When it comes to making lists about golf, few are tougher than ranking the best players ever.
There is a lot to consider, especially when comparing players from different eras. Each time period has different standards for technology, depth of competition and the number of tournaments being played—there is so much about this list that is subjective. Major victories, for example, are incongruent across eras based on some of these factors.
I tried to come up with an appropriate mix of old school and new school, weighing major wins heavily. Other accomplishments, like PGA Tour wins and Ryder Cup prowess, were also considered.
What I didn’t factor in was overall influence in the game. I endeavored to make a list based purely on accomplishments and playing ability rather than stardom.
You could easily make a case for 20-plus guys to make this list but these are the 10 I think have the best case for being a top-10 golfer of all time.
10. Phil Mickelson
There are a lot of directions to go in for the 10th-best golfer ever. I considered several players including Byron Nelson, Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros and Gene Sarazen.
While you can make an argument for any of those legends, I opted for Mickelson. Recent developments put to the side, it’s hard to ignore his accomplishments—all of which came during a time when another golfer on this list was hoovering up victories left and right.
Mickelson won 45 times on the PGA Tour including six major titles. His major wins span from 2004 through 2021. The 2021 PGA Championship victory made him the oldest player to win a major.
It is impressive that Mickelson had 29 top-five finishes in majors. Trevino (15), Ballesteros (15) and Faldo (19) had far fewer than Mickelson. There was definitely a path for Mickelson to win 10 majors had things broken a different way.
As it stands, I think he is a top-10 golfer ever.
9. Tom Watson
Perhaps the greatest links player ever, Watson won five Open Championships across eight years at a time when Jack Nicklaus was in his prime. Watson had to outduel Nicklaus a few times in his career, most notably in the 1977 Open Championship at Turnberry.
Watson also had two Masters victories and a U.S. Open triumph. Nicklaus was runner-up in all three of those major wins.
Although his best golf was condensed to the late ’70s and early ’80s, Watson had 39 Tour wins from 1974 to 1998. He also won the player of the year honors on Tour six times.
Had he won the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry as a 59-year-old, it “would have been a hell of a story,” as Watson said. He also might be higher up on this list. Regardless, I think Watson is a no-doubt top-10 golfer ever.
8. Walter Hagen
There is some debate where to place Hagen because of the era he played in—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 prestigious event at the time.
Deciding how many majors to credit Hagen, relative to modern players, is a tricky thing given that his best golf came before the Masters existed. The professional game was not nearly as 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 sport’s history did more to popularize the game than The King. In a ranking of pure talent, he safely makes the top 10 but doesn’t challenge for the top spots.
Palmer had 62 Tour victories, highlighted by seven major wins. He won four Masters, one U.S. Open and two Open Championships. Palmer finished runner-up in the PGA Championship three times but never claimed victory.
All of Palmer’s major victories came in a seven-year span (1958-1964) as he dominated during that time period. The majority of his top play came in the ’60s—he only won four individual Tour titles after that.
There is no doubting that his grit, determination and desire for the spotlight made him perhaps the most revered and popular golfer to ever play.
6. Gary Player
Having won more than 150 times around the world, Player earned the right to be called golf’s first great international ambassador.
Player was one of just five men to win all four majors, totaling nine major titles across 21 years. He is also just one of four players to have won the Masters and Open Championship three times each. Player’s career was punctuated by a dramatic Sunday rally during the 1978 Masters where he shot a final-round 64 to erase a seven-stroke deficit and surpass Hubert Green.
The length of Player’s career, the variety of victories and the fact he won all four majors (the only non-American to do so) puts him ahead of Palmer for me.
5. Sam Snead
While some of Snead’s 142 professional victories—82 of which came on Tour—are not as meaningful as others, there is no denying The Slammer enjoyed perhaps the greatest longevity 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 even made the cut in a Tour event at the age of 67.
His seven major titles include three Masters, three PGAs and one Open Championship. He never captured a U.S. Open which is 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 major came at the 1983 Masters. He only played the Open Championship 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 is 44 (!) consecutive Masters if you count the times he withdrew.
4. Bobby Jones
It’s difficult to imagine one of the greatest golfers in history to essentially walk away from competitive golf at the age of 28 but that is what Jones did.
Jones played in 31 major championships (the U.S. Amateur and British Amateur were considered majors at the time) and won 13 of them. That, of course, included the 1930 Grand Slam where he won all four titles in one year. Less than two months later, Jones retired and went on to practice law in Atlanta (he also founded a little tournament called the Masters in 1934).
It’s incredible that Jones, an amateur, put all of his accomplishments in an eight-year window and regularly beat the likes of Hagen and Gene Sarazen. He also graduated from Harvard and Emory during that time.
While Jones could have been the greatest golfer in history if he played another decade, his story is more fascinating for having retired young. For him, there was a lot more to life than golf.
3. Ben Hogan
There are a few different players who could fit into the No. 3 position on this list. I went with Hogan.
Perhaps the best pure ball striker to ever live, The Hawk won nine majors and 64 Tour events, one of just five men to win all four majors. He is still the only player to ever win the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship in the same year (Jordan Spieth came dangerously close in 2015 but fell short at The Open). He also set the U.S. Open scoring record in 1948 and it wouldn’t be broken for 52 years. Hogan also has the record for most consecutive top-10 major finishes (18).
Hogan lost two years of his golf prime to serving in the Air Force during World War II and then his body was wrecked after a nearly fatal car accident in 1949. Remarkably, Hogan won six majors (in the span of eight major starts) after that accident. He only ever played one Open Championship in his career, winning the 1953 edition at Carnoustie. Imagine if he played more across the pond?
Beyond his records, Hogan deserves the third spot because of the grace and work ethic he put into the game. The ownership of his swing and game is unparalleled in golf history.
2. Jack Nicklaus
The longevity and enormity of Nicklaus’s career is hard to comprehend.
The Golden Bear won 18 majors (and finished runner-up another 19 times in majors!) among his 73 Tour victories. He won a record six Masters titles and has a ludicrous 56 top-five major finishes. Nicklaus also had the lowest scoring average on Tour eight times, matching how many times he won the money title.
Although he wasn’t embraced by the 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 U.S. Open and 1986 Masters—displaying an insane longevity that I doubt we’ll ever see again.
His major record is safe for the rest of eternity. There are too many great players now and too much money involved in the game for one player to rattle off 19 major victories.
1. Tiger Woods
While his 15 major victories falls short of Nicklaus, Woods deserves the top spot in my book.
His ability to separate from competition in unfathomable ways—breaking the Masters scoring record in 1997, winning the 2000 U.S. Open by 12 shots and recording a season stroke average south of 68—is something no other golfer can reasonably claim.
His 82 Tour wins were all fully legitimate and he has the lowest career scoring average in Tour history. He’s the only player in the modern era to ever win four consecutive majors. And how does 10 player of the year awards sound?
I’ve often heard it said that Nicklaus had the better career but Woods played the best golf. While that might be true, I think you have to account for more depth of competition in Tiger’s era. You also have to account for how he completely transformed golf in the way he trained physically and the style he played the game.
Agree? Disagree? Who should be on this list? Let me know below in the comments.
Top Photo Caption: Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus together during the 150th Open Championship. (GETTY IMAGES/Kevin C. Cox)
