Editor’s Picks: My hardest golfers
By Dan Murphy
My hardest golfers: No 1 – Ray Floyd
The ultimate streetfighter. The ultimate competitor. Your worst nightmare as an enemy. A four-time major champion (Masters 1976, US Open 1986, PGA 1969 & 82), Floyd also finished runner-up to Nicklaus in the 1978 Open and won the Players. This is a man who in most eras would have been regarded as an out-and-out great.
He also had tremendous longevity. He played eight Ryder Cups, winning seven of them. Even when his game wasn’t exactly where he wanted it nobody could ever take any liberties against Floyd.
His final act as a player was in 1993, 24 years on from his debut, at the age of 51. He duly top-scored for the Americans with three points out of four, beating Jose Maria Olazabal twice in the process.
Conclusion
I also considered the merits of the likes of Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods, Lanny Wadkins, Jon Rahm, Robert Allenby, Tommy Bolt, Brian Barnes, Gordon Sherry and many more.
I think you’ve probably got the idea though.
Do you agree with my choices? How do you think these imaginary fights would play out? Let me know in the comments below or you can tweet me. And come back soon to enjoy another list…
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Dan Murphy
Dan loves links golf, which doesn't mean he is very good at it. He is a four-handicapper at Alwoodley. A qualified journalist and senior editor with 25 years’ experience, he was the long-time editor of NCG. His passion is golf courses and he is the founding editor of NCG Top 100s course rankings. He loves nothing more than discovering and highlighting courses that are worthy of greater recognition.
