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: 6
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: 11
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.
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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.
5. Sir Henry Cotton
Majors: 3 (1934, 1937 and 1948 Open)
Other wins: 34 (that are documented)
Another multiple Open winner is Sir Henry Cotton who won his three majors in the 1930s and ’40s.
He was entered into the Hall of Fame in 1980 and a knighthood followed in 1988.
4. Jim Barnes
Majors: 4 (1916 and 1919 PGA Championship, 1921 US Open and 1925 Open)
PGA Tour wins: 22
Other wins: 6 (that are documented)
Nicknamed “Long Jim”, Cornishman Jim Barnes was one of the early stars of professional golf in America and won the Open, the US Open and the PGA Championship in his time at the top.
He also became the first PGA Tour player to win after turning 50 when he triumphed at the Long Island Open in 1937.
3. JH Taylor
Majors: 5 (1894, 1895, 1900, 1909 and 1913 Open)
Other wins: 14 (that are documented)
Another West Country star, JH Taylor built his lasting legacy at the Open Championship where he triumphed on five occasions.
He was also a runner-up five times and even managed a tie for 11th in 1926 at the age of 55.
Taylor also played an important role in the founding of the PGA.
2. Dame Laura Davies
Major wins: 4 (1987 US Women’s Open, 1994 and 1996 Women’s PGA Championship, and 1996 Du Maurier Classic)
Ladies European Tour wins: 45
LPGA Tour wins: 20
Other wins: 22
Best English golfers, best women golfers, best golfers of all time full stop – pick a category and Laura Davies will feature.
Her illustrious career has seen her triumph in four major championships among a host of other wins – and is still competing on the LPGA Tour in her late 50s.
She has also played in a record 12 Solheim Cups, in which she has accumulated a yet-to-be-beaten 25 points.
1. Sir Nick Faldo
Major wins: 6 (1987, 1990, 1992 Open and 1989, 1990 and 1996 Masters)
European Tour wins: 30
PGA Tour wins: 9
Other wins: 2
Not only pioneering English golf in an age that had some of the sport’s best, Sir Nick Faldo won every accolade under the sun.
He notably won three Green Jackets and three Claret Jugs to complement no fewer than 35 other professional wins. Faldo also won the European Tour Golfer of the Year award on three occasions and was knighted in 2009.
Who could argue with his place as No 1?
- READ MORE: When Faldo downed Norman at the Masters
Do you agree with our list of the best English golfers ever? Let us know in the comments below or you can tweet us.
- RELATED: The best Scottish golfers of all time
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