The 100 Greatest Golfers of All-Time

Methodology. (Last update: 2/25/25)

RankPlayerYearsCountry
1Tiger Woods1999-activeUSA
2Jack Nicklaus1957-2005USA
3Phil Mickelson1990-activeUSA
4Ben Hogan1934-1967USA
5Sam Snead1937-1983USA
6Arnold Palmer1952-2004USA
7Tom Watson1970-2016USA
8Gary Player1956-2009S. Africa
9Bobby Jones1916-1948USA
10Rory McIIroy2007-activeN. Ireland
11Ernie Els1989-activeS. Africa
12Nick Faldo1976-2015England
13Seve Ballesteros1975-2007Spain
14Lee Trevino1966-2000USA
15Greg Norman1977-2009Australia
16Brooks Koepka2012-activeUSA
17Walter Hagen1913-1942USA
18Gene Sarazen1920-1976USA
19Byron Nelson1934-1966USA
20Vijay Singh1989-acitveFiji
21Nick Price1975-2006Zimbabwe
22Dustin Johnson2008-activeUSA
23Bernhard Langer1976-2023Germany
24Billy Casper1956-2005USA
25Raymond Floyd1963-2009USA
26Scottie Scheffler2016-activeUSA
27Jordan Spieth2012-activeUSA
28Ben Crenshaw1970-2015USA
29Hale Irwin1966-2004USA
30Payne Stewart1981-1999USA
31Xander Schauffele2017-activeUSA
32Pádraig Harrington1996-activeIreland
33Jon Rahm2016-activeSpain
34Justin Thomas2014-2024USA
35Sergio Garcia1996-activeSpain
36Jason Day2010-activeAustralia
37Justin Rose1998-acitveEngland
38Adam Scott2000-activeAustralia
39Julius Boros1950-1980USA
40Harry Vardon1893-1929Jersey
41John Henry Taylor1893-1929England
42James Braid1894-1938Scotland
43José María Olazábal1984-2018Spain
44Johnny Miller1966-1994USA
45Larry Nelson1976-2011USA
46Davis Love III1986-2020USA
47Fred Couples1979-2024USA
48Jim Furyk1994-2022USA
49Cary Middlecoff1946-1971USA
50Lanny Wadkins1970-2001USA
51Tom Kite1970-2004USA
52Tom Weiskopf1965-2004USA
53Reteif Goosen1999-2012S. Africa
54Louis Oosthuizen2004-activeS. Africa
55Henrik Stenson2001-activeSweden
56Lee Westwood1995-2022England
57Martin Kaymer2008-activeGermany
58David Duval1990-2022USA
59Steve Elkington1988-2011Australia
60Justin Leonard1993-2024USA
61Hubert Green1969-1996USA
62Curtis Strange1975-2002USA
63Mark O’Meara1980-2018USA
64Ian Woosnam1982-2021Wales
65Fuzzy Zoeller1976-2009USA
66Tom Lehman1986-2019USA
67Collin Morikawa2019-activeUSA
68Bubba Watson2004-activeUSA
69Bryson DeChambeau2015-activeUSA
70Zach Johnson2004-activeUSA
71Angel Cabrera1997-2019Argentina
72Sandy Lyle1974-2013Scotland
73Lee Janzen1985-2015USA
74David Graham1970-1995Australia
75Jerry Pate1975-2011USA
76Dave Stockton1968-1997USA
77Paul Azinger1983-2009USA
78Hal Sutton1980-2005USA
79Leo Diegel1920-1939USA
80Jimmy Demaret1935-1967USA
81Denny Shute1926-1972USA
82Tony Jacklin1963-2007England
83Colin Montgomerie1990-2016Scotland
84Luke Donald1999-2024England
85Craig Wood1925-1964USA
86Ralph Guldahl1930-1973USA
87Ian Poulter2000-2022England
88Rickie Fowler2008-activeUSA
89Hideki Matsuyama2011-activeJapan
90Matt Kuchar1998-activeUSA
91Tommy Fleetwood2014-activeEngland
92Corey Pavin1981-2010USA
93Darren Clarke1991-activeN. Ireland
94Stewart Cink1996-activeUSA
95Peter Thomson1951-1984Australia
96Steve Stricker1993-2021USA
97Craig Stadler1974-2014USA
98Andy North1974-1995USA
99John Daly1986-2024USA
100David Toms1996-2019USA

Leave a Reply

Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. The theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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