Defining which golfers are actually in contention entering the final 18 holes at major championships

Since 2000, there have been 87 major Sundays and over 500 golfers in legitimate contention to win

Talk to any of the top players in golf, and they'll tell you their goals at major championships are quite simple. Because winning can often be the result of a lucky bounce or ridiculous break, golfers will give you some variation of the narrative that all they're trying to do is give themselves a shot entering the final round -- a chance with 18 holes left to play. If a golfer is teeing off late in the final round, no matter what happens, that's often a successful week.

Look at this year's U.S. Open. Plenty of golfers were in contention to win that event at Torrey Pines after 54 holes. Jon Rahm was one of them. He got a huge break when he hit a tee shot over a fence on the 9th hole in the final round, got a free drop and went on to make birdie. That doesn't mean that Louis Oosthuizen or Harris English had bad weeks. They just didn't get the breaks (or hit the putts) they needed on Sunday.

Even being in that position on a Sunday rarely results in a major championship win. Sometimes the leader shoots 65 and pulls away from the entire pack. Sometimes you shoot 77 and completely eject. Golf is golf, but having a real chance at a major championship is what makes entire seasons successful or unsuccessful.