These golfers once dominated the game but saw their careers unravel in unexpected ways. From major winners to former top-ranked players, their downfalls were as dramatic as their peak moments.

6 Iconic Golfers Who Had the Worst Career Downfalls

Ian Baker-Finch looked like a star in the making after winning the 1991 British Open with a spectacular final two rounds. But that was his peak—his game fell apart soon after. Injuries, swing changes, and eventually the dreaded driver yips sent him into a downward spiral. By the mid-'90s, he couldn’t make a single PGA Tour cut, and his comeback attempt in 1997 ended with a painful first-round 92 at the Open. Though he could still play well in casual rounds, the tournament pressure was too much. He stepped away and transitioned into broadcasting, making one last symbolic PGA Tour appearance in 2009.

1. Ian Baker-Finch – From Open Champion to the Yips

For a few years, David Duval was Tiger Woods’ biggest rival, even holding the No. 1 world ranking. He racked up 13 wins between 1997-2001, including a Players Championship, a 59, and the 2001 British Open. Then? The wheels completely fell off. Back injuries and swing issues tanked his game, and he missed cuts at an alarming rate. By 2005, he had missed 18 of 19 cuts in a season. He kept grinding and nearly pulled off a fairytale comeback with a runner-up finish at the 2009 U.S. Open, but he never fully returned to form and retired in 2014.

2. David Duval – From No. 1 in the World to Missing Cuts

Ralph Guldahl was one of golf’s biggest names in the late 1930s, winning two U.S. Opens and a Masters in a three-year span. Then, suddenly, his game just vanished. He won a couple of events in 1940, but after that? Nothing. Some say he overanalyzed his swing after writing an instructional book—“paralysis by analysis” at its finest. By 1942, he walked away from the game, only making a brief and unsuccessful return in 1949. Strangely enough, this wasn’t even his first early retirement—he had previously left the tour in 1933 to sell cars before making his first comeback.

3. Ralph Guldahl – A Mystery Disappearance

Johnny McDermott was a rising star, becoming the first U.S.-born golfer to win the U.S. Open—twice, in fact, at just 19 and 20 years old. But his temper and struggles against top British golfers haunted him. By 23, his career was in freefall, and by 1914, personal and financial struggles led to a severe mental breakdown. He spent most of his life in institutions, a tragic fate for someone who once burned so brightly in the golf world. Had modern medicine been around back then, things might have turned out differently.

4. Johnny McDermott – A Tragic Ending

Bill Rogers was untouchable in 1981, winning the British Open and four PGA Tour events that year. But instead of building on that success, he took on a brutal schedule, chasing appearance fees all over the world. The constant travel drained him, and his game collapsed. By the late ’80s, he was barely making cuts, and in 1988, he walked away from the PGA Tour entirely. Unlike some others on this list, Rogers left on his own terms—he just lost the love for the grind.

5. Bill Rogers – Burned Out and Walked Away

Yani Tseng was rewriting history books, winning five majors by the age of 22. At one point, she had won four of eight women’s majors and looked like she’d dominate for years. Instead, the pressure of being No. 1 weighed heavily on her, and her confidence crumbled. She hasn’t won since 2012, and by 2019, she was barely playing. Once the face of women’s golf, Tseng’s downfall was more psychological than physical, proving that sometimes, talent alone isn’t enough to sustain greatness.