Cooper is often classified as the greatest golfer who never won a major tournament, with 30 career wins. Some claim this classification is erroneous because Cooper won the 1934 Western Open, which many considered one of golf's major championships at that time. Although in its early decades the Western Open was widely regarded as a major championship, this designation was unofficial and it is generally not included in tallies of golfers' major championship wins. Other male professional golfer who have had a comparable record of repeated success at the major championships without yet winning one are Colin Montgomerie, Doug Sanders, Macdonald Smith, and Lee Westwood.