Category profile
- Dominance
- 86
- Peak
- 89
- Longevity
- 84
- Honours
- 88
- Statistics
- 84
Career timeline · Wins per season
| Season | Wins per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1914 | 1 | |
| 1915 | 0 | |
| 1916 | 2 | |
| 1917 | 1 | |
| 1918 | 0 | |
| 1919 | 3 | |
| 1920 | 2 | |
| 1921 | 4 | |
| 1922 | 3 | |
| 1923 | 2 | |
| 1924 | 5 | |
| 1925 | 4 | |
| 1926 | 3 | |
| 1927 | 2 | |
| 1928 | 2 | |
| 1929 | 1 |
Data sources
- PGA Tour
- The Open
- USGA
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Walter Hagen ranks #18 in Golf
Walter Hagen ranks 18th among Golf athletes on GOAT Rank and 652nd of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 86.3 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 86, Peak 89, Longevity 84, Honours 88, Statistics 84. 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 1912–1940 with 16 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1924, which sets the Peak component at 89. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 89 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes major titles 11, pga championships 5, open championships 4, us open titles 2.
Immediately ahead sits Pat Bradley on 86.1, a gap of -0.2 points. Directly behind is Rory McIlroy on 86.2. 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.
Walter Hagen GOAT Score explained
- Dominance86/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Hagen stood above the field while competing. Scored 86/100 against the full Golf cohort.
- Peak89/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1924. Scored 89/100.
- Longevity84/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 28 years of competition and 16 recorded seasons. Scored 84/100.
- Honours88/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 88/100.
- Statistics84/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 84/100.
Top Hagen comparisons
Walter Hagen — frequently asked
- Is Walter Hagen the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Walter Hagen ranks 18th in Golf with a GOAT Score of 86.3, behind Jack Nicklaus on 95.0.
- What is Walter Hagen's GOAT Score?
- 86.3 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 86 (25%), Peak 89 (20%), Longevity 84 (20%), Honours 88 (20%), Statistics 84 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Walter Hagen rank all time?
- 652nd of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 18th within Golf.
- Walter Hagen vs Pat Bradley: who ranks higher?
- Walter Hagen, on 86.3 against Pat Bradley's 86.1 — a margin of 0.2 points.