By the TC Golf Center Editorial Team · Updated · How we choose products
Phil Mickelson is the best left-handed golfer of all time, with six major championships and 45 PGA Tour wins. Bubba Watson, Bob Charles, Mike Weir, and Brian Harman round out the top five. Between them, those five lefties have won 11 men's major championships.
Left-handed golfers have always been a small minority on tour, but they have won every major except the U.S. Open. Here are the 10 best left-handed golfers ranked by major championships and career wins.
Top 10 Left-Handed Golfers Ranked
| Rank | Golfer | Country | Majors | Notable Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Mickelson | USA | 6 | 3 Masters, 2 PGA Championships, 2013 Open |
| 2 | Bubba Watson | USA | 2 | 2012 and 2014 Masters |
| 3 | Bob Charles | New Zealand | 1 | 1963 Open, 2 Senior British Opens |
| 4 | Mike Weir | Canada | 1 | 2003 Masters |
| 5 | Brian Harman | USA | 1 | 2023 Open, 2025 Valero Texas Open |
| 6 | Akshay Bhatia | USA | 0 | 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational |
| 7 | Robert MacIntyre | Scotland | 0 | 2024 RBC Canadian Open, 2024 Genesis Scottish Open |
| 8 | Steve Flesch | USA | 0 | 4 PGA Tour wins |
| 9 | Russ Cochran | USA | 0 | 1991 Western Open, 2011 Senior Open |
| 10 | Ted Potter Jr. | USA | 0 | 2018 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am |
1. Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson has won six major championships and 45 PGA Tour events, more than any other left-handed golfer. His majors are the Masters (2004, 2006, 2010), the PGA Championship (2005, 2021), and the 2013 Open Championship. His 2021 PGA Championship win at age 50 made him the oldest major champion in history.
Mickelson won three NCAA individual titles at Arizona State and won his first PGA Tour event, the 1991 Northern Telecom Open, as an amateur. He joined LIV Golf in 2022. Mickelson is right-handed off the course. He plays left-handed because he learned by mirroring his father's swing as a child.
2. Bubba Watson
Bubba Watson won the Masters in 2012 and 2014 and has 12 PGA Tour victories. He is known for a self-taught, highly creative swing and his ability to curve the ball dramatically in both directions. His hook wedge from the trees on the second playoff hole at Augusta in 2012 is one of the most famous shots in Masters history. Watson joined LIV Golf in 2022.
3. Bob Charles
Bob Charles of New Zealand was the first left-handed golfer to win a major, taking the 1963 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes in a 36-hole playoff. That same year, his win at the Houston Classic was the first PGA Tour victory by a left-hander. He won six PGA Tour events in total.
Charles had an even bigger senior career. He won 23 times on the Champions Tour, plus the Senior British Open in 1989 and 1993. He is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
4. Mike Weir
Mike Weir won the 2003 Masters, becoming the first left-handed golfer to win at Augusta. He is still the only Canadian man to win a major championship. Weir has eight PGA Tour wins and spent more than 110 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 2001 and 2005.
5. Brian Harman
Brian Harman won the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool by six strokes, the third left-hander to win the Claret Jug after Bob Charles and Phil Mickelson. He added his fourth PGA Tour title at the 2025 Valero Texas Open. Harman is known for accurate driving and one of the best putting strokes on tour.
6. Akshay Bhatia
Akshay Bhatia has three PGA Tour wins, all in playoffs: the 2023 Barracuda Championship, the 2024 Valero Texas Open, and the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational. He turned professional at 17 without playing college golf and is one of the best young left-handers in the game.
7. Robert MacIntyre
Robert MacIntyre is the best left-handed golfer in Europe. The Scot won the 2024 RBC Canadian Open for his first PGA Tour title, then won the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open weeks later. He has also played for Europe in the Ryder Cup.
8. Steve Flesch
Steve Flesch won four PGA Tour events and finished tied for fifth at the 2008 Masters. He later worked as a TV golf analyst before moving to the PGA Tour Champions.
9. Russ Cochran
Russ Cochran won the 1991 Western Open on the PGA Tour, coming from seven shots back over the final eight holes to beat Greg Norman. For much of the 1980s through 1992, he was the only left-hander on the PGA Tour. As a senior, he won the 2011 Senior Open Championship at Walton Heath.
10. Ted Potter Jr.
Ted Potter Jr. has two PGA Tour wins. The second came at the 2018 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he beat Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, and Phil Mickelson by three shots. Potter came back from a broken ankle that kept him off the course until April 2016.
Honorable Mention: Eric Axley
Eric Axley won the 2006 Valero Texas Open for his only PGA Tour title.
Best Left-Handed Golfers on Tour in 2026
The best active left-handers on the PGA Tour are Brian Harman, Akshay Bhatia, and Robert MacIntyre. Harman is the only one of the three with a major. Bhatia won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March 2026, his third PGA Tour title. Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson still compete on LIV Golf.
Has a Lefty Ever Won the Masters?
Yes. Left-handers have won the Masters six times. Mike Weir was the first in 2003, Phil Mickelson won three times (2004, 2006, 2010), and Bubba Watson won twice (2012, 2014). Left-handers have also won the Open Championship and the PGA Championship, but no lefty has won the U.S. Open. Mickelson finished second at the U.S. Open a record six times.
Do Lefties Have a Disadvantage in Golf?
Not in the swing itself. The biggest disadvantages are practical. Left-handed clubs have fewer model and shaft options, used lefty clubs are harder to find, and most instruction is written for right-handers, so lefties have to mirror every tip. On the course, some doglegs and hole layouts favor a right-hander's natural shot shape, but the results of Mickelson, Watson, and Harman show that left-handers can win at the highest level.