GOAT Rank · 259

Greatest Golfers of all time

This ranking is led by Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Annika Sörenstam. GOAT Rank currently ranks 259 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

101

Steve Jones

82.7

Sport: Golf
Career: 1981–2003
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Steve Jones

102

Vic Ghezzi

82.6

Sport: Golf
Career: 1932–1955
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Vic Ghezzi

103

Bob Hamilton

82.5

Sport: Golf
Career: 1938–1965
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Bob Hamilton

104

Anders Hansen

82.5

Sport: Golf
Career: 1996–2018
Country: 🇩🇰 Denmark

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Anders Hansen

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

106

Vijay Singh

82.4

Sport: Golf
Career: 1982–active
Country: 🇫🇯 Fiji

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Vijay Singh

107

Johnny Farrell

82.4

Sport: Golf
Career: 1922–1950
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Johnny Farrell

108

Betsy Rawls

82.3

Sport: Golf
Career: 1951–1975
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Betsy Rawls

109

Se Ri Pak

82.2

Sport: Golf
Career: 1996–2016
Country: 🇰🇷 South Korea

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

Athlete: Se Ri Pak

110

Betsy King

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

111

Dick Burton

82.2

Sport: Golf
Career: 1930–1955
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Dick Burton

112

Collin Morikawa

82.1

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

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Collin Morikawa

113

Walter Burkemo

82.1

Sport: Golf
Career: 1946–1965
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Walter Burkemo

114

Lawson Little

82.1

Sport: Golf
Career: 1934–1957
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Lawson Little

115

Arnaud Massy

82.0

Sport: Golf
Career: 1902–1930
Country: 🇫🇷 France

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Arnaud Massy

116

Steve Elkington

81.9

Sport: Golf
Career: 1985–2015
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Steve Elkington

117

Sandy Herd

81.9

Sport: Golf
Career: 1885–1930
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Sandy Herd

118

Jim Ferrier

81.9

Sport: Golf
Career: 1935–1970
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Jim Ferrier

119

Jock Hutchison

81.9

Sport: Golf
Career: 1910–1935
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Jock Hutchison

120

Scottie Scheffler

81.8

Sport: Golf
Career: 2018–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Scottie Scheffler

121

David Graham

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

Greg Norman

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

123

Ernie Els

81.7

Sport: Golf
Career: 1989–active
Country: 🇿🇦 South Africa

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Ernie Els

124

Gay Brewer

81.7

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

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Gay Brewer

125

Isao Aoki

81.6

Sport: Golf
Career: 1964–2015
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Isao Aoki

126

Shane Lowry

81.6

Sport: Golf
Career: 2009–active
Country: 🇮🇪 Ireland

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

Athlete: Shane Lowry

127

Olin Dutra

81.6

Sport: Golf
Career: 1924–1950
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Olin Dutra

128

Lionel Hebert

81.6

Sport: Golf
Career: 1956–1980
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Lionel Hebert

129

Hubert Green

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

130

Keegan Bradley

81.5

Sport: Golf
Career: 2008–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Keegan Bradley

131

Willie Fernie

81.5

Sport: Golf
Career: 1880–1900
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Willie Fernie

132

Alex Čejka

81.5

Sport: Golf
Career: 1992–active
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 70.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Alex Čejka

133

Chi-Chi Rodríguez

81.4

Sport: Golf
Career: 1960–2005
Country: 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Chi-Chi Rodríguez

134

Laurie Auchterlonie

81.4

Sport: Golf
Career: 1897–1915
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Laurie Auchterlonie

135

Leo Diegel

81.4

Sport: Golf
Career: 1920–1940
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Leo Diegel

136

So Yeon Ryu

81.2

Sport: Golf
Career: 2008–2023
Country: 🇰🇷 South Korea

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

Athlete: So Yeon Ryu

137

Peter Hanson

81.2

Sport: Golf
Career: 1998–2019
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Peter Hanson

138

Lydia Ko

81.1

Sport: Golf
Career: 2013–active
Country: 🇳🇿 New Zealand

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Lydia Ko

139

Lee Janzen

81.1

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

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Lee Janzen

140

Charley Hull

81.1

Sport: Golf
Career: 2013–active
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Charley Hull

141

Cristie Kerr

81.0

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

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Cristie Kerr

142

Larry Mize

81.0

Sport: Golf
Career: 1980–2023
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 70.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Larry Mize

