The best English golfers of all time
By Alex Perry
Ask 100 people who the greatest player of all time is and 50 will say Jack Nicklaus and 50 will say Tiger Woods. You can argue about golf all day, that’s what makes it so great. But what about the best English golfers to walk the world’s most hallowed fairways?
We’ve rounded it down to our top 10 and some HUGE names have missed out, including Paul Casey (20 wins), Luke Donald (17), Danny Willett (seven, including the Masters), Max Faulkner (19, including the Open), and Georgia Hall (two, including the Women’s British Open).
Anyway, we start with…
10. Ian Poulter
European Tour wins: 12
PGA Tour wins: 3
Other wins: 4
Yes, the players that just missed out on the top 10 include major winners and a former World No 1 in Donald, but none of them made or have yet to make their stamp on the game in the way Ian Poulter has – particularly at the Ryder Cup.
They call him The Postman – because he always delivers. Poulter has earned 15 points in six Ryder Cups, of which five have been European wins.
A continent’s hero.
9. Justin Rose
Majors: 1 (2013 US Open)
European Tour wins: 11
PGA Tour wins: 10
Other wins: 8
The most recent English World No 1 having spent 13 weeks at the top spot in 2018 and ’19, Justin Rose has been impossibly consistent for a number of years and should really have won more than his sole major championship.
He’s been a key player in his five Ryder Cup appearances and won the gold medal at the 2016 Olympics.
8. Harold Hilton
Majors: 2 (1892 and 1897 Open)
Other wins: 47 (that are documented)
Harold Hilton will be recorded in the history books as a seven-time major champion – though his two Open wins are the only ones of the modern day four.
Hilton also won the the British Amateur in 1900, 1901, 1911 and 1913 as well as the 1911 US Amateur. He is the only British player to have won both these titles in the same year.
John Ball and Bobby Jones are the only two other players to have won the Open as an amateur.
7. Lee Westwood
European Tour wins: 25
PGA Tour wins: 2
Other wins: 19
The best player never to win a major? Colin Montgomerie might have a thing or two to say about that, but Lee Westwood is certainly a contender.
He’s won at least one professional event in four consecutive decades and represented Europe 10 times at the Ryder Cup – winning seven and earning 23 points along the way, just 2.5 points behind record-holder Sergio Garcia.
6. Tony Jacklin
Majors: 2 (1969 Open and 1970 US Open)
European Tour wins: 8
PGA Tour wins: 4
Other wins: 18
With an Open and a US Open win under his belt Tony Jacklin was a leading British player in his generation.
Not only was he successful as an individual, he was also a key member of several Ryder Cup squads and captained Team Europe on four occasions in the 1980s.
Alex Perry
Alex has been the editor of National Club Golfer since 2017. A Devonian who enjoys wittering on about his south west roots, Alex moved north to join NCG after more than a decade in London, the last five of which were with ESPN. Away from golf, Alex follows Torquay United and spends too much time playing his PlayStation or his guitar and not enough time practising his short game.
