Imperfect 10: U.S. soil victories elude these players

In some cases, it's meant to flatter, not flatten.

But make no mistake, for those in the latter category, making this highly subjective list of subjugates is intended to serve as a kick in the trousers for 2009, an instant incentive to never again be mentioned in the same rasping breath as the other whiffers of the winless circle.

Don't expect Steve Marino to be on this list at this time next year. (Getty Images)

After much consternation, just days before the PGA Tour season begins anew in Hawaii, we're offering a detailing of the 10 most over-qualified, under-delivering players who have never before won on the game's biggest circuit.

Some have played solely in the States for years, while others have won impressive tournaments overseas and gravitated to the American shores. Most attended college in America, but they all have one thing in common -- each is a full-blown tour member who hasn't yet hoisted a trophy on Sunday afternoon in PGA Tour competition.

Some of these winless wonders have served on European Ryder Cup teams, yet have somehow bungled their opportunities to taste victory Stateside. In that respect, they thus aren't held in the same regard here as they are elsewhere, since for most chest-thumping American fans, the other major tours are decidedly off-Broadway productions.

Five of the 10 on the list are international players. Most top foreign players know that when they come to the States, they usually have plenty still to prove -- to themselves, the American fans and the folks back home. The talent is deeper here, the stakes higher, the pressure perceptibly greater.

"I think that the truth of it is every time you go to a new tour, any time you venture into a new playground, let's say, what you've done beforehand helps with your own self-confidence," said Irish superstar Padraig Harrington, who last week was named the 2008 PGA Tour Player of the Year. "But, yes, you do have to prove yourself again, you do have to start fresh and get out there and perform and show you can."

For the 10 listed below, the Americans included, it's been all tell and no show. Harrington, a PGA Tour member for the past four seasons, already has five wins in PGA Tour-sanctioned events, including three majors. These 10 guys would settle for a single win in a minor.

Last summer at the British Open, 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus wondered whether there was simply too much money in the game and whether the same appetite for ultimate achievement existed. A record 104 players made $1 million in earnings in 2008, including nine of the 10 players on this august list.

"If they don't win, they still walk home with a big check," Nicklaus said. "When we played golf, it wasn't to make a living. It was to make a name for yourself so you could make a living."

The only requirement for making the list is that players must be PGA Tour members, which lets Colin Montgomerie off the hook. The players are listed in reverse order of underachievement.

The envelope, which is more of a nonvelope, please:

10. Steve Marino
Age: 28
Nationality: American
College: Virginia
PGA Tour starts: 65
Career earnings: $3.27 million

Why are we starting with a player who, in two years on the big tour, has already made more than $3 million? Because of all the players on this list, Marino is our pick to break through first. He already has played in the final group on Sunday three times in his career, which is no small achievement, and finished 70th and 34th in earnings in his first two seasons. As far as the tour's yardsticks are concerned, Marino has no weaknesses -- he's solid in every statistical category and seems impervious to pressure. Now, if we could get him to stop wearing that goofy visor, he could really be embraced as a rising American star.

9. Bubba Watson
Age: 30
Nationality: American
College: Georgia
PGA Tour starts: 84
Career earnings: $4.2 million

In a way, the expectations heaped upon the Bagdad (Fla.) Bomber were almost unfair. His started his rookie year in 2006 by contending in his first start in Hawaii, where he wowed the crowd with his massive bombs off the tee. But few realize how thin Watson's pedigree really is. He hasn't won on any major circuit, including the Nationwide Tour. A tad cocky at first, Watson seemed a bit more humble in the second half of 2008. That might be what it takes to get him over the hump, since he's been in contention a number of times already.

8. Nick O'Hern
Age: 37
Nationality: Australian
College: None
PGA Tour starts: 84
Career earnings: $4.3 million

He's talented enough to beat Tiger Woods, twice, in the match-play event. He's good enough to make the Presidents Cup roster as a captain's pick. So, shouldn't he be good enough to eventually win something when playing against a superior field? It's almost numbing to think that O'Hern, a super-steady left-hander, has never won on either the U.S. or European tours yet has been a fixture in the world top 50 for half a decade. He's relatively average off the tee, which is a disadvantage, but he has one win in the past nine seasons, in an Australian event. Slow and steady hasn't won the race, but it has made him a fortune.

