Editor’s note: Our original list was published last April. Following Rory McIlroy’s Masters win, we’ve changed the list and are republishing the story.
When it comes to making lists about golf, few are tougher than ranking the best male golfers ever.
There’s a lot to consider, especially when comparing players from different eras. Each time period has different standards for technology, depth of competition and number of tournaments played; there is so much to this list that is subjective.
Big wins, for example, are inconsistent across the ages based on some of these factors.
I tried to find an appropriate mix of old school and new school, weighing heavily on the major wins. Other achievements, such as PGA Tour wins and Ryder Cup skills, were also considered.
What I didn’t consider was the overall impact on the game. I tried to make a list based purely on achievements and playing ability rather than stardom.
You could easily make a case for guys over 20 to make this list, but these are the 10 that I think have the best chance to be a top 10 golfer of all time.
10. Rory McIlroy
There are many guidelines to enter for the 10th greatest golfer ever. In my original article published last year, I put Phil Mickelson in this spot. There were others in the running, including Byron Nelson, Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros and Gene Sarazen.
However, I feel like Rory McIlroy’s second Masters win—his sixth major—has put him in this position.
McIlroy is the only European player to complete a career Grand Slam, and no European has more major wins in the modern era. Faldo (6) and Ballesteros (5) have their arguments to be named the best European player in history, but I believe McIlroy has surpassed them (I talked more about this in a recent article after the Masters).
It’s hard to make a top-10 list and not include any Europeans. It’s also hard to make this list and not include anyone from the 2010-2020 era.
McIlroy gets my vote for this spot. Ultimately, I think it won’t even be a debate for the rest of his career.
9. Tom Watson
Arguably the greatest links player ever, Watson won five Open Championships over eight years at a time when Jack Nicklaus was in his prime. Watson had to beat Nicklaus several times in his career, most notably at the 1977 Open Championship at Turnberry.
Watson also had two Masters wins and a US Open triumph. Nicklaus was the runner-up in all three of those major victories.
Although his best golf came in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Watson had 39 Tour victories from 1974 to 1998. He also won Tour Player of the Year honors six times.
Had he won the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry as a 59-year-old, “it would have been a terrible story,” as Watson put it. He might as well be higher on this list. Regardless, I think Watson is definitely a top-10 golfer ever.
8. Walter Hagen
There is some debate about where to place Hagen because of the era in which he played: nine of his 11 major titles came during the 1920s, and he won five PGA Championships at a time when the event was not as heralded as it is now. However, he also won five Western Opens, a very prestigious event at the time.
It is difficult to decide how much credit Hagen will be given in relation to modern players, given that his best golf came before the Masters existed. The professional game was not that developed at the time and The Haig did a lot to advance pro golf. In many ways, Hagen helped make professional golf what it is today.
No matter how you slice it, Hagen was a legendary figure.
7. Arnold Palmer
In a ranking of influential figures, Palmer would be higher. No one in the history of sports did more to popularize the game than The King. In a ranking of pure talent, he enters the top 10 for sure, but does not challenge for the first places.
Palmer had 62 victories on Tour, highlighted by seven major victories. He won four Masters, one US Open and two Open Championships. Palmer finished runner-up at the PGA Championship three times, but never won.
All of Palmer’s major victories came in a seven-year span (1958-1964). Much of his best playing came in the 60s; he won only four individual tour titles after that.
There is no doubt that his grit, determination, charisma and desire for the limelight made him perhaps the most revered and popular golfer to ever play.
6. Gary Player
Winning more than 150 times worldwide, The Player earned the right to be called golf’s first major international ambassador.
The player is one of only six players to win all four championships, totaling nine major titles over 21 years. He is also only one of four players to have won the Masters title and the Open Championship three times each. The player’s career was capped by a dramatic Sunday rally during the 1978 Masters, where he shot a final-round 64 to erase a seven-shot deficit and move past Hubert Green.
The length of the player’s career, the variety of wins and the fact that he won all four championships (the only non-American to do so besides McIlroy) puts him ahead of Palmer for me.
