Who are the top 5 male golfers of all-time? I rank my picks below. And you can cast your own vote in this poll. 1. Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer of all-time. No, he hasn't (at the time this is written) overtaken Sam Snead for the most PGA Tour wins ever; nor has he (at the time this written) eclipsed Jack Nicklaus' record for most majors. But those are artificial excuses cited by people who simply don't want Woods to be No. 1. Think about it: Snead has the most wins, but how many people say he's the best-ever? For decades, Walter Hagen had the second-most majors, but how many people placed him No. 2 all-time? The height of Woods' accomplishments - both in terms of numbers of wins per year, in the way he dominated tournaments, and in the way he dominated individual majors - make him, in my opinion (and you know what they say about opinions), not just the best-ever, but easily the No. 1 on this list. He also accomplished his many feats in the deepest, most-talented era in golf history.
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2. Jack Nicklaus
Nicklaus did not dominate his contemporaries quite like Tiger dominates his, but what stands out about the Golden Bear is just how consistent he was. Everyone knows Nicklaus won the most majors (18), but he also finished second in 19 other majors. The breadth and depth of Nicklaus' career matches, and arguably (for the time being) exceeds those of Woods', but Nicklaus' "peak value" falls short of Woods'.
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3. Ben Hogan
Despite struggling for years on tour before breaking through, and despite having his career interrupted and cut short by a horrific auto accident, Hogan still managed nine major championship victories and 62 career wins. At his best, he left his contemporaries in the dust. Without his career being curtailed by the car crash, Hogan might well be No. 1 on this list. But that's a what-if.
4. Bobby Jones
How great was Bobby Jones? It's not an easy question to answer. In his day, the four majors were the two Open championships - the British and U.S. - and the two Amateur championships - again, the British and the U.S. Jones won those four events 13 times and twice recorded the Grand Slam. And then retired at the age of 28. He went on to found The Masters.
5. Arnold Palmer
Arnold Palmer won 62 times on the PGA Tour, including seven major championships. He helped invigorate golf as sport and entertainment with his go-for-broke playing style, and helped revitalize the British Open simply by showing up to play that tournament. At his best, he was one of the best putters of all-time. There is a drop-off from No. 4 to No. 5 - for any of the top four golfers on this list, an argument can be constructed that they should be No. 1. But Arnie tops the next level of golf greats.