Top 10 Greatest Golfing Legends

The Legends of Golf

A comprehensive coverage of all the Great Golfing Legends; with reviews of the top winners of Professional Majors; Top 100 World Ranked Golf Courses, as declared by Golf Magazine and much more.

I am fanatical about golf and I have a passionate mission to bring you all that is great in the game of golf.

Golf is a mental game and by carefully educating your mind with what I present to you here, it will not be long before you will notice a significant improvement in your game.

Tiger Woods

World's Greatest Golfer

Tiger Woods was the ambassador of golf with his ever growing influence on the game. He is again the highest paid athlete in the world and now he is on the way to being the Greatest in the history of Golf.

His 14 PGA major championships are getting closer to Jack Nicklaus's 18 victories. Woods has already won 70 PGA Tour titles. He is the second player in the history of golf who has two Career Grand Slams.

In his debut year in professional golf in 1996, he was also named the 'Sportsman of the Year' by Sports illustrated. He has been the number one golfer in the Official World Golf Rankings for a record 264 consecutive weeks.

He became PGA Tour Player of the Year eight times and finished five seasons at the top of the PGA money list. He has the highest ever career earnings in the history of golf. He is now 37 and he has a long way left to take his name on the zenith of golf.

Jack Nicklaus

The Most Accomplished Player

Jack Nicklaus won 73 PGA Tour events in his career. Only one golfer won more. But in the majors, how do other golfers stack up against Nicklaus? They don't.

Nicklaus won 18 professional majors - twice as many as all but one other golfer. He finished second 19 more times, and third nine times. In all, Nicklaus posted 48 Top 3 finishes, 56 Top 5 finishes and 73 Top 10 finishes.

Perhaps Tiger Woods will someday challenge that record. But for now, Nicklaus remains - by far - the most accomplished player in the history of major championship golf. And he did it all exhibiting great class and sportsmanship.

He turned pro in 1962, earning $33.33 in his first event as a pro. But things quickly got better, and he won his first major that year, defeating Palmer in an 18-hole playoff at the U.S. Open.

By age 26, Nicklaus had completed the career grand slam. Then he won all the majors a second time. And finally, with his 1978 British Open victory, he'd won them all at least three times each. His final major came in 1986, at the age of 46, with his sixth Masters.

Nicklaus played sparingly on the Senior PGA Tour, but won 10 times, including 8 senior majors. He founded and hosts the prestigious Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour.

Walter Hagen

Best Dressed Athlete

Walter Hagen won 11 professional majors, more than any golfer not named Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods. But more than the victories, Hagen's impact is felt in his almost single-handed legitimizing of the PGA Tour, and of the standing of professional athletes around the world.

Early in Hagen's career, it was not uncommon for golf clubs to refuse entry to their clubhouses to pro golfers. Hagen fought to raise standards for pro golfers. Once at a tournament in England, he rented a Rolls-Royce, parked it in front of the clubhouse and used it as a changing room after the club refused him entry to its locker room.

Hagen's presence at a tournament guaranteed great crowds, and he commanded huge appearance fees for exhibition matches. He was among the first golfers to capitalize on product endorsements, and he is believed to be the first athlete to earn $1 million in a career.

Hagen grew up just a few miles from the famed Oak Hill Country Club. As a youth, he caddied at Rochester (N.Y.) Country Club, where later he would serve as head pro.

His first win in a major was the 1914 U.S. Open, at age 22, but his greatest success came in the early to mid-1920s. In all, he won 11 majors, including 5 PGA Championships, 4 of them consecutively. In addition, he won the Western Open 5 times, which in that time was considered a major.

Hagen brought color and glamour to golf, playing in plus-fours and two-toned shoes (he was the first athlete ever named to the list of Best Dressed Americans). His swing was inconsistent and he probably hit more bad drives and approaches than any of the all-time greats, but his recovery game was so good he usually got away with his mistakes.

Ben Hogan

Even A Car Crash Couldn't Stop Him Winning

In 292 career PGA Tour events, Ben Hogan finished in the Top 3 in 47.6-percent of them. He finished in the Top 10 in 241 of those 292 events.

