez-faire orientation. The new minister for economics, Karl Schiller, argued strongly for legislation that would give the federal government and his ministry greater authority to guide economic policy. In 1967 the Bundestag passed the Law for Promoting Stability and Growth, known as the Magna Carta of medium-term economic management. That law, which remains in effect although never again applied as energetically as in Schiller's time, provided for coordination of federal, Land, and local budget plans in order to give fiscal policy a stronger impact. The law also set a number of optimistic targets for the four basic standards by which West German economic success was henceforth to be measured: currency stability, economic growth, employment levels, and trade balance. Those standards became popularly known as the magisches Viereck, the "magic rectangle" or the "magic polygon."

text: Schiller followed a different concept from Erhard's. He was one of the rare German Keynesians, and he brought to his new tasks the unshakable conviction that government had both the obligation and the capacity to shape economic trends and to smooth out and even eliminate the business cycle. Schiller's chosen formula was Globalsteuerung, or global guidance, a process by which government would not intervene in the details of the economy but would establish broad guidelines that would foster uninterrupted noninflationary growth.

text: Schiller's success in the Grand Coalition helped to give the SPD an electoral victory in 1969 and a chance to form a new coalition government with the Free Democratic Party (Freie Demokratische Partei—FDP) under Willy Brandt. The SPD-FDP coalition expanded the West German social security system, substantially increasing the size and cost of the social budget. Social program costs grew by over 10 percent a year during much of the 1970s, introducing into the budget an unalterable obligation that reduced fiscal flexibility (although Schiller and other Keynesians believed that it would have an anticyclical effect). This came back to haunt Schiller as well as every German government since then. Schiller himself had to resign in 1972 when the West German and global economies were in a downturn and when all his ideas did not seem able to revive West German prosperity. Willy Brandt himself resigned two years later.

text: Helmut Schmidt, Brandt's successor, was intensely interested in economics but also faced great problems, including the dramatic upsurge in oil prices of 1973-74. West Germany's GDP in 1975 fell by 1.4 percent (in constant prices), the first time since the founding of the FRG that it had fallen so sharply. The West German trade balance also fell as global demand declined and as the terms of trade deteriorated because of the rise in petroleum prices.

text: By 1976 the worst was over. West German growth resumed, and the inflation rate began to decline. Although neither reached the favorable levels that had come to be taken for granted during the 1950s and early 1960s, they were accepted as tolerable after the turbulence of the previous years. Schmidt began to be known as a Macher (achiever), and the government won reelection in 1976. Schmidt's success led him and his party to claim that they had built Modell Deutschland (the German model).

text: But the economy again turned down and, despite efforts to stimulate growth by government deficits, failed to revive quickly. It was only by mid-1978 that Schmidt and the Bundesbank were able to bring the economy into balance. After that, the economy continued expanding through 1979 and much of 1980, helping Schmidt win reelection in 1980. But the upturn proved to be uneven and unrewarding, as the problems of the mid-1970s rapidly returned. By early 1981, Schmidt faced the worst possible situation: growth fell and unemployment rose, but inflation did not abate.

text: By late 1982, Schmidt's coalition government collapsed as the FDP withdrew to join a coalition led by Helmut Kohl, the leader of the CDU/CSU. He began to direct what was termed the Wende (West Germany) (de) (turning or reversal). The government proceeded to implement new policies to reduce the government role in the economy and within a year won a popular vote in support of the new course.

text: Within its broad policy, the new government had several main objectives: to reduce the federal deficit by cutting expenditures as well as taxes, to reduce government restrictions and regulations, and to improve the flexibility and performance of the labor market. The government also carried through a series of privatization measures, selling almost DM10 billion (for value of the deutsche mark—see Glossary) in shares of such diverse state-owned institutions as VEBA, VIAG, Volkswagen, Lufthansa, and Salzgitter. Through all these steps, the state role in the West German economy declined from 52 percent to 46 percent of GDP between 1982 and 1990, according to Bundesbank statistics.

text: Although the policies of the Wende changed the mood of the West German economy and reinstalled a measure of confidence, progress came unevenly and haltingly. During most of the 1980s, the figures on growth and inflation improved but slowly, and the figures on unemployment barely moved at all. There was little job growth until the end of the decade. When the statistics did change, however, even modestly, it was at least in the right direction.

text: Nonetheless, it also remained true that West German growth did not again reach the levels that it had attained in the early years of the Federal Republic. There had been a decline in the growth rate since the 1950s, an upturn in unemployment since the 1960s, and a gradual increase in inflation except during or after a severe downturn.

text: Global economic statistics also showed a decline in West German output and vitality. They showed that the West German share of total world production had grown from 6.6 percent in 1965 to 7.9 percent by 1975. Twelve years later, in 1987, however, it had fallen to 7.4 percent, largely because of the more rapid growth of Japan and other Asian states. Even adding the estimated GDP of the former East Germany at its peak before unification would not have brought the all-German share above 8.2 percent by 1989 and would leave all of Germany with barely a greater share of world production than West Germany alone had reached fifteen years earlier.

text: It was only in the late 1980s that West Germany's economy finally began to grow more rapidly. The growth rate for West German GDP rose to 3.7 percent in 1988 and 3.6 percent in 1989, the highest levels of the decade. The unemployment rate also fell to 7.6 percent in 1989, despite an influx of workers from abroad. Thus, the results of the late 1980s appeared to vindicate the West German supply-side revolution. Tax rate reductions had led to greater vitality and revenues. Although the cumulative public-sector deficit had gone above the DM1 trillion level, the public sector was growing more slowly than before.

text: The year 1989 was the last year of the West German economy as a separate and separable institution. From 1990 the positive and negative distortions generated by German reunification set in, and the West German economy began to reorient itself toward economic and political union with what had been East Germany. The economy turned gradually and massively from its primarily West European and global orientation toward an increasingly intense concentration on the requirements and the opportunities of unification.

text: German reunification and its aftermath[edit]

text: Germany invested over $2 trillion marks in the rehabilitation of the former East Germany helping it to transition to a market economy, and cleaning up the environmental degradation. By 2011 the results were mixed, with slow economic development in the East, in sharp contrast to the rapid economic growth in both west and southern Germany. Unemployment was much higher in the East, often over 15%. Economists Snower and Merkl (2006) suggests that the malaise was prolonged by all the social and economic help from the German government, pointing especially to bargaining by proxy, high unemployment benefits and welfare entitlements, and generous job security provisions.[55]

text: The old industrial centers of the Rhineland and North Germany lagged as well, as the coal and steel industries faded in importance. The economic policies were heavily oriented toward the world market, and the export sector continued very strong.[56]