Tony Jacklin recently called Sergio Garcia “golf’s biggest underachiever”. Garcia, a notoriously poor putter, has won more Ryder Cup points than anyone, pulled on the green jacket, triumphed at the Players Championship and currently sits in the top-10 in career earnings at the age of 40.

Maybe he should have won more, but to call him golf’s biggest underachiever is a gross exaggeration.

Golf is one of the toughest sports out there, and there are several extremely skilled players that at one stage looked to have the world at their feet, and who it just never happened for – the real underachievers of the game.

Here are five players, loaded with talent yet trapped in golf no man’s land, who I sincerely hope can all showcase their best game again on the biggest stages.

Anthony Kim

Let’s deal with the elephant in the room right off the bat. AK broke onto the scene over a decade ago finishing in a tie for second on his very first start. He wowed fans with his swashbuckling style that led him to three PGA Tour victories and a record 11 birdies in a single round at Augusta – all before the age of 25.

Speaking in 2010 on his runner-up finish on his debut, the party-loving Kim said

“Worst thing that could’ve happened to me. When I jumped out on Tour, I was attracted to shiny things, shiny people. I got sucked into a whole different world. I don’t know if things ever got out of control, but they were moving way too fast.”

Nostalgia is powerful, and when it comes to Kim, golf fans are not prepared to let him go, with his legend seemingly growing the longer he stays away from the sport. AK hasn’t played since 2012, where due to poor form and injuries he was only able to play four consecutive rounds at an event twice out of 10 attempts.

He remains away from the sport and away from the spotlight.

Sean O’Hair

An entirely different character to AK, yet their career paths were eerily similar back in the day. At the end of 2010, the 20-something O’Hair had won 3 times on Tour – like Kim. O’Hair had finished in the top-20 at majors 35% of the time – like Kim. O’Hair had dismantled one of the sport’s greats (Els) at the Presidents Cup 6&4, just like Kim had destroyed Garcia a year earlier at the Ryder Cup.

Yet the Texan was a different beast altogether. There has always been a quiet, philosophical and almost melancholic nature to O’Hair – likely owing to his tough upbringing. By the age of 30, the family man had put family life first – living in his wife’s home state of Pennsylvania where practice during winter months wasn’t possible. Naturally his game suffered.

O’Hair, now ranked 618th in the world, has since relocated and has shown flashes of the supreme talent he possesses since then, such as when he pushed Spieth and Reed all the way in a playoff at the 2015 Valspar.

At just 37, O’Hair has time on his side, and he’s also just about the easiest guy to root for.

Andres Romero

Anthony Kim made 11 birdies in a single round at The Masters, and people still talk about it. Andres Romero fired 10 birdies on a Sunday at Carnoustie at The Open while in contention, and nobody seems to recognize the achievement.

The Argentine stood on the 17th at Carnoustie in 2007 with a 2-shot lead before spectacularly blowing up, playing his last two holes in three over par to toss away the Claret Jug. 

In 2015, Romero, who is known for enjoying the finer things in life, teed off with his putter to finish a round at the Barracuda after breaking his hand punching a sign. Then, in 2017, he missed four straight cuts to start the year, turned up to the European Tour’s BMW International Open on a sponsor’s invite ranked 837th in the world and won. A true maverick.

As far as mercurial talents go, Romero is a beauty with a bunch of talent undoubtedly unfulfilled – which probably makes him so interesting a character.

Nick Watney

A man well and truly stuck in golf’s twilight zone.

Everyone knows how talented Nick Watney is; he showed us all pre-2013. At the age of 31, the American had won 5 times on tour, including a WGC, and had threatened at multiple major championships – most notably at the 2010 PGA Championship where he had a three-shot lead after 54 holes.

Post-2012 Watney has never been able to recapture that form. One of the main reasons may be his ill-fated club switch to Nike at the time, followed soon after by his split with coach Butch Harmon after the legendary swing instructor regrettably tweeted: “Wow N Watney +15, didn’t see this coming. Must be having some personal problems.” following Watney’s rounds of 82 and 77 at the 2013 Memorial.

Once ranked as high as ninth in the world, Watney now languishes at 229th – seemingly unable to cash in on his immense talent.

Ryo Ishikawa

A decade ago Ryo Ishikawa was destined to become Japan’s first-ever major champion – now he struggles to get into the events. Ryo is still just 28, the same age as Hideki Matsuyama, but unlike his fellow countryman, he has continuously failed to make any impression stateside.

Matsuyama earned his PGA Tour card in 2014, and by then Hideki had won five times in Japan – half the number of wins Ryo had achieved. Since then it’s been the complete opposite. Matsuyama has recorded five victories on the PGA Tour and is a mainstay at the majors, while Ryo hasn’t qualified for a major in five years and has made one appearance stateside since 2017.

The strangest part about Ishikawa? He still remains prodigious on the Japanese Tour, winning three times last year.

Nicknamed ‘The Bashful Prince’, there’s more than a good chance Ryo’s introversion is stifling his immense ability, which going by his final round 58 to win in Japan in 2010 on the same weekend McIlroy was winning at Quail Hollow, is bordering on a gift.