The list below is from the book The Golf 100: Ranking the Greatest Golfers of All Time (Kensington Publishing Corp./Citadel Press: New York City, 2001), written by Robert McCord.
Text from inside book jacket:
Organized golf began in Scotland in the fifteenth century. Since that small beginning the game has grown phenomenally and circled the globe. Today players and spectators number in the millions. The game has provided thrills and spectator performances aplenty and grounds for arguments about the exploits of the best golfers of all time.But who were the best? How do you compare the achievements of golfers in the era of the featherie ball, a sewn leather sphere stuffed with feathers, to the modern era of aerodynamically tested Surlyn balls and titanium-shafted clubs? How do you rank players who had different opportunities to win championships? Or those who competed before there were large money purses or, indeed, any at all?
...The author substantiates his choices [or the rankings in the list] by providing colorful, detailed biographies with little-known facts about each golfer.
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | 1940- | |
| 2 | Tiger Woods | 1976- | Buddhist |
| 3 | Ben Hogan | 1912-1997 | |
| 4 | Bobby Jones | 1902-1971 | |
| 5 | Sam Snead | 1912- | |
| 6 | Byron Nelson | 1911- | Church of Christ |
| 7 | Arnold Palmer | 1929- | |
| 8 | Gary Player | 1936- | |
| 9 | Walter Hagen | 1892-1969 | |
| 10 | Gene Sarazen | 1902-1999 | |
| 11 | Harry Vardon | 1870-1937 | |
| 12 | Tom Watson | 1949- | |
| 13 | Lee Travino | 1939- | |
| 14 | Billy Casper | 1931- | Latter-day Saint |
| 15 | Nick Faldo | 1957- | |
| 16 | Steve Ballesteros | 1957- | |
| 17 | Greg Norman | 1955- | |
| 18 | Gary Middlecoff | 1921- | |
| 19 | Jimmy Demaret | 1910-1983 | |
| 20 | Willie Anderson | 1878-1910 | |
| 21 | Raymond Floyd | 1942- | |
| 22 | Hale Irwin | 1945- | |
| 23 | Tommy Armour | 1895-1968 | |
| 24 | Julius Boros | 1920-1994 | |
| 25 | Lloyd Mangrum | 1914-1973 | |
| 26 | Young Tom Morris | 1851-1875 | |
| 27 | Ralph Guldahl | 1911-1987 | |
| 28 | Gene Littler | 1930- | |
| 29 | Jim Barnes | 1887-1966 | |
| 30 | Horton Smith | 1908-1963 | |
| 31 | Johnny Miller | 1947- | Latter-day Saint |
| 32 | J. H. Taylor | 1871-1963 | |
| 33 | Bobby Locke | 1917-1987 | |
| 34 | Paul Runyan | 1908- | |
| 35 | Macdonald Smith | 1892-1949 | |
| 36 | Craig Wood | 1902-1968 | |
| 37 | James Braid | 1870-1950 | |
| 38 | Henry Picard | 1907-1997 | |
| 39 | Lawson Little | 1911-1968 | |
| 40 | Peter Thomson | 1929- | |
| 41 | Larry Nelson | 1947- | |
| 42 | Payne Stewart | 1957-1999 | Baptist |
| 43 | Harry Cooper | 1904-2000 | |
| 44 | Harold Hinton | 1869-1942 | |
| 45 | John Ball | 1861-1940 | |
| 46 | Ernie Els | 1969- | |
| 47 | Nick Price | 1957- | |
