Famous Golf Players: The 20 Greatest of All Time, Ranked

The most decorated Famous Golf Players of all time is Jack Nicklaus, who won 18 majors from 1962 to 1986. The most famous is Tiger Woods, who won 15 and did more to transform the fan base of golf than anyone who ever played it. Those two rise above everyone else, and almost every discussion of the greatest living or dead golf player is ultimately a discussion of how to measure them against each other.

Here is the list of the top 20 male golf professionals of all time, along with the ladies whose achievements deserve mention in the debate. It will also explain what is usually skipped over by these types of lists, but which changes everything when known: that number by which everyone is ranked is not an impartial ruler.

The quick version

If you only want the leaderboard, here are the ten men with the most major championships, which is the measure most rankings start from.

Rank	Player	Majors	How they got there
1	Jack Nicklaus	18	Six Masters, five PGAs, four U.S. Opens, three Opens
2	Tiger Woods	15	Five Masters, four PGAs, three U.S. Opens, three Opens
3	Walter Hagen	11	Five PGAs, four Opens, two U.S. Opens, no Masters
4 equal	Ben Hogan	9	Four U.S. Opens, two Masters, two PGAs, one Open
4 equal	Gary Player	9	Three Masters, three Opens, two PGAs, one U.S. Open
6	Tom Watson	8	Five Opens, two Masters, one U.S. Open, never a PGA
7 equal	Bobby Jones	7	Four U.S. Opens and three Opens, all as an amateur
7 equal	Harry Vardon	7	A record six Open Championships plus one U.S. Open
7 equal	Gene Sarazen	7	Three PGAs, two U.S. Opens, one Masters, one Open
7 equal	Sam Snead	7	Three Masters, three PGAs, one Open, never a U.S. Open
7 equal	Arnold Palmer	7	Four Masters, two Opens, one U.S. Open, never a PGA

Why major counts are not a fair ruler

All golf rankings depend on major titles to some degree, and very few even recognize that the criteria is not static in nature. There are four reasons why a chronological comparison will not work.

The Masters began in 1934. Harry Vardon, James Braid, and J.H. Taylor would never have been able to win it at their best since they only had access to three majors annually, and probably only one. The transatlantic trip required for the U.S. Open was too much of an effort to be practical.

The Open Championship was effectively unavailable to American professionals for many years. It costs money to travel and takes up a couple of weeks of time for a small purse. Ben Hogan entered only once in his career, and in 1953 he won. Sam Snead never played it. Comparing either to a current player who plays them all annually is comparing apples to oranges.

Prior to the 1960s, however, there was no standard quartet known as majors. In the era of Byron Nelson, for instance, American golfing professionals regarded the Western Open and the North and South Open as major championships as well. Likewise, the PGA Matchplay Championship had the same prestige among the British and Commonwealth golfers. It is believed that the contemporary definition of the majors originated in 1960 when Arnold Palmer claimed victory at the Masters and the U.S. Open and openly talked about adding the Open and PGA.

That last point matters more than it sounds. The thing we now rank players by was partly invented by one of the players being ranked, in the middle of his own season.

There is also Bobby Jones, whose career tally is 7 or 13, depending on who is scoring. According to modern tallies, he won four US Opens and three Open Championships. He won five US Amateurs and one British Amateur according to the old scoring system, since his generation considered such tournaments as major. Both can be justified, so you know that the measure of measurement is flexible.

The two at the top

1. Jack Nicklaus

Eighteen major championships in 24 years, and 73 victories on the PGA Tour. While the number 18 may help to close the debate, the 19 second-place major finishes is actually the record that counts. For 25 years, Nicklaus was a contender at golf’s biggest stage. It is something that no other person has been able to do.

Nicklaus’ last victory in the Masters took place in 1986 when he was 46 years old. It still stands out as one of the most frequently watched hours in the sport. Nicklaus has twice achieved the career Grand Slam.

2. Tiger Woods

Fifteen major championships and 82 PGA tour wins, equal to Sam Snead’s record of the most ever achieved. He held 683 weeks of being world number one and 281 weeks consecutively, setting world records by huge margins.

The peak performance is the reason why he should be considered the best golfer ever. He won the 1997 Masters by 12 strokes and 2000 U.S. Open by 15, and his margin remains the biggest in the history of this tournament. From 2000 to 2001, he won all four professional majors at the same time; such a win is referred to as “the Tiger Slam,” since it took place during two consecutive years, making it an unofficial Grand Slam.

Moreover, he won the career Grand Slam at the age of 24, being the youngest ever, and he won the 2019 Masters at the age of 43, despite spinal fusion. He definitely dominates the peak category.

The inner circle, three to ten:

3. Ben Hogan

Nine majors and that number grossly underestimates his achievements. During the month of February in 1949, a Greyhound bus struck him head-on while driving his car and in a bid to save his wife from the steering wheel, he flung himself across the passenger seat. Doctors were of the opinion that he might never walk again but he went ahead to win six out of his nine majors.

In 1953, he played for three majors and won all of them namely the Masters, U.S. Open, and The Open Championship at Carnoustie. He could not play for the fourth one as open qualifying was scheduled for the last two days of the PGA Championship.

