Category profile
- Dominance
- 74
- Peak
- 86
- Longevity
- 86
- Honours
- 78
- Statistics
- 82
Career timeline · Wins per season
| Season | Wins per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 2 | |
| 1980 | 1 | |
| 1981 | 1 | |
| 1982 | 0 | |
| 1983 | 2 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1985 | 0 | |
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1987 | 2 | |
| 1988 | 0 | |
| 1989 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 0 |
Data sources
- PGA Tour
- LPGA
- DP World Tour
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Larry Nelson ranks #48 in Golf
Larry Nelson ranks 48th among Golf athletes on GOAT Rank and 810th of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 80.8 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 74, Peak 86, Longevity 86, Honours 78, Statistics 82. 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 1971–2011 with 16 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1979, which sets the Peak component at 86. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 86 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes major titles 3, pga tour wins 10, champions tour wins 19, ryder cup record wins 9.
Immediately ahead sits Seve Ballesteros on 82.4, a gap of 1.6 points. Directly behind is Mark O'Meara on 80.0. 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.
Larry Nelson GOAT Score explained
- Dominance74/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Nelson stood above the field while competing. Scored 74/100 against the full Golf cohort.
- Peak86/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1979. Scored 86/100.
- Longevity86/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 40 years of competition and 16 recorded seasons. Scored 86/100.
- Honours78/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 78/100.
- Statistics82/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 82/100.
Top Nelson comparisons
Larry Nelson — frequently asked
- Is Larry Nelson the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Larry Nelson ranks 48th in Golf with a GOAT Score of 80.8, behind Jack Nicklaus on 95.0.
- What is Larry Nelson's GOAT Score?
- 80.8 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 74 (25%), Peak 86 (20%), Longevity 86 (20%), Honours 78 (20%), Statistics 82 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Larry Nelson rank all time?
- 810th of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 48th within Golf.
- Larry Nelson vs Seve Ballesteros: who ranks higher?
- Seve Ballesteros, on 82.4 against Larry Nelson's 80.8 — a margin of 1.6 points.