GOAT Rank · 169

Greatest retired Golfers

This ranking is led by Jack Nicklaus, Annika Sörenstam and Hale Irwin. GOAT Rank currently ranks 169 eligible golfers using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Quick answer

According to GOAT Rank's current model, Jack Nicklaus ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 95.0.

How the GOAT Score is calculated →

#AthleteGOAT Score

Jack Nicklaus

95.0

Sport: Golf
Career: 1961–1986
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 94.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 99.0
Longevity: 99.0

Athlete: Jack Nicklaus

Annika Sörenstam

92.8

Sport: Golf
Career: 1992–2008
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 95.0
Statistics: 95.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Annika Sörenstam

Hale Irwin

90.9

Sport: Golf
Career: 1968–2015
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 96.0

Athlete: Hale Irwin

Mickey Wright

90.7

Sport: Golf
Career: 1955–1973
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 95.0
Dominance: 94.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Mickey Wright

J.H. Taylor

90.6

Sport: Golf
Career: 1893–1926
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

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

Athlete: J.H. Taylor

Billy Casper

90.5

Sport: Golf
Career: 1954–1985
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Billy Casper

Ben Hogan

90.3

Sport: Golf
Career: 1930–1971
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 91.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Ben Hogan

James Braid

90.1

Sport: Golf
Career: 1894–1927
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland

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

Athlete: James Braid

Bobby Locke

89.9

Sport: Golf
Career: 1936–1975
Country: 🇿🇦 South Africa

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

Athlete: Bobby Locke

Raymond Floyd

89.7

Sport: Golf
Career: 1963–2000
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Raymond Floyd

Roberto De Vicenzo

89.2

Sport: Golf
Career: 1938–1985
Country: 🇦🇷 Argentina

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 96.0

Athlete: Roberto De Vicenzo

Old Tom Morris

89.1

Sport: Golf
Career: 1851–1896
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 United Kingdom

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Old Tom Morris

Sam Snead

89.0

Sport: Golf
Career: 1934–1979
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 96.0

Athlete: Sam Snead

Patty Berg

88.9

Sport: Golf
Career: 1935–1962
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Patty Berg

Kathy Whitworth

88.6

Sport: Golf
Career: 1958–1991
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Kathy Whitworth

Harry Vardon

88.6

Sport: Golf
Career: 1890–1930
Country: 🇯🇪 Jersey

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Harry Vardon

Henry Cotton

88.4

Sport: Golf
Career: 1926–1957
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Henry Cotton

Gary Player

88.0

Sport: Golf
Career: 1953–2009
Country: 🇿🇦 South Africa

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 85.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 87.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Gary Player

John Ball

87.7

Sport: Golf
Career: 1888–1921
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: John Ball

Masashi Ozaki

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

Jumbo Ozaki

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

Arnold Palmer

87.0

Sport: Golf
Career: 1954–2006
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 85.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Arnold Palmer

Bobby Jones

86.9

Sport: Golf
Career: 1916–1930
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Bobby Jones

Doug Ford

86.8

Sport: Golf
Career: 1949–2001
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Doug Ford

Babe Didrikson Zaharias

86.5

Sport: Golf
Career: 1935–1955
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Babe Didrikson Zaharias

Karrie Webb

86.5

Sport: Golf
Career: 1994–2022
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Karrie Webb

Tom Watson

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

Gene Sarazen

86.4

Sport: Golf
Career: 1920–1973
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Gene Sarazen

Walter Hagen

86.3

Sport: Golf
Career: 1912–1940
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 89.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Walter Hagen

Bob Ferguson

86.3

Sport: Golf
Career: 1866–1890
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Bob Ferguson

Jamie Anderson

86.3

Sport: Golf
Career: 1870–1886
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Jamie Anderson

Pat Bradley

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

Jim Barnes

86.1

Sport: Golf
Career: 1912–1937
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Jim Barnes

Sandra Haynie

86.0

Sport: Golf
Career: 1961–1989
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Sandra Haynie

George Duncan

85.6

Sport: Golf
Career: 1908–1937
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: George Duncan

Willie Anderson

85.5

Sport: Golf
Career: 1897–1910
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Willie Anderson

Eduardo Romero

85.4

Sport: Golf
Career: 1982–2015
Country: 🇦🇷 Argentina

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Eduardo Romero

Julius Boros

85.4

Sport: Golf
Career: 1949–1975
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Julius Boros