4. Bobby Jones

He won the Grand Slam in 1930 when it was still the same set of tournaments, including the U.S. Open, the Open Championship, the U.S. Amateur and the British Amateur, and then retired at age 28. Jones did not go pro.

He co-founded Augusta National and created The Masters, meaning that he has contributed to the creation of one of the four competitions every golfer on this list is measured by. No other golfer has had such an influence after their retirement.

5. Walter Hagen

Eleven majors, the third most behind the game’s elite, five PGA Championships and four Opens. He never won the Masters, because at the time of his prime, it barely existed. 

The significance of Hagen goes beyond his statistics. Hagen became the first professional golfer to conduct himself as a celebrity rather than a craftsman, forcing the clubs which refused him access to change their policies. Golfers are paid for a livelihood that he helped to create.

6. Sam Snead

Eighty-two wins on the PGA Tour, matching Tiger Woods for the record number, and seven majors titles over three decades. He had one of the greatest swings of his generation and he remained competitive even against younger competition until the end of his career.

One thing that separates Nicklaus from the record list is his failure to win the U.S. Open. Nicklaus holds eight second-place finishes in majors.

7. Arnold Palmer

Seven majors, four of which were Masters, and the man who made golf a television sport. He came into the game when it was being televised, and he had just the right personality for it: aggressive, openly emotional, willing to play shots that reasonable people wouldn’t try.

He also helped to define the criteria by which everyone else is ranked today, because what he said in 1960 about his own grand slam set the standard for the modern four.

8. Gary Player

With nine majors and a career Grand Slam achieved in 1965, he became the first non-American to do so. He had victories on six continents and flew more air miles than any other sportsman of his generation in an era where such activity was truly punishing.

He was also the first great golf player to make physical fitness an integral part of his game long before it became standard practice.

9. Tom Watson

Eight majors, including five Opens, and the greatest links specialist of all time. He took Nicklaus to battle in Turnberry in 1977 in what is considered the greatest final round contest of all time in the majors.

The PGA Championship eluded him, being the only one that he did not win. Also, he was runner up at the 2009 Open at the age of 59, requiring only a par on the last hole for victory.

10. Harry Vardon

Seven majors including six Open Championships, which remains the record. The overlapping grip that most golfers in the world use today is called the Vardon grip because he popularized it.

He played at a time when only two or three majors existed in any year and travel limited which ones you could enter. Measured against what was available to him, his record is as dominant as anyone’s.

The rest of the twenty:

11. Gene Sarazen

Seven major titles and the first player to complete the career Grand Slam, which he achieved in 1935 at the second Masters. This tournament was also responsible for his double eagle at the 15th hole that is even referred to as the shot heard ’round the world. He was also the inventor of the sand wedge.

12. Byron Nelson

Five Majors, but he’s here for his 1945 record. He won 18 tournaments in one year, including 11 straight, with an average score of 68.33 which no one has beaten before Tiger Woods in 2000. He soon retired to his ranch at the age of 34.

13. Rory McIlroy

With six major titles and the sixth golfer in history to achieve the career grand slam, with this feat being accomplished at the 2025 Masters, on the seventeenth try after over ten years of not winning any major tournaments. He went on to defend the title at the 2026 Masters and won against Scottie Scheffler by one shot.

14. Seve Ballesteros

Five majors, three Opens and two Masters, and the most significant European golfer to have lived. He brought competitiveness to the Ryder Cup, and he played golf in such an improvisational way as no one else has done. His impact on European golf far exceeds his number of majors.

15. Lee Trevino

Six major titles, two each in the US Open, The Open, and the PGA Championships, and he won most of them by defeating Nicklaus, who was in his prime then. He had nothing in terms of money and no amateur background to speak of in that era.

16. Phil Mickelson

Six major victories, 12 second places, and the 2021 PGA Championship at age 50, making him the oldest major winner ever. The only major he hasn’t won is the U.S. Open, even though he was second place six times.

17. Nick Faldo

Six majors, three Masters, three Opens, and the best British golfer of the modern era. In the mid-1980s he completely rewrote his swing, losing two years in the process, but then he won everything. It is the most famous instance of rebuilding in the history of the game.

18. Peter Thomson

Five Open Championships, three consecutively from 1954 to 1956, something that hasn’t been done since the 1800s. He competed during a time when it was rare for Australians to travel across the world for a championship, and he did so more than almost any other player.

19. Scottie Scheffler

Four major titles thus far, two Masters along with the 2025 PGA Championship and 2025 Open, along with a gold medal in the Olympics in Paris. He has spent a period of more than three years being ranked as the world number one. He is the only active player who can move significantly up on this list, and he just needs the U.S. Open to complete his Grand Slam.

20. Young Tom Morris

Four consecutive Open Championships in 1868, 1869, 1870, and 1872, without an Open Championship being played in 1871. No one else has done four in a row since. He won his first at 17 years old and remains the youngest ever major winner, and he died at 24 years old on Christmas Day 1875. It’s impossible to guess what else he might have accomplished.

The full twenty at a glance

Here is the whole list in one place, with the single fact that earns each player their position.