| 48 | Tom Kite | 1949- | |
| 49 | Ben Crenshaw | 1952- | |
| 50 | Mark O'Meara | 1957- | |
| 51 | Willie Park Sr. | 1833-1903 | |
| 52 | Alex Smith | 1872-1930 | |
| 53 | Denny Shute | 1904-1974 | |
| 54 | Leo Diegel | 1899-1951 | |
| 55 | Old Tom Morris | 1821-1908 | |
| 56 | Jerry Travers | 1887-1951 | |
| 57 | Chick Evans | 1890-1979 | |
| 58 | Francis Ouimet | 1893-1967 | |
| 59 | Johnny Farrell | 1901-1988 | |
| 60 | Henry Cotton | 1907-1987 | |
| 61 | Curtis Strange | 1955- | |
| 62 | Jack Burke Jr. | 1923- | |
| 63 | Lanny Wadkins | 1950- | |
| 64 | Hubert Green | 1946- | |
| 65 | Bernhard Langer | 1957- | |
| 66 | Jock Hutchison | 1884-1977 | |
| 67 | Jose-Maria Olazabal | 1967 | |
| 68 | Roberto de Vicenzo | 1923- | |
| 69 | Doug Ford | 1923- | |
| 70 | Tommy Bolt | 1919- | |
| 71 | Tom Weiskopf | 1942- | |
| 72 | Fuzzy Zoeller | 1951- | |
| 73 | Walter Travis | 1862-1927 | |
| 74 | Tony Jacklin | 1944- | |
| 75 | Fred Couples | 1959- | |
| 76 | Craig Stadler | 1953- | |
| 77 | Ted Ray | 1877-1943 | |
| 78 | Vijay Singh | 1963- | Sikh |
| 79 | Ken Venturi | 1931- | |
| 80 | Davis Love III | 1964- | |
| 81 | Corey Pavin | 1959- | |
| 82 | Sandy Lyle | 1958- | |
| 83 | Ian Woosnam | 1958- | |
| 84 | David Graham | 1946- | |
| 85 | David Stockton | 1941- | |
| 86 | Bob Charles | 1936- | |
| 87 | Lee Janzen | 1964- | |
| 88 | Olin Dutra | 1901-1983 | |
| 89 | Johnny Revolta | 1911-1991 | |
| 90 | James Ferrier | 1915-1986 | |
| 91 | Arnaud Massy | 1877-1958 | |
| 92 | Bob Ferguson | 1848-1915 | |
| 93 | Jamie Anderson | 1842-1912 | |
| 94 | Willie Park Jr. | 1864-1925 | |
| 95 | Dow Finsterwald | 1929- | |
| 96 | Tony Lema | 1934-1966 | |
| 97 | Doug Sanders | 1933- | |
| 98 | Johnny McDermott | 1892-1971 | |
| 99 | Willie MacFarlane | 1890-1961 | |
| 100 | John Daly | 1966- |
| 1 | Mickey Wright |
| 2 | Kathy Whitworth |
| 3 | Patty Berg |
| 4 | JoAnne Gunderson Carner |
| 5 | Louise Suggs |
| 6 | Joyce Wethered |
| 7 | Babe Didrikson Zaharias |
| 8 | Glenna Collett Vare |
| 9 | Nancy Lopez |
| 10 | Betsy Rals |
| 11 | Patty Sheehan |
| 12 | Sandra Haynie |
| 13 | Betsy King |
| 14 | Pat Bradley |
| 15 | Carol Mann |
| 16 | Juli Simpson Inkster |
| 17 | Beth Daniel |
| 18 | Amy Alcott |
| 19 | Donna Caponi |
| 20 | Karrie Webb |
| 21 | Annika Sorenstam |
| 22 | Judy Rankin |
| 23 | Jane Blalock |
| 24 | Marlene Bauer Hagge |
| 25 | Catherine LaCoste |
| 26 | Laura Davies |
| 27 | Dottie Pepper |
| 28 | Marilynn Smith |
| 29 | Sandra Palmer |
| 30 | Hollis Stacy |
| 31 | Meg Mallon |
| 32 | Cecil Leitch |
| 33 | Dorothy Campbell Hurd Howe |
| 34 | Pam Barton |
| 35 | Jan Stephenson |
| 36 | Ayako Okamoto |
| 37 | Anne Quast Sander |
| 38 | Marlene Streit |
| 39 | Lady Margarett Scott |
| 40 | Beatrix Hoyt |