The greatest golfers of all time
Who are the greatest golfers of all time? National Club Golfer takes a look at some of greatest golfers that have played the game
Tiger Woods
Majors
Masters – 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019
US Open – 2000, 2002, 2008
The Open – 2000, 2005, 2006,
PGA Championship – 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007
Tiger Woods turned professional at the age of 20 in the summer of 1996 after an outstanding junior, college and amateur career.
Less than a year later he was World No. 1, had recorded three victories on the PGA Tour and won his first major championship at the 1997 Masters by a record 12 shots.
Multiple injuries have hindered Woods’ chances of catching Jack Nicklaus record of 18 major titles. His injury struggles have set him back on numerous occasions but he showed that he still has major-winning capability when winning his 15th major at the 2019 Masters.
Woods dominated the golf scene from the late 1990s until the early 2010s. He he modernised the game of golf by implementing strength and conditioning into his routine, essentially making golfers athletes, which enabled him to hit the ball further.
Tiger had a somewhat unique ability to bring a field to their knees, especially in majors. At a windswept Pebble Beach in the 2000 US Open Tiger was the only player to finish under par. He finished 15 shots ahead of his nearest competitor on 12-under.
He won the career grand slam by the age of 24 years old and became the youngest in history to do so after winning the 2001 Masters. He also became the first golfer to win the four consecutive golf majors.
Getting to world number one is a feat that very few golfers reach but Tiger held that position for 683 weeks, so long in fact that no one else has held it for event half that time, the nearest being Greg Norman at 331 weeks.
Tiger Woods had a profound affect on participation levels in golf, when he turned pro in 1996 numbers of golfers in America increased from 24.4 million to 29 million within 10 years and more than 2,000 new golf courses had been built in those 10 years.
The most astonishing achievement by Tiger was reaching $1 billion dollars in earnings.
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.
