50 Greatest Golfers of All Time | Famous Sports People

1

JN

American·Golf

Jack Nicklaus

American golfer widely regarded as the greatest of all time, holding the record for most men's major championships won.

18 majors · 73 tour wins

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2

TW

American·Golf

Tiger Woods

Dominant American golfer who held the World No.1 ranking for a record 683 weeks and won 15 professional majors.

15 majors · 82 tour wins

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3

BH

American·Golf

Ben Hogan

American golf legend who won 9 majors and completed a historic single-season Triple Crown in 1953.

9 majors · 64 tour wins

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4

SS

American·Golf

Sam Snead

'Slammin' Sammy' Snead is regarded as one of golf's greatest ball-strikers, holding the record for most PGA Tour wins despite never winning

7 majors · 82 tour wins

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5

AP

American·Golf

Arnold Palmer

Charismatic American golfer whose popularity helped grow golf as a TV sport in the 1960s.

7 majors · 62 tour wins

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6

GP

South African·Golf

Gary Player

Gary Player is a South African golf legend who won 9 majors and completed the career Grand Slam by age 29.

9 majors · 24 tour wins

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7

BJ

American·Golf

Bobby Jones

Legendary American amateur who won 13 majors, completed the 1930 Grand Slam, then retired to found Augusta National.

13 majors

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8

WH

American·Golf

Walter Hagen

Early 20th-century American golfer who won 11 professional majors and brought glamour and big money to professional golf.

11 majors · 44 tour wins

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9

TW

American·Golf

Tom Watson

American golfer who won eight major championships, including a record-tying five Open Championships, and led the money list five times.

8 majors · 39 tour wins

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10

GS

American·Golf

Gene Sarazen

Gene Sarazen was an early 20th-century American golf pioneer and the first player to win all four modern majors.

7 majors · 39 tour wins

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11

SB

Spanish·Golf

Seve Ballesteros

Ballesteros was a charismatic Spanish icon whose flair and five major titles helped transform European golf into a global power.

5 majors · 9 tour wins

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12

NF

English·Golf

Nick Faldo

English golfer who won six major championships and spent 97 weeks as world No.1.

6 majors · 43 tour wins

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13

LT

American·Golf

Lee Trevino

American golfer nicknamed 'Supermex' who won six major championships and 29 PGA Tour events, but never won the Masters.

6 majors · 29 tour wins

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14

RM

Northern Irish·Golf

Rory McIlroy

A dominant multiple major champion from Northern Ireland, McIlroy became the sixth man ever to complete the career Grand Slam by winning the

5 majors · 27 tour wins

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15

PM

American·Golf

Phil Mickelson

American left-handed golfer with 45 PGA Tour wins and 6 majors across three decades, now competing on LIV Golf.

6 majors · 45 tour wins

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16

GN

Australian·Golf

Greg Norman

Greg Norman, 'The Shark,' dominated world rankings for 331 weeks with two Open Championship titles.

2 majors · 20 tour wins

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17

EE

South African·Golf

Ernie Els

Ernie Els is a South African golfing great celebrated for two US Opens and two Open Championships.

4 majors · 19 tour wins

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18

VS

Fijian·Golf

Vijay Singh

Fijian golfer who overcame an early-career ban to become a three-time major champion and world No.1, with 34 PGA Tour wins.

3 majors · 34 tour wins

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19

FC

American·Golf

Fred Couples

Fred Couples is an American golfer celebrated for his 1992 Masters win and later senior-tour success.

1 majors · 15 tour wins

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20

JM

Spanish·Golf

José María Olazábal

Spanish professional golfer who won two Masters titles and later captained Europe to a dramatic Ryder Cup comeback win in 2012.

2 majors · 6 tour wins

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21

PH

Irish·Golf

Padraig Harrington

Irish golfer who reached world No.3, was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2024, and played six consecutive Ryder Cups.

3 majors · 6 tour wins

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22

NP

Zimbabwean·Golf

Nick Price

Zimbabwean golfer who spent 43-44 weeks as world No.1 in the mid-1990s and is regarded as one of the best ball-strikers of his era.

3 majors · 18 tour wins

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23

JR

English·Golf

Justin Rose

English golfer who reached World No. 1 in 2018, won the FedEx Cup, and captured Olympic gold at Rio 2016 after a career breakthrough at the

1 majors · 13 tour wins

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24

DJ

American·Golf

Dustin Johnson

Dustin Johnson is a dominant American professional golfer known for his length off the tee and reaching World No. 1 multiple times.

2 majors · 24 tour wins

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25

CM

American·Golf

Collin Morikawa

An American golfer renowned for elite ball-striking, who won the PGA Championship and The Open both on his first appearance in each event.

