The greatest golfers of all time

Who are the greatest golfers of all time? It’s a question that has more than one correct answer.

There are several ways of determining a great golfer, whether it’s by the number of professional wins, major wins or how they helped grow the game away from the course.

With all of these contributing factors in mind, we take a look at some of the best male players to walk the fairways

Greatest golfers of all time

Sam Snead

Majors

Masters – 1949, 1952, 1954
The Open -1946
PGA Championship – 1942, 1949, 1951

Snead holds many records on the PGA Tour. He is the oldest winner on the PGA Tour thanks to his win at the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open at the age of 52. He has the joint most wins on the PGA Tour with 82 alongside Tiger Woods.

He was the first player to win a PGA Tour event in four different decades, a feat which has since been matched by two other golfers. Snead shot his age on the PGA Tour and became the first golfer to do so when he carded a 67 at age 67 during the 1979 Quad Cities Open. The most impressive stat on the list is being the only player to finish in the top 10 of a major championship in five different decades.

Snead played in the Ryder Cup for Team USA seven times between 1937 and 1959. Team USA won on all seven occasions and on twice he was a playing captain. In 1969 he was captain of Team USA when Jack Nicklaus conceded Tony Jacklin’s putt on the 18th green to tie the Ryder Cup.

Tom Irwin

Tom is a lifetime golfer, now over 30 years playing the game. 2023 marks 10 years in golf publishing and he is still holding down a + handicap at Alwoodley in Leeds. He has played over 600 golf courses, and has been a member of at least four including his first love Louth, in Lincolnshire. Tom likes unbranded clothing, natural fibres, and pencil bags. Seacroft in Lincolnshire is where it starts and ends.