Most Second-Place Finishes on the PGA Tour
Probably the two biggest surprises for most readers are these: "Lighthorse" Harry Cooper is tied for fifth-most seconds ever; and Tiger Woods, while on the list, is not among the Top 10. In fact, Cooper had six more seconds than, so far, Woods does. This isn't because Cooper got into contention more often than Woods, though. It's because when Tiger got into contention, he was more likely to win than not.
See also: PGA Tour career wins — all-time leaders
The List: PGA Tour Career Second-Place Finishes
Golfers are listed in order of their runner-up finishes in official PGA Tour events. Also included are their win totals, plus the number of major championships won by each.
| Golfer | 2nds | Wins | Majors |
| Jack Nicklaus | 58 | 73 | 18 |
| Sam Snead | 57 | 82 | 7 |
| Ben Hogan | 44 | 64 | 9 |
| Arnold Palmer | 38 | 62 | 7 |
| Harry Cooper | 37 | 29 | 0 |
| Phil Mickelson | 37 | 45 | 6 |
| Horton Smith | 34 | 30 | 2 |
| Gene Littler | 33 | 29 | 1 |
| Byron Nelson | 33 | 52 | 5 |
| Gary Player | 33 | 24 | 9 |
| Lee Trevino | 33 | 29 | 6 |
| Tom Watson | 32 | 39 | 8 |
| Billy Casper | 31 | 51 | 3 |
| Jim Furyk | 31 | 17 | 1 |
| Greg Norman | 31 | 20 | 2 |
| Tiger Woods | 31 | 82 | 15 |
| Davis Love III | 30 | 21 | 1 |
| Jug McSpaden | 30 | 17 | 0 |
| Tom Kite | 29 | 19 | 1 |
| Jimmy Demaret | 28 | 31 | 3 |
| Dow Finsterwald | 28 | 12 | 1 |
| Lloyd Mangrum | 28 | 36 | 1 |
| Gene Sarazen | 28 | 38 | 7 |
| Vijay Singh | 28 | 34 | 3 |
| Craig Wood | 28 | 21 | 2 |
| Art Wall | 27 | 14 | 1 |
| Hale Irwin | 25 | 20 | 3 |
| Cary Middlecoff | 25 | 39 | 3 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 25 | 16 | 1 |
What are the biggest gaps between wins and runners-up on the PGA Tour? Among golfers with more wins than seconds, Woods is way ahead of anyone else with a gap of 51: 82 wins, 31 seconds. Snead is second at 25 (82 wins 57 seconds), and Palmer third at 24 (62 wins, 38 seconds).
Among golfers with fewer wins than seconds, Dow Finsterwald is the "leader." Finsterwald made the list above with "only" 12 wins, the lowest number. But he had 28 runner-up finishes, a gap of 16. Furyk (17 wins, 31 seconds) and Art Wall Jr. (14 wins, 28 seconds) both had gaps of 14.
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