5. Sam Snead
While some of Snead’s 142 professional victories — 82 of which came on Tour — aren’t as significant as others, there’s no denying that The Slammer enjoyed perhaps the longest career of any top golfer in history.
Snead won an event in six different decades, captured the Greater Greensboro Open eight times and is still the oldest player to ever win a Tour event. He made the cut in one tournament at age 67.
His seven major titles include three Masters, three PGAs and one Open Championship. He never captured a US Open, one of the main reasons I don’t have him higher on the list.
Snead played in his first major in 1937 and his last in the 1983 Masters. He played the Open Championship only five times in that span, but he played in every single Masters that was held (there was no tournament for three years during World War II). That’s 44 (!) consecutive Masters if you count the times he retired.
4. Bobby Jones
It’s hard to imagine one of the greatest players in history essentially walking away from competitive golf at the age of 28, but that’s what Jones did.
Jones played in 31 major championships (the US Amateur and British Amateur were considered majors at the time) and won 13 of them. This, of course, included the 1930 Grand Slam where he won all four titles in one year. Less than two months later, Jones retired and continued to practice law in Atlanta (he also co-founded a minor tournament called the Masters in 1934).
It’s incredible that Jones, an amateur, put all his accomplishments into an eight-year window and regularly beat the likes of Hagen and Gene Sarazen. He also graduated from Harvard AND Emory.
While Jones might have been the greatest golfer in history had he played another decade, his story is all the more fascinating for retiring young. For him, there was much more to life than golf.
3. Ben Hogan
There are several different players who could slot into the no. 3 on this list. I went with Hogan.
Arguably the greatest pure ball hitter ever, The Hawk won nine races and 64 tournaments, one of only five players to win all four. He is still the only player to ever win the Masters, the US Open and the Open Championship in the same year (Jordan Spieth came dangerously close in 2015 but fell short at The Open). He also set the US Open scoring record in 1948 and it would not be broken for 52 years. Hogan also holds the record for most consecutive top-10 major finishes (18).
Hogan missed two years of his golfing prime due to serving in the Air Force during World War II, and then his body was destroyed after a near-fatal car accident in 1949. Amazingly, he won six majors (in eight major starts) after that accident. He played just one Open Championship in his career, winning the 1953 edition at Carnoustie. Imagine if he played more across the pond?
Beyond his record, Hogan deserves the third spot because of the grace and work ethic he brought to the game. His ownership of his swing and game is unparalleled in the history of golf.
2. Jack Nicklaus
The magnitude of Nicklaus’ career is hard to fathom.
The Golden Bear won 18 events (and finished runner-up 19 more times in majors!) among his 73 Tour wins. He won a record six Masters titles and has a funny 56 top-five finishes. Nicklaus also had the lowest scoring average on Tour eight times, matching the number of times he won the money title.
Although he was not embraced by fans as much as Palmer, Nicklaus set the standard for physical and mental greatness. His first and last major wins came 24 years apart – the 1962 US Open and the 1986 Masters – displaying an insane longevity that I doubt we’ll see again.
His master record is sure for eternity. There are too many big players now and too much money involved in the game for one player to hit 19 big wins.
1. Tiger Woods
While his 15 major wins fall short of Nicklaus, Woods deserves the top spot in my book.
His ability to separate himself from the competition in unfathomable ways — breaking the Masters scoring record in 1997, winning the 2000 US Open by 12 strokes and posting a season average south of 68 — is something no other golfer can reasonably claim.
His 82 Tour wins were all completely legal, and he has the lowest career scoring average in tour history. He is the only player in the modern era to win four consecutive championships. And how do you do it? 10 sound player of the year awards?
I’ve often heard it said that Nicklaus had the best career, but Woods played the best golf. While that may be true, I think you have to count on more depth of competition in the Tiger era. You also have to consider how he completely transformed golf in the way he physically trained and the style he played the game.
OK? Don’t you agree? Who should be on this list? Let me know below in the comments.
Main photo caption: Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus together during the 150th Open Championship. (GETTY IMAGES/Kevin C. Cox)
