PGA Championship winners by player: Who has won the major the most times in golf history?

The PGA Championship is not an event that is easy for golfers to win multiple times.

Unlike the Masters, which is held annually at the same course, the PGA Championship rotates its host site every year. Though several courses are rotated over several years, it can often take as many as 15 years before a site hosts again. That means golfers are presented with new challenges each year, and it takes elite skills to win the tournament multiple times. 

It is no surprise, then, to find that two of the biggest names in the history of the sport of golf have the most wins in the PGA Championship.

MORE: Full list of PGA Championship winners by year

Who has won the most in history? The Sporting News dives into the numbers.

Who has the most PGA Championship wins?

Two golfers are tied for the most wins at the PGA Championship, and each came from different eras of the game.

During the tournament’s match play era, Walter Hagen set the record with five victories. He won in 1921, 1924, 1925, 1926 and 1927. His streak of winning in four straight years is the longest of any golfer in the event.

The PGA switched to stroke play in 1958, and Jack Nicklaus won the first of his five titles at the event five years later. He collected his wins in 1963, 1971, 1973, 1975 and 1980 to match Hagen, never going back-to-back but putting together a dominant stretch of three victories in five years at his peak.

Other players have gone back and won a second, or even a third and fourth, PGA Championship since Nicklaus, but no one has been able to match the two golf legends’ five titles.

Most PGA Championship wins by player

Just 21 golfers have recorded multiple wins in the PGA Championship. Those players represent 54 of the 105 total wins.

Here’s a look at all the players who have won multiple PGA Championships.