Rank	Player	Majors	The reason they are here
1	Jack Nicklaus	18	The most majors, and a record 19 second places on top
2	Tiger Woods	15	683 weeks at world number one and the highest peak ever reached
3	Ben Hogan	9	Won six majors after a crash doctors thought would end his walking
4	Bobby Jones	7	The 1930 Grand Slam as an amateur, then founded the Masters
5	Walter Hagen	11	Third on the all-time major list and made professionals respectable
6	Sam Snead	7	Eighty-two PGA Tour wins, a record he still shares with Woods
7	Arnold Palmer	7	Four Masters, and the player who put golf on television
8	Gary Player	9	First non-American career Grand Slam, winning on six continents
9	Tom Watson	8	Five Opens and the best links golfer of the modern age
10	Harry Vardon	7	A record six Open Championships and the grip everybody uses
11	Gene Sarazen	7	First career Grand Slam and inventor of the sand wedge
12	Byron Nelson	5	Eighteen wins in 1945, eleven of them consecutive
13	Rory McIlroy	6	Career Grand Slam in 2025, then back-to-back Masters in 2026
14	Seve Ballesteros	5	Made European golf and the Ryder Cup what they are
15	Lee Trevino	6	Six majors won largely by beating Nicklaus face to face
16	Phil Mickelson	6	Oldest major champion ever, winning the 2021 PGA at 50
17	Nick Faldo	6	Rebuilt his swing from nothing and then won six majors
18	Peter Thomson	5	Five Opens including three consecutive titles
19	Scottie Scheffler	4	Four majors, Olympic gold, and years at world number one
20	Young Tom Morris	4	Four straight Opens, the first at 17, dead at 24

The greatest women, who belong in this conversation

The vast majority of all-time listings, however, actually refer to men’s professional golf. To keep them separate from each other is an act of honesty rather than being condescending, as the tours and the structures of their major tournaments are different enough to make a merger meaningless. It is not right, however, to omit them altogether from consideration.

The following are women who won the most majors in the history of the game.

Player	Majors	LPGA wins	What stands out
Patty Berg	15	60	The most majors won by any woman, between 1937 and 1958
Mickey Wright	13	82	Her win total matches the all-time PGA Tour record
Louise Suggs	11	61	A founding member of the LPGA and one of its first stars
Annika Sorenstam	10	72	Shot 59 in competition and dominated the early 2000s
Babe Zaharias	10	41	Also an Olympic gold medalist in track and field
Betsy Rawls	8	55	Four U.S. Women’s Open titles across nearly two decades
Kathy Whitworth	6	88	The most professional tour wins by any golfer, ever

However, there are two figures that need to be looked at again. Firstly, the fact that 88 victories were achieved by Kathy Whitworth, compared to fewer victories by either Sam Snead or Tiger Woods means that she is the most successful professional golfer ever, beating the second-placed player by six victories.

The other number that deserves another look is the 15 major tournaments won by Patty Berg, which equals the number of majors won by Tiger Woods and is beaten only by Jack Nicklaus. So if all golfers would be ranked according to their majors, Patty Berg would equal Tiger Woods in second place, behind only Nicklaus.

Most famous is not the same as greatest

What drives most individuals to find information on a page like this is not just one question but two questions wrapped in the same clothing.

For the greatest based on statistics, then Nicklaus gets the nod, with his 18 major championships and 19 second-place finishes a hard case to refute.

For the most famous golfer of all time, the choice is undoubtedly Tiger Woods by a large margin of which no other golfer comes close. He raised television ratings, purses, and numbers of players in the game in a way that the game had not experienced before, and he is the only golfer that most non-golfers can name. The closest historical analogy is Arnold Palmer, who accomplished much the same thing a generation ago on a smaller scale.

But for the most influential to the playing of the game, the answer is more unusual. It would be the combination of Harry Vardon for his grip, Gene Sarazen for his sand wedge, and Bobby Jones for the Masters.

Who could still climb this list

One active player alone has a path into the top ten, which is Scottie Scheffler. Winning four majors equals his standing among those who are not on this list, but it’s the pace of his success that counts: he won all four majors within four years of being at the top of the rankings. Just the U.S. Open separates him from a career Grand Slam.

Rory McIlroy, already at six majors and ranked at number thirteen, would be inside the top ten with just two or three more, passing Jack Watson along the way. Back-to-back Masters wins in his thirties proves that he isn’t dreaming.

All other players have a minimum of a decade of major-winning to become relevant on this list, which few people manage. That is the true message of this ranking: the distance between the top two and the rest is there because consistency of twenty years is even less common than brilliance of five.

Final take

Any list of great famous golf player names is also a history of eras as well as golf. Nicklaus won more than anybody else over a longer period. Woods had the highest level and the largest reach. Hogan made the most out of the least. Jones revolutionized the game when he stopped playing it.

It is deeper down where the true controversy lies, and it is important to recall why. Vardon didn’t even have a Masters to play in; Hogan almost never had a realistic chance of winning the Open, and the four majors that we score players against each other on were not standardized until 1960. Take anything like this with a grain of salt, especially major counts.

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