Hogan turned pro in 1929, at age 17, to play pro events in Texas. He didn't join the PGA Tour until 1932. Much of his early career, Hogan battled a hook. But through a tremendous work ethic, he changed his game to a controlled fade (in his famous words, he "dug it out of the dirt"). In 1940, he began winning, and often.

He missed a couple years on Tour due to World War II, but returned full-time in 1946 and won 13 times, including his first major, the PGA. From August 1945 to February 1949, Hogan won 37 times. But in 1949, he suffered terrible injuries in a car crash, and was never again able to play a full schedule due to circulatory problems in his legs.

In fact, from 1950 on, Hogan never played more than 7 PGA Tour events in a year. Yet, he won 13 more times, including 6 majors. Until Tiger Woods did it in 2000, Hogan was the only man to win three professional majors in one season. That was in 1953, when Hogan won the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open. He was unable to play the PGA because it started too close to the finish of the British Open. From 1946 to 1953, Hogan won 9 of the 16 majors he played.

Gary Player

The Player's Professional Choice

South African Player was the first international star to build a long-term presence on the PGA Tour, while also playing around the world. Along the way, Player won tournaments in 27 consecutive years, and 163 tournaments total worldwide.

Player turned pro in 1953 and joined the PGA Tour in 1957. His first major championship win came at the 1959 British Open, and he was the first non-American to win the Masters when he did so in 1961. The PGA Championship followed in 1962, and when Player won the U.S. Open in 1965 he became, at the time, only the third winner of the career grand slam.

The last of Player's nine majors came at the 1978 Masters, where his final-round 64 propelled him from a 7-shot deficit to a 1-stroke victory.

Player won the South African Open 13 times; the Australian Open seven times; and the World Match Play Championship five times. He continued winning after joining the Senior Tour in 1985 and in 2007 was still playing regularly on the Champions Tour.

Tom Watson

A Match For Nicklaus

In the period of time between Jack Nicklaus' peak and Tiger Woods' peak, Watson was head-and-shoulders above any other golfer in the world.

Watson stood up to Nicklaus on numerous occasions, one of the few golfers who consistently went toe-to-toe with Nicklaus and came out on top.

Their duel at the 1977 British Open - where Nicklaus shot 66-66 over the final two rounds, while Watson shot 66-65 to win by one - is one of the greatest head-to-head battles the sport has ever seen. Watson robbed Nicklaus of another major at the 1982 U.S. Open with his famous chip-in on the 17th hole at Pebble Beach. In fact, in four of Watson's eight major championship wins, Nicklaus was runner-up.

He would go on to win the British Open a total of five times; the Masters twice, and the U.S. Open once. He led the PGA Tour in wins six years, in money five years, in scoring three years. He was PGA Tour Player of the Year six times.

His final PGA Tour victory came in 1998. In 1999, he began playing on the Champions Tour. Watson was Player of the Year in 2003.

Sam Snead

The US Open Eluded Him.

Snead won three US Masters titles, three US PGA Championships and one Open Championship.

He has been credited with 135 worldwide wins and won tour-sponsored events in six different decades. Snead was famous for his straw hat, keen sense of humour and elegant swing.

He won the Masters for the first time in 1949, the year club members began awarding a green jacket. He won again three years later, and earned his final Masters victory in 1954 after beating Ben Hogan by one stroke in an 18-hole play-off.

Snead claimed his only Open Championship at St Andrews in 1946, during a time when few Americans travelled across the Atlantic Ocean because of the cost.

Even a victory would not guarantee they could cover their expenses.

He also was a three-time winner of the USPGA Championship during the match-play era, and he made it to the final two other times.

But despite finishing as runner-up four times, the US Open was the one Major to elude him.

Arnold Palmer

One of Golf's All-Time Greats

Arnold Palmer won 62 times on the PGA Tour during his storied career. He won four Masters, two British Opens and the U.S. Open.

Palmer led the PGA Tour in wins with 4 in 1957, then exploded in 1958 with his first major, the Masters. Palmer's swashbuckling, go-for-broke style, combined with an aggressive, unorthodox swing, plus movie-star looks and charisma, immediately made him a star.

