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Sport > World > Lists > All Time Greatest > GolfWho is the All Time Greatest Golfer?
Great golf players come and go. Tiger Woods is a standout player, but how does he compare the greats of the past? As they often never get to play head to head, under the same conditions, the greatest golfer ever is a difficult question to answer. Cast your vote on who you think is the greatest male golfer ever? Read below for a discussion on this question and some players who may fit this description.
In order to decide on the greatest golfers, we need to define what is meant by 'greatest'. Is it the player who has won the most titles, topped the rankings, most prize money? Or is it the best all-round player - who has won consistently under a range of conditions, courses and under the most pressure?
Most Majors Wins
Based on wins in the Major championships, the greatest golfer ever may be Jack Nicklaus, who won 18 Majors, including the Masters six times in his career (see Major winners list). Tiger Woods currently has 14 Major wins, and will probably win some more. Winning all four Majors is considered a grand slam. Only five golfers have won all four Majors at any time during their career (a Career Grand Slam). These are Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. Not only have they done it once, Woods and Nicklaus have won each of the four Majors three times.
Best Scores
Golf is all about having the lowest score, so a good basis for determining the greatest golfer can be based on average scores. The Vardon Trophy is an annual award given to the best golfer each year based on scores. The award is currently given based on the lowest adjusted scoring average over a minimum of 60 rounds. Since the award was first given in 1937 (up to 2009), 13 men have won the trophy more than once. The most is by Tiger Woods with eight wins (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009). Next on five wins are Billy Casper (1960, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968) and Lee Trevino (1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1980). Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead each won the trophy four times, and Ben Hogan, Greg Norman and Tom Watson three times. The lowest averages are also by Tiger Woods - he achieved an average of 67.79 in 2000 and in 2007.
Most Prize Money
The golfer who has won the most prize money is without doubt Tiger Woods. His total earnings has put him on top of the World's Highest Paid Athletes lists nine times. Other golfers to appear at some time on this list (which has been running since 1990) are Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Greg Norman. Golfers from before this period cannot be compared, and recently in golf earnings have skyrocketed anyway.
Some Great Golfers
Here is a list of some of the top golfers that have ever played. 15 of these are on the list for you to vote for who you think is the greatest male golfer ever
| name | notes |
|---|---|
| Tiger Woods | winner of 14 Majors, and 3 Career Grand Slams. Varden trophy winner eight times. |
| Jack Nicklaus | winner of 18 Majors, and 3 Career Grand Slams. |
| Ben Hogan | Career Grand Slam winner. 9 Major wins. |
| Gary Player | Career Grand Slam winner. 9 Major wins. |
| Bobby Jones | 7 Major wins. |
| Gene Sarazen | Career Grand Slam winner. 7 Major wins. |
| Arnold Palmer | 7 Major wins. |
| Sam Snead | 7 Major wins. |
| Tom Watson | 8 Major wins. |
| Walter Hagen | 11 Major wins. |
| Harry Vardon | 7 Major wins. |
| Lee Trevino | |
| Nick Faldo | |
| Seve Ballesteros | |
| Greg Norman |
spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s |
| Billy Casper | |
| Byron Nelson | |
| Hale Irwin |
Greatest Female Golfer
We are compiling a list of the greatest female players from the sport of golf, which will then be voted on and the winner placed on the shortlist of the all time greatest athlete ever (all sports). The first stage is to get nominations before the vote is started. See the current list below of top athletes, compiled using other published lists and visitor feedback. If you believe that there is someone missing from this list, please place a comment below, including any relevant details about the person. The players below are listed in no particular order - once the shortlist is complete then you will be able to vote for who you think is the greatest of all. This list is not necessarily complete - if you know of a player who should be listed here, let us know using the comment form below.
| name | notes |
|---|---|
| Karrie Webb | |
| Babe Zaharias | |
| Mickey Wright | |
| Louise Suggs | |
| Annika Sörenstam | |
| Patty Berg | |
| Lottie Dod |
Comments
- How could you put in Karrie Webb and leave out Kathy Whitworth, Betsy Rawls & Nancy Lopez?? While Majors are a big factor, they're not everything. All 3 of those women dominated the LPGA Tour. Personally, I think that if Nancy Lopez had not chosen to be a full-time mom (a great choice by the way), she would have been the best ever. (from Mike W, June 2011)
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