Category profile
- Dominance
- 85
- Peak
- 90
- Longevity
- 88
- Honours
- 86
- Statistics
- 86
Career timeline · Wins per season
| Season | Wins per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 1 | |
| 1956 | 2 | |
| 1957 | 4 | |
| 1958 | 1 | |
| 1959 | 3 | |
| 1960 | 8 | |
| 1961 | 2 | |
| 1962 | 8 | |
| 1963 | 7 | |
| 1964 | 2 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
| 1966 | 3 | |
| 1967 | 4 | |
| 1968 | 2 | |
| 1969 | 2 | |
| 1970 | 1 | |
| 1971 | 4 | |
| 1972 | 1 |
Data sources
- PGA Tour
- USGA
- Masters
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Arnold Palmer ranks #13 in Golf
Arnold Palmer ranks 13th among Golf athletes on GOAT Rank and 565th of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 87.0 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 85, Peak 90, Longevity 88, Honours 86, Statistics 86. Those categories are normalised against the full Golf reference universe of 266 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1954–2006 with 18 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1960, which sets the Peak component at 90. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 90 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes major titles 7, pga tour wins 62, masters titles 4, open championships 2.
Immediately ahead sits Karrie Webb on 86.5, a gap of -0.5 points. Directly behind is Tom Watson on 86.4. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
Arnold Palmer GOAT Score explained
- Dominance85/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Palmer stood above the field while competing. Scored 85/100 against the full Golf cohort.
- Peak90/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1960. Scored 90/100.
- Longevity88/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 52 years of competition and 18 recorded seasons. Scored 88/100.
- Honours86/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 86/100.
- Statistics86/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 86/100.
Top Palmer comparisons
Arnold Palmer — frequently asked
- Is Arnold Palmer the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Arnold Palmer ranks 13th in Golf with a GOAT Score of 87.0, behind Jack Nicklaus on 95.0.
- What is Arnold Palmer's GOAT Score?
- 87.0 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 85 (25%), Peak 90 (20%), Longevity 88 (20%), Honours 86 (20%), Statistics 86 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Arnold Palmer rank all time?
- 565th of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 13th within Golf.
- Arnold Palmer vs Karrie Webb: who ranks higher?
- Arnold Palmer, on 87.0 against Karrie Webb's 86.5 — a margin of 0.5 points.