Curtis Strange at the 1989 U.S. Open (Phil Sheldon/Popperfoto/Getty Images)

3. Curtis Strange

PGA Tour victories in 1980s: 16 (of 17 total)

Major titles in 1980s: two (of two total)

Never a power player, Strange had a repeatably accurate swing and a cutthroat attitude that propelled him to stardom. A natural left-hander who plays right-handed, he was the Tour’s leading money winner in 1985, ’87 and ’88, and he became the first to win a $1 million in a Tour season in ’88.

At the ’88 U.S. Open, Strange beat Nick Faldo in an 18-hole playoff to break through as a major champion. The following year Strange became the first since Ben Hogan in 1951 to defend his U.S. Open title, shooting a second-round 64 and holding on to earn a one-shot victory at Oak Hill in his final win on the PGA Tour.

He later went to work in broadcasting, and he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007.