Category profile
- Dominance
- 76
- Peak
- 90
- Longevity
- 94
- Honours
- 80
- Statistics
- 88
Career timeline · Wins per season
| Season | Wins per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | 1 | |
| 1957 | 1 | |
| 1958 | 1 | |
| 1959 | 1 | |
| 1960 | 2 | |
| 1961 | 1 | |
| 1962 | 1 | |
| 1963 | 1 | |
| 1964 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
| 1966 | 2 | |
| 1967 | 1 | |
| 1968 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
| 1970 | 2 | |
| 1971 | 3 | |
| 1972 | 4 | |
| 1973 | 3 | |
| 1974 | 2 | |
| 1975 | 2 |
Data sources
- PGA Tour
- R&A
- DP World Tour
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Don January ranks #42 in Golf
Don January ranks 42nd among Golf athletes on GOAT Rank and 1781st of 2289 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 85.0 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 76, Peak 90, Longevity 94, Honours 80, Statistics 88. 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 1956–1990 with 20 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1972, which sets the Peak component at 90. Longevity is the defining strength of the profile at 94 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes major titles 1, pga tour wins 10, senior tour wins 22, ryder cup appearances 2.
Immediately ahead sits Jan Stephenson on 85.1, a gap of 0.1 points. Directly behind is Stephen Ames on 84.9. 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.
Don January GOAT Score explained
- Dominance76/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far January stood above the field while competing. Scored 76/100 against the full Golf cohort.
- Peak90/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1972. Scored 90/100.
- Longevity94/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 34 years of competition and 20 recorded seasons. Scored 94/100.
- Honours80/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 80/100.
- Statistics88/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 88/100.
Top January comparisons
Don January — frequently asked
- Is Don January the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Don January ranks 42nd in Golf with a GOAT Score of 85.0, behind Jack Nicklaus on 95.0.
- What is Don January's GOAT Score?
- 85.0 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 76 (25%), Peak 90 (20%), Longevity 94 (20%), Honours 80 (20%), Statistics 88 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Don January rank all time?
- 1781st of 2289 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 42nd within Golf.
- Don January vs Jan Stephenson: who ranks higher?
- Jan Stephenson, on 85.1 against Don January's 85.0 — a margin of 0.1 points.