We just stumbled on something that is absolutely, positively sure to raise some eyebrows, start some serious debates, and probably cause an argument or two. When it comes to narrowing down the best, of the best, of the best golfers that have ever stepped onto a professional tee box, there are so many names, so much great talent, and so many factors to take under consideration that to pick a top 20 would be next to impossible.
Top 20 Of All Time
Notice, we said “next” to impossible. Looks like they actually tried to achieve just this over at golf.com and they narrowed down the thousands of great golfers that have ever played and picking those that they believe belong in the upper echelon. As we mentioned, there are so many things to take under consideration, and it looks like the way they chose to do it was give it a weighted score out of 300 points. The closer to 300, the better you are, the further down, well, the further you are from being the best.
The Official List…
That said, who did they choose, and what were their scores? Glad you asked…check it out:
1. Jack Nicklaus, 290*
2. Tiger Woods, 283
3. Bobby Jones, 265
4. Ben Hogan, 231
5. Sam Snead, 208
6. Arnold Palmer, 199
7. Byron Nelson, 196
8. Mickey Wright, 142
9. Gary Player, 141
10. Walter Hagen, 124
11. Tom Watson, 120
12. Annika Sorenstam, 116
13. Harry Vardon, 106
14. Young Tom Morris, 91
15. Seve Ballesteros, 90
16. Babe Zaharias, 74
17. Gene Sarazen, 72
18. Lee Trevino, 68
19. Old Tom Morris, 62
20. Billy Casper, 36* 300 points possible
What do you think? Dead on or way off? Do you think there should be more women in the mix? Do you think the points are right? After looking at it, and then looking at it again, we have to say it’s pretty accurate in our humble opinions. I think it would be extremely interesting to see how the list would change in say, 10 years, but for now, it looks just about right on in our minds.
How Would Your List Change?
What do you think? How would your list look different? Sound off!
Fun to think about! Even though Tiger’s career isn’t over yet, I would judge him first on the list. But I guess that depends on whether you include the “gentleman” effect….
You can get prints of four of the guys in the Top Six here: