The 35 Greatest European Golfers of All Time

Europe spent decades as the away team in golf's majors. These are the players who changed that.

1. 1
   Seve Ballesteros

   Five majors, and the player most often credited with making European golf competitive again.
   1000pts
2. 2
   James Braid

   Won five Open Championships between 1901 and 1910 as part of the Great Triumvirate, then designed hundreds of courses.
   894pts
3. 3
   Rory McIlroy

   Six majors and the first European to complete the career Grand Slam.
   695pts
4. 4
   Darren Clarke

   Won the 2011 Open at Royal St George's aged 42 and captained Europe at the 2016 Ryder Cup.
   695pts
5. 5
   Tony Jacklin

   Won the 1969 Open and the 1970 US Open, then captained Europe to its first Ryder Cup wins in decades.
   651pts
6. 6
   Francesco Molinari

   Became Italy's first major champion at the 2018 Open at Carnoustie and went five from five at that year's Ryder Cup.
   633pts
7. 7
   Paul Lawrie

   Came from ten shots behind on the final day to win the 1999 Open at Carnoustie in a play-off.
   633pts
8. 8
   J.H. Taylor

   Five-time Open champion of the Great Triumvirate and a founder of the professional golfers' association in Britain.
   588pts
9. 9
   Padraig Harrington

   Three majors in thirteen months across 2007 and 2008.
   538pts
10. 10
    Nick Faldo

    Six majors, including three Opens and three Masters.
    538pts
11. 11
    Jose Maria Olazabal

    Two Masters titles, in 1994 and 1999.
    481pts
12. 12
    Matt Fitzpatrick

    Won the 2022 US Open at Brookline, the course where he had won the US Amateur nine years earlier.
    481pts
13. 13
    Colin Montgomerie

    Eight European Tour Order of Merit titles and no major.
    481pts
14. 14
    Graeme McDowell

    Won the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach and holed the decisive putt for Europe at the Ryder Cup that autumn.
    481pts
15. 15
    Young Tom Morris

    Won four Open Championships in a row from 1868 to 1872 and was dead at twenty-four.
    481pts
16. 16
    Lee Westwood

    Reached world number one in 2010 without winning a major.
    481pts
17. 17
    Shane Lowry

    Won the 2019 Open at Royal Portrush by six shots and holed the putt that retained the Ryder Cup at Bethpage in 2025.
    417pts
18. 18
    Harry Vardon

    Won a record six Open Championships and the 1900 US Open, and gave the game the overlapping grip most players still use.
    417pts
19. 19
    Willie Park Sr.

    Won the very first Open Championship in 1860 and three more after it.
    417pts
20. 20
    Jon Rahm

    Won the 2021 US Open and the 2023 Masters.
    344pts
21. 21
    Bernhard Langer

    Two Masters titles and a professional career that has now run past forty-five years.
    259pts
22. 22
    Sandy Lyle

    Won the 1985 Open and the 1988 Masters.
    259pts
23. 23
    Sergio Garcia

    Won the 2017 Masters and is Europe's leading Ryder Cup points scorer.
    259pts
24. 24
    Justin Rose

    Won the 2013 US Open and Olympic gold in 2016.
    259pts
25. 25
    Henry Cotton

    Won the Open in 1934, 1937 and 1948 and ended a decade of American dominance of the championship.
    259pts
26. 26
    Ted Ray

    Won the 1912 Open and the 1920 US Open, and captained Britain at the first official Ryder Cup in 1927.
    160pts
27. 27
    Ian Woosnam

    Won the 1991 Masters and reached world number one the same year.
    160pts
28. 28
    Martin Kaymer

    Won the 2010 PGA Championship and the 2014 US Open, reached world number one and holed the putt that completed the Miracle at Medinah.
    160pts
29. 29
    Henrik Stenson

    Won the 2016 Open at Troon with a final round of 63.
    0pts
30. 30
    Old Tom Morris

    Won four of the first eight Open Championships and shaped St Andrews and the modern game as greenkeeper and course designer.
    0pts
31. 31
    Luke Donald

    World number one in 2011, money leader on both tours that year, and captain of Europe's Ryder Cup wins in 2023 and 2025.
    0pts
32. 32
    Annika Sörenstam

    Swedish winner of ten majors and 72 LPGA titles, eight-time Player of the Year and the first woman to shoot 59 in an LPGA event.
33. 33
    Laura Davies

    English winner of four majors, including the 1987 US Women's Open, who dominated women's golf in the mid-1990s and played in the first twelve Solheim Cups.
34. 34
    Anna Nordqvist

    Swedish winner of three majors across three different decades, the 2009 LPGA Championship, the 2017 Evian and the 2021 Women's British Open.
35. 35
    Suzann Pettersen

    Norway's two-time major champion, winner of the 2007 LPGA Championship and the 2013 Evian, who holed the winning Solheim Cup putt in 2019.

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