The top 10 male golfers of the 20th century as voted by a six-member panel of experts assembled by The Associated Press, with first-place votes in parenthesis, points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 10th-place vote:
Pts
1. Jack Nicklaus (4) 57
2. Ben Hogan (2) 55
3. Bobby Jones 46
4. Sam Snead 42
5. Byron Nelson35
6. Arnold Palmer 23
7. Walter Hagen16
8. Harry Vardon13
9. Gary Player 12
10. Tom Watson10
Others receiving votes: Tiger Woods 7, Gene Sarazen 6, James
Braid 5, Lee Trevino 1, J.H. Taylor 1, Nick Faldo 1.
1. JACK NICKLAUS: Won 70 events on the PGA Tour and set the standard in major championships. He won all of them at least three times, including six Masters, for a total of 18. He also won the U.S. Amateur twice. Went 17 consecutive years (1962-78) with at least one PGA Tour victory.
2. BEN HOGAN: One of the best ball-strikers of all time, his pursuit of perfection led him to nine majors, including four U.S. Opens. Returned from a near fatal car accident to win the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion. Won all three majors he played in 1953 to complete the career Grand Slam. His 63 PGA Tour victories are third behind Sam Snead and Jack Nicklaus.
3. BOBBY JONES: Most accomplished amateur ever, who in 1930 he became the only player to win the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open, British Amateur and British Open in the same year. Won seven majors, plus five U.S. Amateurs and one British Amateur. Later developed an invitational tournament in Augusta, Ga., that became known as The Masters.
4. SAM SNEAD: Set a PGA Tour record that still stands with 81 victories, starting in 1936 and ending in 1965. Won seven majors, including The Masters and PGA Championship three times each, but he never won the U.S. Open.
5. BYRON NELSON: Won 52 times in his PGA Tour, including five major championships. He forever will be remembered for 1945, when he won 11 consecutive tournaments to set a tour record that may never be broken. The next longest streak is six. He also won a record 18 tournaments that year.
6. ARNOLD PALMER: Defined as much by his four Masters as his charisma that led to greatest popularity boom in golf. Won 60 times on the PGA Tour, including seven majors. The idea of a professional "Grand Slam" began when he won The Masters and U.S. Open in 1960 and went to the British Open, where he tied for second.
7. WALTER HAGEN: A man of style and substance, and the winner of 11 major championships, including a record four consecutive PGA Championships (all at match play) from 1924-27. A captain of six U.S. Ryder Cup teams.
8. HARRY VARDON: The dominant player at the turn of the 20th century who established the most common overlapping grip of the golf club, now known as the Vardon grip. Only six-time British Open champion. Also won the U.S. Open in 1900.
9. GARY PLAYER: Only international player to win the career Grand Slam. Won nine majors, starting with the British Open in 1959 and ending with his second Masters in 1978 at age 42. The first global player in golf. Including Senior PGA Tour, has won a tournament in five straight decades.
10. TOM WATSON: The dominant player from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s, when he won all eight of his major championships. Only American to win the British Open five times, part of his 43 victories around the world.