7. Ian Poulter
Age: 32
Nationality: English
College: None
PGA Tour starts: 85
Career earnings: $5.65 million

In a way, it was a normal year for Poulter, who made headlines for posing nearly nude on a magazine cover, claiming he thought he could someday rank No. 2 behind Tiger Woods, finishing second at the British Open and really making a name for himself as the European hero at the Ryder Cup. But as always, he didn't win in the States, where despite his worldwide acclaim, he has a not-so-grand total of two top five finishes on American soil in his four seasons of membership on the PGA Tour. In other words, he has plenty to prove here, especially after missing the cut twice down the stretch with a Ryder berth on the line.

6. Brett Quigley
Age: 39
Nationality: American
College:> South Carolina
PGA Tour starts: 334
Career earnings: $9.05 million

Interesting fact -- in the 2008 tour media guide, the bios of Poulter and Quigley are on facing pages. They've earned a lot of money over the years, but don't have a U.S. win between them. Quigley has played well enough to advance to the Tour Championship in the past yet somehow has eluded the victory circle. He is one of the richest non-winners in tour history -- it's a loaded stat, because purses keep getting bigger every year -- and he's not getting any younger. That's a lot of snaps without finding the end zone. He ranks in the all-time top 10 for most starts without a victory.

5. Briny Baird
Age: 36
Nationality: American
College: Valdosta State
PGA Tour starts: 274
Career earnings: $9.60 million

Brett, meet Briny. Briny, Brett. These guys must have been separated at birth, because they have fashioned highly successful, steady careers despite never sniffing the roses placed around the winning horse's neck. Baird made it to the Tour Championship this year and earned a berth in the Masters but again failed to earn a victory. Here's the craziest stat in the whole bunch, which is indicative of his capabilities: In 2008, he and two-time major winner Harrington finished with a mark of 12-12-2 against each other in head-to-head rounds played during common events. In their eight common tournaments, Baird finished ahead of Harrington four times.

4. Paul Casey
Age: 31
Nationality: English
College: Arizona State
PGA Tour starts: 59
Career earnings: $2.83 million

In all fairness, Casey was a member of the PGA Tour for the first time in 2008, so his appearances in the States had previously been in top-tier events like majors and invitationals against the deepest fields. But Casey just got married to an American, lives much of the year in Arizona, is coached by an American and thus has become a veritable naturalized Yank. He not only should be contending more regularly at standard events here, but in the majors, too. He should be fully transitioned, so to speak, in 2009.

3. Justin Rose
Age: 28
Nationality: English
College: None
PGA Tour starts: 127
Career earnings: $8.71 million

Like Casey, Rose is held in high regard by plenty of folks. Heck, in fact, I sometimes wonder whether he is too nice. Rose has had so many chances to win on the PGA Tour that the misses have become muddled. Elsewhere, he has found a way to get the job done, winning the European Tour Order of Merit in 2008, which seemed like a real breakthrough. Last year, though, was average, with only two top-five finishes globally and no wins. Rose has spent the past two years in the world top 20 and is far too good to have not won in the States, a notion he would likely not argue.

2. Pat Perez
Age: 32
Nationality: American
College: Arizona State
PGA Tour starts: 118
Career earnings: $8.17 million

One of the highlights of my season was listening to Perez, always a personal favorite, get agitated at the U.S. Open when talking about people peppering him with questions about losing his temper. Talk about irony. Perez has ridiculous skills, as evidenced by the fact that in the tour's key all-around statistical category, which measures nine key statistical measures, he ranked No. 1, just ahead of Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson. Frankly, it's hard to explain why he hasn't been more regularly in contention, other than his tendency to fly off the handle at himself at times. With a lobotomy, he'd never lose.

1. Tim Clark
Age: 33
Nationality: South African
College: N.C. State
PGA Tour starts: 172
Career earnings: $11.64 million

He has won in Europe, Australia, Canada and South Africa, but despite being a check-cashing machine, he's never won on American soil, excepting a couple of Nationwide wins nearly a decade ago. Heck, even his former college teammate, Carl Pettersson, has three wins on the PGA Tour, and he wasn't as highly regarded at Clark while coming up through the ranks. With nearly $12 million in U.S. earnings, Clark is far and away the top winless wage-earner in PGA Tour history. When Clark is striping it, he's a tough competitor -- he's contended deep into Sunday rounds at the Masters and PGA Championships in the past. Clark just won three weeks ago at the Australian Open, typically one of the better offseason events, and has been a fixture in the world top 30 for the past four or five seasons. He's had six runner-up finishes in PGA Tour play, with at least one in each of the past four seasons. For all these reasons, Clark finally gets to make the trip to the winner's circle, as the dubious champion of this list.