1. Jack Nicklaus

What was his nickname: The Golden Bear

Jack William Nicklaus, also known as “The Golden Bear”,is regarded by many as the greatest professional golfer of all time. With the most victories in major championships, he was continuously ranked as the world’s number one golfer on McCormack’s World Golf Rankings from its inception in 1968 to 1977. Nicklaus and the other 45 major championship winners during this period combined for a total of 119 major championship victories, 704 official PGA Tour wins, and over 825 additional individual professional victories. While other marquee players such as Nick Faldo, Tom Kite, Nick Price, Payne Stewart, and Curtis Strange were winning numerous tournaments worldwide, they had yet to break through with major wins prior to 1987, but proved to be on the verge of doing so. These facts make this period arguably the most competitive in the history of professional golf and illustrate Nicklaus’ ability and durability over time.

Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 18)
How many Masters Won did Jack Nicklaus win: 1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986
How many U.S. Open did Jack Nicklaus Win: 1962, 1967, 1972, 1980
How many Open Championships did Jack Nicklaus win: 1966, 1970, 1978
How many PGA Championships did Jack Nicklaus win: 1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1980

2. Tiger Woods

What is his nickname: Tiger

Eldrick Tont Woods, better known as Tiger Woods, is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Currently the World No. 1, he was the highest-paid professional athlete in 2008, having earned an estimated $110 million from winnings and endorsements.

Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 14)
How many Masters has Tiger Woods won: 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005
How many U.S. Opens has Tiger Woods won: 2000, 2002, 2008
How many Open Championship has Tiger Woods Won: 2000, 2005, 2006
How many PGA Championship has Tiger Woods Won: 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007

3. Ben Hogan

What was his nickname: The Hawk, Bantam Ben

William Ben Hogan was an American golfer, and is generally considered one of the greatest golfers in the history of the game. Born within six months of two other acknowledged golf greats of the twentieth century, Sam Snead and Byron Nelson, Hogan is notable for his profound influence on the golf swing theory and his legendary ball-striking ability, for which he remains renowned among players and aficionados. He was inducted into the Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.

Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 9)
How many Masters did Ben Hogan win: 1951, 1953
How many U.S. Open did Ben Hogan win: 1948, 1950, 1951, 1953
How many Open Championship did Ben Hogan win: 1953
How many PGA Championship did Ben Hogan win: 1946, 1948

4. Bobby Jones

Robert Tyre “Bobby” Jones Jr. was one of the greatest golfers ever to compete on a national and international level. He participated only as an amateur, primarily on a part-time basis, and chose to retire from competition at age 28. Explaining his decision to retire, Jones said, “It is something like a cage. First you are expected to get into it and then you are expected to stay there. But of course, nobody can stay there.” Jones is most famous for his unique “Grand Slam,” consisting of his victory in all four major golf tournaments of his era in a single calendar year.

Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 13)
How many Masters T13 did Bobby Jones win: 1934
How many U.S. Open did Bobby Jones win: 1923, 1926, 1929, 1930
How many Open Championship did Bobby Jones win: 1926, 1927, 1930
How many U.S. Amateur did Bobby Jones win: 1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1930
How many British Amateur did Bobby Jones win: 1930

5. Sam Snead

What was his nickname: Slammin’ Sammy

Samuel Jackson Snead was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for most of four decades. He and two of the other greatest golfers of all time, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson, were born within six months of each other in 1912. Snead won a record 82 PGA Tour events. Snead’s nickname was “Slammin’ Sammy.” He was admired by many for having the so-called “perfect swing,” and generated many imitators. Snead was famed for his folksy image, wearing a straw hat, playing tournaments barefoot, and making such statements as “Keep close count of your nickels and dimes, stay away from whiskey, and never concede a putt.” He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974, and received the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.

Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 7)
How many Masters did Sam Snead win: 1949, 1952, 1954
How many U.S. Open 2nd/T2 did Sam Snead win: 1937, 1947, 1949, 1953
How many Open Championship did Sam Snead win: 1946
How many PGA Championship did Sam Snead win: 1942, 1949, 1951

6. Byron Nelson

What was his nickname: Lord Byron

John Byron Nelson, Jr. was an American PGA Tour golfer between 1935 and 1946. He and two other well known golfers of the time, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, were born within 6 months of each other in 1912. Although he won many tournaments in the course of his relatively brief career, he is mostly remembered today for having won 11 consecutive tournaments and 18 total tournaments in 1945. He retired officially at the age of 34 to be a rancher, later becoming a commentator and lending his name to the HP Byron Nelson Championship, the first PGA Tour event to be named for a professional golfer. In 1974, Byron Nelson received the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.

Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 5)
How many Masters did Byron Nelson win: 1937, 1942
How many U.S. Open did Byron Nelson win: 1939
How many Open Championship 5th did Byron Nelson win: 1937
How many PGA Championship did Byron Nelson win: 1940, 1945

7. Arnold Palmer

What was his nickname: The King
Arnold Daniel Palmer golfer who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men’s professional golf. He has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, dating back to 1955. Nicknamed “The King,” he is one of golf’s most popular stars and its most important trailblazer because he was the first star of the sport’s television age, which began in the 1950s. He is part of “The Big Three” in golf along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player who are widely credited with popularizing and commercializing the sport around the world.

Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 7)
How many Masters did Arnold Palmer win: 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964
How many U.S. Open did Arnold Palmer win: 1960
How many Open Championship did Arnold Palmer win: 1961, 1962
How many PGA Championship T2 did Arnold Palmer win: 1964, 1968, 1970

8. Gary Player

What was his nickname: The Black Night

Gary Player is a South African professional golfer. With his nine major championship victories as well as his nine major victories on the Champions Tour, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of golf. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. Player has won tournaments on six continents.

Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 9)
How many Masters did Gary Player win: 1961, 1974, 1978
How many U.S. Open did Gary Player win: 1965
How many Open Championship did Gary Player win: 1959, 1968, 1974
How many PGA Championship did Gary Player win: 1962, 1972

9. Walter Hagen

What was his nickname: Sir Walter, The Haig

Walter Charles Hagen was a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of eleven majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. He won the U.S. Open twice, and in 1922 he became the first native-born American to win the British Open, which he went on to win four times in total. He also won the PGA Championship a record-tying five times, the Western Open five times, totaled 45 PGA wins in his career, and was a six time Ryder Cup captain.

Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 11)
How many Masters T11 did Walter Hagen win: 1936
How many U.S. Open did Walter Hagen win: 1914, 1919
How many Open Championship did Walter Hagen win: 1922, 1924, 1928, 1929
How many PGA Championship did Walter Hagen win: 1921, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927

10. Gene Sarazen

What was his nickname:The Squire

Gene Sarazen was an American professional golfer. He is one of five golfers to win all the current major championships in his career, the Career Grand Slam: U.S. Open in 1922, 1932, PGA Championship in 1922, 1923, 1933, British Open in 1932, and The Masters in 1935.

Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 7)
How many Masters did Gene Sarazen win: 1935
How many U.S. Open did Gene Sarazen win: 1922, 1932
How many Open Championship did Gene Sarazen win: 1932
How many PGA Championship did Gene Sarazen win: 1922, 1923, 1933