Best player without a major win: Steve Stricker

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Improving driving has elevated Steve Stricker to two wins -- and a No. 5 ranking -- at the age of 42.

Who is the best active golfer who has yet to break through with a major victory? We asked eight PGATOUR.COM writers to each pick a different player and make the argument why that player deserves (or perhaps is stuck with) the label as best player without a major. Read the argument below and click here to see the arguments for seven other players.
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Steve Stricker is the best player never to have won a major.

In his career, Stricker has nine top-10 finishes in the majors -- including five since the 2006 U.S. Open. His best was a runner-up finish to Vijay Singh in an outstanding duel at the 1998 PGA Championship at Sahalee, just outside Seattle.

Stricker's career has been bizarre. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he accumulated three PGA TOUR wins. Then, he disappeared for five years when you rarely, if ever, heard his name.

In an incredible resurgence, few players have been better than Stricker over the last three seasons. He has three wins since 2007, including two this year, with his most recent victory coming the week before the British Open in the John Deere Classic.

When I think of the best player never to have won a major, it's not necessarily a person who has double-digit wins. Instead, I'm a big fan of consistency, especially in the bigger events.

Stricker may not have as many wins as others in the "best never to have" category, but he's a far more consistent performer than most of those players.

Furthermore, Stricker has earned his stripes. It's not uncommon to see a player on TOUR play well for a few years and then disappear. They're a dime a dozen.

It's rare, however, to see a guy like Stricker who goes from multiple PGA TOUR champion, then falls off the face of the earth, only to reemerge in his 40s as one of the best players professional golf has to offer.

Not only is Steve Stricker the best player never to have won a major, he's also -- along with Kenny Perry -- the most deserving player never to have won a major.

Stricker doesn't need a major win to validate what has been a career of bookend peaks with a little valley in between. But, it sure would be the cherry on top.