He didn't disappoint, dominating the PGA Tour into the early 1960s. In 1960, he won 8 times including the Masters and U.S. Open. At the Open, he made up seven strokes in the final round to win. In 1962, he had another 8 wins, including the Masters and British Open.

From 1957 to 1963, Palmer led the Tour in wins five times and money four times. He won four scoring titles, the last in 1967. Palmer won seven majors, all of them from 1958 to 1964, and was the first 4-time winner of the Masters.

His last big year on the PGA Tour was 1971, when he won four times. The last of his 62 wins came in 1973, but his popularity never waned. It surged again in 1980 when Palmer joined the Senior PGA Tour, and once again helped popularize a golf tour.

In the first round of the Champions Tour event in the Houston suburbs Palmer withdrew from the event and announced he was through with competitive golf.

Nick Faldo

The Youngest Ever Ryder Cup Player

3-time winner of British Open (1987,90,92) and Masters (1989, 90, 96); 3-time European Golfer of Year (1989-90,92); PGA Player of Year in 1990.

Nick Faldo won five times on the European Tour in 1983. He led the tour in money and scoring. He'd won 12 times total in Europe. But he decided that wasn't enough. He wanted to win majors, so he set to work building a better swing, one that wouldn't crack under pressure. And after going three years without a single win, Faldo emerged as one of Europe's all-time best golfers.

Faldo won the English Amateur Championship in 1974 and the British Youth Championships in 1975. He turned pro in 1976, and in 1977 claimed his first European Tour victory. Also in 1977, he played the first of his record 11 Ryder Cups, becoming the youngest ever (age 20) to compete in the event. Faldo still holds the European record for points earned.

He went on to win the Open Championship twice more, and added three Masters. The last came in 1996, when Faldo came from 6 shots behind Greg Norman at the start of the final round to win by 5.

In all, Faldo won 30 times on the European Tour, 6 times on the U.S. PGA Tour, and 6 majors

Lee Trevino

Survived A Lightning Strike

Trevino found his way onto the PGA Tour in 1967, and quickly established himself as one of the best. He won the U.S. Open in 1968, and from then until around 1974 was a dominant force. He won all but one of his six majors during that span, and four scoring titles. His 1971 U.S. Open victory is his best-known, as he defeated Jack Nicklaus in an 18-hole playoff for the win.

Trevino was nearly killed when he was struck by lightning during a tournament in 1975. The injuries he suffered lingered, but he recovered to win another Vardon Trophy in 1980. The 1984 PGA Championship was his final major and final PGA Tour victory.

Trevino was just as good on the Senior Tour, winning 29 times.

Trevino is considered one of the best ballstrikers, and one of the most creative ballstrikers, the game has ever seen. He aligned left of his target and faded the ball, and was amazingly consistent at putting the ball right where he wanted it.

Lee Trevino was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981.

Seve Ballesteros

The Spanish Armada

He turned pro in 1974, just 16 years old, and won the Spanish Professionals Championship that year. In 1976, he won five times on the European Tour and claimed the money title. He made up 4 shots on Arnold Palmer at the Lancome Trophy to get the victory; at the British Open, the 19-year-old chased Johnny Miller to the finish before settling for second.

During one stretch of 1978, Ballesteros won six consecutive weeks on three different continents. In 1979, the first of his five majors came at the British Open. He won his next major played, the Masters, but was disqualified from the 1980 U.S. Open when he was late for his tee time.

Ballesteros dominated the European Tour for much of the 1980s, and led Europe to its first big wins in the Ryder Cup. In eight Ryder Cup appearances, Ballesteros compiled a 20-12-5 record. In foursomes and fourballs, Ballesteros was often paired with fellow Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal. The "Spanish Armada," as the team was called, became the most successful pairing in Ryder Cup history, going 11-2-2. The team's 12 points earned is double the points of the next most successful Ryder Cup pairing.

Beginning in the mid 1990s, Ballesteros' driving became more erratic. His final win on the European Tour was in 1995. Seve played more and more sparingly after that, nearly ceasing competitive golf after around 2003, until making his Champions Tour debut in 2007.