The best Australian golfers of all time

Australia has produced some of the greatest golf icons in both the men’s and women’s spheres of the professional game.

From Greg Norman to Karrie Webb, Adam Scott to Minjee Lee. The game has been blessed with stars from Down Under, so we thought it best to rank them in the week the nation contributes to the Internationals pursuit of the Presidents Cup against America.

Before we begin, a special mention to Norman von Nida, who won 46 times in an incredible career spanning four decades from the 1930s to 1960s, including 30 wins on the PGA Tour of Australasia and four top 10 finishes at The Open.

Take a look, and see if you would re-order our list in any way…

Best Australian golfers

40. Wade Ormsby – 4 wins (1 European Tour)
39. Matt Jones – 4 wins (2 PGA Tour)
38. Michael Clayton – 9 wins (1 European Tour)
37. Peter Leonard – 12 wins (1 PGA Tour)
36. Andrew Dodt – 4 wins (2 European Tour)
35. Min Woo Lee – 4 wins (3 European Tour)
34. Lucas Herbert – 4 wins (1 PGA Tour, 3 European Tour)
33. Marcus Fraser – 6 wins (3 European Tour)
32. Katherine Kirk – 11 wins (3 LPGA Tour)
31. John Senden – 6 wins (2 PGA Tour)
30. Greg Chalmers – 11 wins (1 PGA Tour)
29. Brett Rumford – 9 wins (6 European Tour)
28. Bob Shearer – 27 wins (1 PGA Tour, 2 European Tour)
27. Rod Pampling – 7 wins (3 PGA Tour, 1 European Tour)
26. Brett Ogle – 15 wins (2 PGA Tour, 1 European Tour)
25. Aaron Baddeley – 8 wins (4 PGA Tour, 2 European Tour)
24. Robert Allenby – 22 wins (4 PGA Tour, 4 European Tour)
23. Craig Parry – 23 wins (2 PGA Tour, 6 European Tour)
22. Peter Senior – 34 wins (4 European Tour)
21. Marc Leishman – 13 wins (6 PGA Tour, 1 European Tour)
20. Bruce Devlin – 29 wins (8 PGA Tour)
19. Joe Kirkwood Sr – 15 wins (13 PGA Tour)
18. Bruce Crampton – 45 wins (14 PGA Tour)
17. Hannah Green – 12 wins (1 major, 5 LPGA Tour)
16. Wayne Grady – 11 wins (1 major, 2 PGA Tour, 2 European Tour)
15. Ian Baker-Finch – 17 wins (1 major, 2 PGA Tour, 2 European Tour)
14. Cam Smith – 12 wins (1 major, 6 PGA Tour, 4 European Tour, 3 LIV Golf)
13. Minjee Lee – 13 wins (2 majors, 10 LPGA Tour)
12. Geoff Ogilvy – 12 wins (1 major, 8 PGA Tour, 4 European Tour)
11. Steve Elkington – 17 wins (1 major, 10 PGA Tour, 1 European Tour)
10. Graham Marsh – 70 wins (10 European Tour)
9. Jim Ferrier – 33 wins (1 major, 18 PGA Tour)
8. David Graham – 38 wins (2 majors, 8 PGA Tour, 3 European Tour)
7. Jan Stephenson – 26 wins (3 majors, 16 LPGA Tour, 1 Ladies European Tour)
6. Kel Nagle – 95 wins (1 major, 2 PGA Tour)

So who makes it into our top 5? Head to the next page to find out… 

Best Australian golfers

5. Jason Day

Major wins: 1
PGA Tour wins: 13
European Tour wins: 3
Other wins: 6

Jason Day spent 51 weeks at the World No. 1 spot and claimed his only major championship to date at the 2015 PGA Championship. He has been plagued by injuries in recent years but his major record is superb, with five second-place finishes.

4. Adam Scott

Major wins: 1
PGA Tour wins: 14
European Tour wins: 11
Other wins: 15

Another former World No. 1 comes in the form of Adam Scott. He was a popular Masters winner back in 2013 and has plenty of titles to his name. He endured a three-year win drought before claiming the Australian PGA Championship in December 2019.

3. Greg Norman

Major wins: 2
PGA Tour wins: 20
European Tour wins: 14
Other wins: 56

Greg Norman spent a total of 331 weeks as the world’s best player and won both of his major championships at The Open. In 1986, he held the 54-hole lead at every major but was only able to go on and secure victory in one of the four. It’s fair to say he should have won several more than he did.

2. Peter Thomson

Major wins: 5
PGA Tour wins: 6
European Tour wins: 1
Other wins: 87

One of 19 men to win five or more majors, Peter Thomson, a five-time Open champion, had a long and successful career that spanned four decades and included a major win on the senior’s tour. Thomson, who died in 2018 at the age of 88, was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988.

1. Karrie Webb

Major wins: 7
LPGA Tour wins: 41
Ladies European Tour wins: 15
Other wins: 20

Another Hall of Fame inductee, only six women have more major titles than Karrie Webb. Her major wins came in a seven-year spell and when she won the 2002 Women’s British Open she became the youngest champion of the event at the time.

Do you agree with our list of the best Australian golfers? Is this the correct order of the best Australian golfers of all time? Let us know in the comments below or on X.

NOW READ: The best Scottish golfers of all time

NOW READ: The best English golfers of all time