The Most Famous
GOLFERS from South Africa
This page contains a list of the greatest South African Golfers. The pantheon dataset contains 71 Golfers, 6 of which were born in South Africa. This makes South Africa the birth place of the 3rd most number of Golfers behind United States, and United Kingdom.
Top 7
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary South African Golfers of all time. This list of famous South African Golfers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Gary Player (b. 1935)
With an HPI of 49.38, Gary Player is the most famous South African Golfer. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages on wikipedia.
Gary Jim Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine major championships on the Champions Tour. At the age of 29, Player won the 1965 U.S. Open and became the only non-American to win all four majors in a career, known as the career Grand Slam. At the time, he was the youngest player to do this, though Jack Nicklaus (26) and Tiger Woods (24) subsequently broke this record. Player became only the third golfer in history to win the Career Grand Slam, following Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen, and only Nicklaus and Woods have performed the feat since. He won over 160 professional tournaments on six continents over seven decades and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.Nicknamed the Black Knight, Mr. Fitness, and the International Ambassador of Golf, he is also a renowned golf course architect with more than 400 design projects on five continents throughout the world. Player has also authored or co-written 36 books on golf instruction, design, philosophy, motivation and fitness. On 7 January 2021, Player was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by United States President Donald Trump. The Player Group operates The Player Foundation, which has a primary objective of promoting underprivileged education around the world. In 1983, The Player Foundation established the Blair Atholl Schools in Johannesburg, South Africa, which has educational facilities for more than 500 students from kindergarten through eighth grade. In 2013 it celebrated its 30th anniversary with charity golf events in London, Palm Beach, Shanghai and Cape Town, bringing its total of funds raised to over US$60 million.
2. Nick Price (b. 1957)
With an HPI of 36.67, Nick Price is the 2nd most famous South African Golfer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Nicholas Raymond Leige Price (born 28 January 1957) is a Zimbabwean retired professional golfer who has won three major championships in his career: the PGA Championship twice (in 1992 and 1994) and The Open Championship in 1994. In the mid-1990s, Price reached number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.
3. Ernie Els (b. 1969)
With an HPI of 35.07, Ernie Els is the 3rd most famous South African Golfer. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Theodore Ernest Els (; born 17 October 1969) is a South African professional golfer. A former World No. 1, he is nicknamed "The Big Easy" due to his physical stature along with his fluid golf swing. Among his more than 70 career victories are four major championships: the U.S. Open in 1994 at Oakmont and in 1997 at Congressional, and The Open Championship in 2002 at Muirfield and in 2012 at Royal Lytham & St Annes. He is one of six golfers to twice win both the U.S. Open and The Open Championship. Other highlights in Els's career include topping the 2003 and 2004 European Tour Order of Merit (money list), and winning the World Match Play Championship a record seven times. He was the leading career money winner on the European Tour until overtaken by Lee Westwood in 2011, and was the first member of the tour to earn over €25,000,000 from European Tour events. He has held the number one spot in the Official World Golf Ranking and until 2013 held the record for weeks ranked in the top ten with 788. Els rose to fifteenth in the world rankings after winning the 2012 Open Championship. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2010, on his first time on the ballot, and was inducted in May 2011.Els now primarily plays on the PGA Tour Champions.
4. Justin Rose (b. 1980)
With an HPI of 30.79, Justin Rose is the 4th most famous South African Golfer. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.
Justin Peter Rose, (born 30 July 1980) is an English professional golfer. Rose first achieved significant media attention when he finished fourth place at the 1998 Open Championship as an amateur. He turned pro the next day but struggled during his first couple of years as a professional, making few cuts. In the early 2000s, however, he had success, winning his first European Tour event in 2002 and ultimately leading the tour's Order of Merit in 2007. In the ensuing years, Rose focused primarily on the United States, winning a number of notable tournaments, culminating with a victory at the 2013 U.S. Open. Rose has continued with success since then, earning a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, finishing runner-up at the 2017 Masters, and reaching number one in the world for the first time in 2018.
5. Louis Oosthuizen (b. 1982)
With an HPI of 23.72, Louis Oosthuizen is the 5th most famous South African Golfer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Lodewicus Theodorus "Louis" Oosthuizen (Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈlu.i ˈuəstɦœizən]; born 19 October 1982) is a South African professional golfer who won the 2010 Open Championship. He has finished runner-up in all four major championships: the 2012 Masters Tournament, the 2015 and 2021 U.S. Open, the 2015 Open Championship, and the PGA Championship in 2017 and 2021. His highest placing on the Official World Golf Ranking is fourth, which he reached in January 2013.
6. Charl Schwartzel (b. 1984)
With an HPI of 21.60, Charl Schwartzel is the 6th most famous South African Golfer. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Charl Adriaan Schwartzel ( sharl SHWORT-səl; born 31 August 1984) is a South African professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf Invitational Series and has previously played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and the Sunshine Tour. He has won one major title, the Masters in 2011. Schwartzel's highest world ranking has been number six, after finishing in a tie for fourth at the WGC-Cadillac Championship in 2012.
7. Trevor Immelman (b. 1979)
With an HPI of 19.40, Trevor Immelman is the 7th most famous South African Golfer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Trevor John Immelman (born 16 December 1979) is a South African retired professional golfer and television commentator who has played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and Sunshine Tour. He won his sole major championship at the 2008 Masters Tournament.
People
Pantheon has 7 people classified as South African golfers born between 1935 and 1984. Of these 7, 7 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living South African golfers include Gary Player, Nick Price, and Ernie Els. As of April 2024, 1 new South African golfers have been added to Pantheon including Trevor Immelman.
Living South African Golfers
Go to all Rankings
Gary Player
1935 - Present
HPI: 49.38
Nick Price
1957 - Present
HPI: 36.67
Ernie Els
1969 - Present
HPI: 35.07
Justin Rose
1980 - Present
HPI: 30.79
Louis Oosthuizen
1982 - Present
HPI: 23.72
Charl Schwartzel
1984 - Present
HPI: 21.60
Trevor Immelman
1979 - Present
HPI: 19.40
