Walter Hagen
Seve Ballesteros
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Walter Hagen leads 2 of 3 categories. Our all-time ranking places Walter Hagen at #8 and Seve Ballesteros at #11.
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The case for Walter Hagen
Walter Hagen was golf's first superstar professional and its greatest match-play performer. He won 11 professional majors, a total surpassed only by Nicklaus and Woods, including four consecutive PGA Championships from 1924 to 1927, when the event was contested at grueling match play. Hagen claimed five PGA Championships and four Open Championships in all, plus two U.S. Opens, and won 45 PGA Tour events. Flamboyant and theatrical, he did as much as anyone to raise the professional from servant to celebrity, famously refusing to accept the second-class treatment of pros until clubhouse doors were opened to them. His gamesmanship, showmanship and ice-cold clutch putting made him the dominant figure of the 1920s alongside the amateur Bobby Jones, and he reportedly earned and spent a fortune in the process.
The case for Seve Ballesteros
Severiano Ballesteros was the most thrilling and imaginative player of his generation, a Spaniard whose flair reignited European golf. He won 5 majors, three Open Championships and two Masters, and more than 90 titles worldwide, including 50 on the European Tour, a tour record. Famous for wild drives and miraculous recoveries, Seve seemed to score from places no one else could reach, an artist of the short game and improvisation who turned trouble into birdies. Beyond his own victories he was the emotional engine of Europe's Ryder Cup revival, inspiring the breakthrough triumphs of 1985 and 1987 that ended American dominance, and later captaining the winning 1997 side at Valderrama in his native Spain. He died in 2011 at the age of 54, mourned across the game as the very soul of modern European golf.