143

John Mahaffey

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

144

Arthur Havers

81.0

Sport: Golf
Career: 1920–1939
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Arthur Havers

145

Tommy Aaron

80.9

Sport: Golf
Career: 1961–2000
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 70.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Tommy Aaron

146

Ralph Guldahl

80.9

Sport: Golf
Career: 1931–1942
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 62.0

Athlete: Ralph Guldahl

147

Larry Nelson

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

148

Catriona Matthew

80.8

Sport: Golf
Career: 1994–active
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Catriona Matthew

149

Kel Nagle

80.8

Sport: Golf
Career: 1946–1980
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Kel Nagle

150

Lorena Ochoa

80.7

Sport: Golf
Career: 2002–2010
Country: 🇲🇽 Mexico

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 68.0

Athlete: Lorena Ochoa

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
101	Steve Jones	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1981–2003	82.7
102	Vic Ghezzi	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1932–1955	82.6
103	Bob Hamilton	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1938–1965	82.5
104	Anders Hansen	Golf	🇩🇰 Denmark	1996–2018	82.5
105	Seve Ballesteros	Golf	🇪🇸 Spain	1974–2007	82.4
106	Vijay Singh	Golf	🇫🇯 Fiji	1982–active	82.4
107	Johnny Farrell	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1922–1950	82.4
108	Betsy Rawls	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1951–1975	82.3
109	Se Ri Pak	Golf	🇰🇷 South Korea	1996–2016	82.2
110	Betsy King	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1977–2005	82.2
111	Dick Burton	Golf	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1930–1955	82.2
112	Collin Morikawa	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	2019–active	82.1
113	Walter Burkemo	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1946–1965	82.1
114	Lawson Little	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1934–1957	82.1
115	Arnaud Massy	Golf	🇫🇷 France	1902–1930	82.0
116	Steve Elkington	Golf	🇦🇺 Australia	1985–2015	81.9
117	Sandy Herd	Golf	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1885–1930	81.9
118	Jim Ferrier	Golf	🇦🇺 Australia	1935–1970	81.9
119	Jock Hutchison	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1910–1935	81.9
120	Scottie Scheffler	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	2018–active	81.8
121	David Graham	Golf	🇦🇺 Australia	1970–2000	81.8
122	Greg Norman	Golf	🇦🇺 Australia	1976–2009	81.7
123	Ernie Els	Golf	🇿🇦 South Africa	1989–active	81.7
124	Gay Brewer	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1956–1990	81.7
125	Isao Aoki	Golf	🇯🇵 Japan	1964–2015	81.6
126	Shane Lowry	Golf	🇮🇪 Ireland	2009–active	81.6
127	Olin Dutra	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1924–1950	81.6
128	Lionel Hebert	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1956–1980	81.6
129	Hubert Green	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1970–1996	81.6
130	Keegan Bradley	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	2008–active	81.5
131	Willie Fernie	Golf	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1880–1900	81.5
132	Alex Čejka	Golf	🇩🇪 Germany	1992–active	81.5
133	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	Golf	🇵🇷 Puerto Rico	1960–2005	81.4
134	Laurie Auchterlonie	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1897–1915	81.4
135	Leo Diegel	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1920–1940	81.4
136	So Yeon Ryu	Golf	🇰🇷 South Korea	2008–2023	81.2
137	Peter Hanson	Golf	🇸🇪 Sweden	1998–2019	81.2
138	Lydia Ko	Golf	🇳🇿 New Zealand	2013–active	81.1
139	Lee Janzen	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1986–active	81.1
140	Charley Hull	Golf	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	2013–active	81.1
141	Cristie Kerr	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1996–active	81.0
142	Larry Mize	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1980–2023	81.0
143	John Mahaffey	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1971–2007	81.0
144	Arthur Havers	Golf	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1920–1939	81.0
145	Tommy Aaron	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1961–2000	80.9
146	Ralph Guldahl	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1931–1942	80.9
147	Larry Nelson	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1971–2011	80.8
148	Catriona Matthew	Golf	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1994–active	80.8
149	Kel Nagle	Golf	🇦🇺 Australia	1946–1980	80.8
150	Lorena Ochoa	Golf	🇲🇽 Mexico	2002–2010	80.7

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Jack Nicklaus vs Tiger Woods

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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