Cary Middlecoff

85.3

Sport: Golf
Career: 1947–1961
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Cary Middlecoff

Byron Nelson

85.2

Sport: Golf
Career: 1932–1946
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 95.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Byron Nelson

Carol Mann

85.2

Sport: Golf
Career: 1961–1981
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Carol Mann

Johnny Goodman

85.2

Sport: Golf
Career: 1927–1950
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Johnny Goodman

Jan Stephenson

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

Tom Kite

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

Gene Littler

85.1

Sport: Golf
Career: 1954–1990
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Gene Littler

Don January

85.0

Sport: Golf
Career: 1956–1990
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Don January

Tommy Armour

84.8

Sport: Golf
Career: 1920–1935
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Tommy Armour

Johnny Miller

84.6

Sport: Golf
Career: 1969–1990
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Johnny Miller

Young Tom Morris

84.5

Sport: Golf
Career: 1865–1875
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 94.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 58.0

Athlete: Young Tom Morris

Bob Charles

84.5

Sport: Golf
Career: 1954–2010
Country: 🇳🇿 New Zealand

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Bob Charles

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
1	Jack Nicklaus	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1961–1986	95.0
3	Annika Sörenstam	Golf	🇸🇪 Sweden	1992–2008	92.8
4	Hale Irwin	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1968–2015	90.9
5	Mickey Wright	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1955–1973	90.7
6	J.H. Taylor	Golf	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1893–1926	90.6
7	Billy Casper	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1954–1985	90.5
8	Ben Hogan	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1930–1971	90.3
9	James Braid	Golf	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland	1894–1927	90.1
10	Bobby Locke	Golf	🇿🇦 South Africa	1936–1975	89.9
11	Raymond Floyd	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1963–2000	89.7
14	Roberto De Vicenzo	Golf	🇦🇷 Argentina	1938–1985	89.2
15	Old Tom Morris	Golf	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 United Kingdom	1851–1896	89.1
16	Sam Snead	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1934–1979	89.0
17	Patty Berg	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1935–1962	88.9
18	Kathy Whitworth	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1958–1991	88.6
19	Harry Vardon	Golf	🇯🇪 Jersey	1890–1930	88.6
20	Henry Cotton	Golf	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1926–1957	88.4
21	Gary Player	Golf	🇿🇦 South Africa	1953–2009	88.0
22	John Ball	Golf	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1888–1921	87.7
23	Masashi Ozaki	Golf	🇯🇵 Japan	1970–2019	87.5
25	Jumbo Ozaki	Golf	🇯🇵 Japan	1970–2010	87.4
26	Arnold Palmer	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1954–2006	87.0
27	Bobby Jones	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1916–1930	86.9
29	Doug Ford	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1949–2001	86.8
30	Babe Didrikson Zaharias	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1935–1955	86.5
31	Karrie Webb	Golf	🇦🇺 Australia	1994–2022	86.5
32	Tom Watson	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1971–2019	86.4
33	Gene Sarazen	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1920–1973	86.4
34	Walter Hagen	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1912–1940	86.3
35	Bob Ferguson	Golf	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1866–1890	86.3
36	Jamie Anderson	Golf	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1870–1886	86.3
38	Pat Bradley	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1974–1995	86.1
39	Jim Barnes	Golf	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1912–1937	86.1
40	Sandra Haynie	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1961–1989	86.0
43	George Duncan	Golf	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1908–1937	85.6
44	Willie Anderson	Golf	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland	1897–1910	85.5
45	Eduardo Romero	Golf	🇦🇷 Argentina	1982–2015	85.4
46	Julius Boros	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1949–1975	85.4
47	Cary Middlecoff	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1947–1961	85.3
48	Byron Nelson	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1932–1946	85.2
49	Carol Mann	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1961–1981	85.2
50	Johnny Goodman	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1927–1950	85.2
53	Jan Stephenson	Golf	🇦🇺 Australia	1973–2003	85.1
54	Tom Kite	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1972–2010	85.1
55	Gene Littler	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1954–1990	85.1
56	Don January	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1956–1990	85.0
58	Tommy Armour	Golf	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland	1920–1935	84.8
59	Johnny Miller	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1969–1990	84.6
60	Young Tom Morris	Golf	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland	1865–1875	84.5
61	Bob Charles	Golf	🇳🇿 New Zealand	1954–2010	84.5

Compare the leaders

Jack Nicklaus vs Annika Sörenstam

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?

According to GOAT Rank's current data model, only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible. Rank and score are read live.

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