There is a irritating title that nobody in pro golf wants to hear: best player without a win in a major.
A less discussed but equally irritating title: best golfer without a PGA Tour victory, period.
First, the former. Phil Mickelson, one of the big names in the upcoming Greenbrier Classic, famously went 0 for 46, a string that lasted from the 1990 U.S. Open to his breakthrough at the 2004 Masters.
To illustrate how frustrating that was, consider that Mickelson had 21 Tour victories by then. He was still short of his 34th birthday when he won his first of three Masters.
So who owns that title now? Perhaps Hideki Matsuyama, though Matt Kuchar is riding his own 0-for-46 skid. Kuchar is 39, so his window may be closing.
Of those who have committed to the Greenbrier Classic, consider Patrick Reed, who has not cracked the top 10 in a major. Ditto for the up-and-coming Kevin Kisner, though he has only 11 major starts.
Both will be honing their game for the British Open, two weeks after the Greenbrier Classic. Reed and Kisner have won Tour events, but most in the field of 156 have not.
With that, here are eight non-winners to watch at the Old White TPC:
Ollie Schneiderjans: You can't miss the longest last name of the tour, and he is one of the closest to winning. He surged ahead briefly in the final round of the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina, before finishing third behind fellow Tour rookie Wesley Bryan and Luke Donald. He once held the No. 1 spot in the World Golf Amateur Ranking and was Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year in his junior and senior seasons.
Xander Schauffele: Television announcers won't be able to pronounce his name and newspaper writers won't be able to spell it, but they should know he tied for fifth in the recent U.S. Open. While at San Diego State, he won the 2014 California State Amateur, which can't be shabby. He's a boomer whose drives average 302.9 yards, 18th on the Tour.
Jamie Lovemark: At age 22, he was the first man to top the Web.com Tour money list, but his PGA Tour rookie season of 2011 was derailed by back surgery. After struggling for a few years, he has landed in the top 10 eight times in the last two seasons.
Graham DeLaet: This Canadian isn't necessarily anonymous, making 114 of 166 cuts with 53 top-25 finishes and 31 top-10s. He tied for 12th in the 2012 Classic. In 2013, he finished eighth in the FedExCup standings, sporting a "playoff beard" in the season-ending four-tournament series.
Luke List: Answer to the trivia question on who made the first Greenbrier Classic hole-in-one. He turned the trick on the 234-yard eighth hole on the final day in 2013, but that only helped him finish 59th.
Harold Varner III: He needs to kick his second season into gear, but the 2012 Conference USA Player of the Year (East Carolina) and Akron, Ohio, native won the 2016 Australian PGA Championship. That's not a PGA Tour event, but it draws some attention. Besides, his head cover "Gerald" has its own Twitter account, @GV_3Golf.
Grayson Murray: The 2016 Web.com Tour Finals leader, the rookie has just one top-10 finish and can use a big payday. He averages 307 yards per drive, tied for seventh on the Tour.
Jason Kokrak: Last season, he missed a birdie putt on the 72nd hole of an event that would have forced a playoff with Bubba Watson. That may have cost him a chance to finish into the top 30 of the FedExCup standings, a magic number. That was a sign Kokrak may be turning the corner on solid career that lacks a championship trophy. Sort of like Danny Lee, the Classic's last champ in 2015.
Contact Doug Smock at 304-348-5130 or dougsmock@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @dougsmock and read his blog at http://blogs.wvgazettemail.com/dougsmock/.