GOAT Rank · 27

Greatest Golf athletes of the 1970s

This ranking uses verified career records and GOAT Rank's published model. Every listed athlete clears the data eligibility threshold.

#AthleteGOAT Score

23

87.5

Sport: Golf
Career: 1970–2019
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Masashi Ozaki

25

87.4

Sport: Golf
Career: 1970–2010
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Jumbo Ozaki

32

86.4

Sport: Golf
Career: 1971–2019
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 85.0
Honours: 85.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Tom Watson

38

86.1

Sport: Golf
Career: 1974–1995
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Pat Bradley

53

85.1

Sport: Golf
Career: 1973–2003
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Jan Stephenson

54

85.1

Sport: Golf
Career: 1972–2010
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Tom Kite

67

84.2

Sport: Golf
Career: 1970–2004
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: JoAnne Carner

69

84.1

Sport: Golf
Career: 1975–2011
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Amy Alcott

72

84.0

Sport: Golf
Career: 1975–2011
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Ayako Okamoto

84

83.5

Sport: Golf
Career: 1977–2020
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Sandy Lyle

88

83.1

Sport: Golf
Career: 1976–2015
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Nick Faldo

89

83.1

Sport: Golf
Career: 1977–2002
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Nancy Lopez

95

83.0

Sport: Golf
Career: 1973–2015
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Ben Crenshaw

96

82.9

Sport: Golf
Career: 1974–2000
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Hollis Stacy

105

Seve Ballesteros

82.4

Sport: Golf
Career: 1974–2007
Country: 🇪🇸 Spain

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Seve Ballesteros

110

82.2

Sport: Golf
Career: 1977–2005
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Betsy King

121

81.8

Sport: Golf
Career: 1970–2000
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: David Graham

122

81.7

Sport: Golf
Career: 1976–2009
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Greg Norman

129

81.6

Sport: Golf
Career: 1970–1996
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Hubert Green

143

81.0

Sport: Golf
Career: 1971–2007
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: John Mahaffey

147

80.8

Sport: Golf
Career: 1971–2011
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Larry Nelson

158

80.1

Sport: Golf
Career: 1976–2005
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Curtis Strange

198

78.0

Sport: Golf
Career: 1977–2014
Country: 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Nick Price

201

77.8

Sport: Golf
Career: 1976–active
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 76.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Ian Woosnam

224

76.4

Sport: Golf
Career: 1978–2010
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 64.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 68.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Wayne Grady

233

Ian Baker-Finch

75.4

Sport: Golf
Career: 1979–1997
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 70.0
Statistics: 74.0
Honours: 72.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Ian Baker-Finch

252

72.9

Sport: Golf
Career: 1979–1999
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 80.0
Dominance: 68.0
Statistics: 74.0
Honours: 72.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Payne Stewart

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
23	Masashi Ozaki	Golf	🇯🇵 Japan	1970–2019	87.5
25	Jumbo Ozaki	Golf	🇯🇵 Japan	1970–2010	87.4
32	Tom Watson	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1971–2019	86.4
38	Pat Bradley	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1974–1995	86.1
53	Jan Stephenson	Golf	🇦🇺 Australia	1973–2003	85.1
54	Tom Kite	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1972–2010	85.1
67	JoAnne Carner	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1970–2004	84.2
69	Amy Alcott	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1975–2011	84.1
72	Ayako Okamoto	Golf	🇯🇵 Japan	1975–2011	84
84	Sandy Lyle	Golf	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland	1977–2020	83.5
88	Nick Faldo	Golf	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1976–2015	83.1
89	Nancy Lopez	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1977–2002	83.1
95	Ben Crenshaw	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1973–2015	83
96	Hollis Stacy	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1974–2000	82.9
105	Seve Ballesteros	Golf	🇪🇸 Spain	1974–2007	82.4
110	Betsy King	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1977–2005	82.2
121	David Graham	Golf	🇦🇺 Australia	1970–2000	81.8
122	Greg Norman	Golf	🇦🇺 Australia	1976–2009	81.7
129	Hubert Green	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1970–1996	81.6
143	John Mahaffey	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1971–2007	81
147	Larry Nelson	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1971–2011	80.8
158	Curtis Strange	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1976–2005	80.1
198	Nick Price	Golf	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	1977–2014	78
201	Ian Woosnam	Golf	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales	1976–—	77.8
224	Wayne Grady	Golf	🇦🇺 Australia	1978–2010	76.4
233	Ian Baker-Finch	Golf	🇦🇺 Australia	1979–1997	75.4
252	Payne Stewart	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1979–1999	72.9

Compare the leaders

Masashi Ozaki vs Jumbo Ozaki

Read the full methodology

Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.

Read the full methodology

Frequently asked questions

How is this ranking calculated?

Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Who is included?

Only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible.

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