2 majors · 7 tour wins

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26

SS

American·Golf

Scottie Scheffler

Scheffler is the sport's dominant force of the mid-2020s, combining elite ball-striking with four major titles and 20 PGA Tour wins by age 3

4 majors · 20 tour wins

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27

JR

Spanish·Golf

Jon Rahm

Spanish professional golfer and former world No.1 who joined LIV Golf in December 2023 after winning the 2023 Masters.

2 majors · 11 tour wins

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28

BK

American·Golf

Brooks Koepka

American golfer known for peaking in majors, winning back-to-back US Opens and three PGA Championships, now on LIV Golf.

5 majors · 9 tour wins

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29

HM

Japanese·Golf

Hideki Matsuyama

Hideki Matsuyama is Japan's most successful PGA Tour golfer, breaking through with a historic 2021 Masters win.

1 majors · 11 tour wins

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30

XS

American·Golf

Xander Schauffele

Olympic gold medalist (2020 Tokyo) who completed a breakthrough two-major season in 2024.

2 majors · 10 tour wins

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31

BC

American·Golf

Billy Casper

American golfer who quietly amassed 51 PGA Tour wins and 3 majors, plus a record 8 Ryder Cup appearances.

3 majors · 51 tour wins

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32

JB

American·Golf

Julius Boros

Two-time U.S. Open champion known for his easy, relaxed swing and longevity.

3 majors · 18 tour wins

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33

CM

American·Golf

Cary Middlecoff

Won three majors including a dominant seven-stroke Masters victory in 1955.

3 majors · 39 tour wins

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34

LM

American·Golf

Lloyd Mangrum

Smooth-swinging pro who led the money list in 1951 and won 36 PGA Tour events.

1 majors · 36 tour wins

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35

BN

American·Golf

Byron Nelson

'Lord Byron' set golf's most untouchable record with 11 straight wins in 1945.

5 majors · 52 tour wins

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36

HC

English·Golf

Henry Cotton

Knighted Englishman whose 1934 Open record round of 65 inspired the 'Dunlop 65' golf ball.

3 majors · 30 tour wins

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37

DR

Welsh·Golf

Dai Rees

Long-serving Welsh pro, runner-up in the Open three times but never won a major.

39 tour wins

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38

MF

English·Golf

Max Faulkner

Won his only major at Royal Portrush in 1951, the sole British Open winner between Cotton (1948) and Jacklin (1969).

1 majors · 19 tour wins

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39

PA

English·Golf

Peter Alliss

An English professional golfer who won 3 British PGA Championships and 8 Ryder Cup caps, later becoming the BBC's iconic lead golf commentat

31 tour wins

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40

TJ

English·Golf

Tony Jacklin

The most successful British golfer of his generation, Jacklin won two majors before later captaining Europe to Ryder Cup victories in 1985 a

2 majors · 29 tour wins

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41

SL

Scottish·Golf

Sandy Lyle

A Scottish golfer who spearheaded 1980s British golf resurgence, winning The Open in 1985 and becoming the first Briton to don the Masters g

2 majors · 3 tour wins

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42

IW

Welsh·Golf

Ian Woosnam

Welsh professional golfer who reached world No.1 in 1991 and remains one of Europe's most successful Ryder Cup players.

1 majors · 2 tour wins

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43

BL

German·Golf

Bernhard Langer

German golfer renowned for longevity, winning two Masters titles and dominating the senior tour with 47 wins.

2 majors · 3 tour wins

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44

MJ

English·Golf

Mark James

A long-serving European Tour professional who won 18 European Tour titles and later captained a controversial Europe side at the 1999 Ryder

32 tour wins

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45

LW

English·Golf

Lee Westwood

English golfer who became World No. 1 in October 2010 for 22 weeks despite holding the record for most major starts without a win.

2 tour wins · 22 weeks at No.1

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46

PC

English·Golf

Paul Casey

A modern English golfer who reached a career-high of world No. 3 in 2009 and has won on both the PGA and European tours.

21 tour wins

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47

HS

Swedish·Golf

Henrik Stenson

Henrik Stenson is a Swedish golfer famed for his record-setting 2016 Open Championship win over Phil Mickelson.

1 majors · 6 tour wins

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48

SG

Spanish·Golf

Sergio Garcia

A long-time top-10 Spanish golfer whose long-awaited breakthrough major came at the 2017 Masters after decades as a Ryder Cup stalwart.

1 majors · 11 tour wins

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49

AS

Australian·Golf

Adam Scott

Australian professional golfer who became the first Australian to win the Masters Tournament in 2013 and former World No. 1 ranked player.

1 majors · 14 tour wins

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50

JD

Australian·Golf

Jason Day

Australian professional golfer who reached world No.1 in 2015 after winning the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

1 majors · 13 tour wins

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