Online Famous Golfers

The history of golf is illuminated by its players and their skills. This is a brief celebration of just some of those founding fathers who helped the sport achieve its status, and of the personalities of the present that make the game a joy to follow.

1. Women in Golf

2. Bobby Jones

3. Nick Faldo

4. Ben Hogan

5. Gary Player

6. Gene Sarazen

7. Jack Nicklaus

8. Joyce Wethered

9. Lee Trevino

10. Margaret Scott

11. Mildred Didrikson

12. Bobby Locke and Peter Thomson

13. Greg Norman and Bernhard Langer

14. Henry Cotton and Sam Snead

15. James Braid and Walter Hagin

16. John Taylor and Harry Vardon

17. Tom Watson and Severiano Ballesteros

18. Allan Robertson and Tom Morris

19. Young Tom Morris and Willie Park Junior

There have been other great champions: Mickey Wright, winner of 82 events on the US LPGA tour, including a record four US Women's Opens and four LPGA Championships; Kathy Whitworth, the most prolific winner of all time on the US circuit, but who never won the US Women's Open; Patty Berg, Pat Bradley, Amy Alcott, Joanne Carner and Nancy Lopez. Today, Laura Davies of Britain, leader of the Ping World Rankings, and the young Swede, Annika Sorenstam, are the leading names in women's golf and set the standards to which others aspire. The four major tournaments for women are the US Women's Open, the McDonalds LPGA Championship, the du Maurier Classic and the Nabisco Dinah Shore. The women's game has come a long way since 1860 when Mrs Robert Boothby first played in public on the caddies' course at St Andrews. There are established women's tours on both sides of the Atlantic, though the American tour is much the largest both in monetary terms and the number of events played. In 1995 Annika Sorenstam and Laura Davies led the money list on both tours and women's golf continues to increase in popularity and sponsorship. More television coverage, particularly in Europe, will no doubt assist this in the future.