The Most Famous
GOLFERS from Spain
This page contains a list of the greatest Spanish Golfers. The pantheon dataset contains 71 Golfers, 4 of which were born in Spain. This makes Spain the birth place of the 4th most number of Golfers behind United Kingdom, and South Africa.
Top 5
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Spanish Golfers of all time. This list of famous Spanish Golfers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Seve Ballesteros (1957 - 2011)
With an HPI of 51.94, Seve Ballesteros is the most famous Spanish Golfer. His biography has been translated into 34 different languages on wikipedia.
Severiano Ballesteros Sota (Spanish pronunciation: [seβeˈɾjano βaʎesˈteɾos]; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 international tournaments in his career, including five major championships between 1979 and 1988; The Open Championship three times and the Masters Tournament twice. He gained attention in the golfing world in 1976, when at the age of 19, he finished second at The Open. He played a leading role in the re-emergence of European golf, helping the European Ryder Cup team to five wins both as a player and captain. Ballesteros won a record 50 European Tour titles. He won at least one European Tour title for 17 consecutive years between 1976 and 1992. His final victory was at the 1995 Peugeot Spanish Open. Largely because of back-related injuries, Ballesteros struggled with his form during the late 1990s. Despite this, he continued to be involved in golf, creating the Seve Trophy and running a golf course design business. In 2000, Golf Digest magazine ranked Ballesteros as the greatest Continental European golfer of all time. In the 2000s, Ballesteros played sparingly due to continuing back problems and in 2007 he eventually retired from competitive professional golf. In 2008 he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour. Ballesteros was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for the second time at the BBC Sports Personality Awards in 2009. He was presented with the award at his home in Spain by his compatriot and former Ryder Cup teammate José María Olazábal. Ballesteros died of brain cancer in 2011, aged 54.
2. Miguel Ángel Jiménez (b. 1964)
With an HPI of 37.65, Miguel Ángel Jiménez is the 2nd most famous Spanish Golfer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Miguel Ángel Jiménez Rodríguez (born 5 January 1964) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has won 21 times on the European Tour, holds the records for the most starts on the European Tour and being the first player over 50 to win on the European Tour (2014 Open de Espana at age 50 years and 133 days) and has been a member of two victorious Ryder Cup teams.
3. Sergio García (b. 1980)
With an HPI of 34.17, Sergio García is the 3rd most famous Spanish Golfer. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.
Sergio García Fernández (pronounced [ˈseɾxjo ɣaɾˈθi.a feɾˈnandeθ]; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He turned professional in 1999 and played on the European Tour and PGA Tour prior to joining LIV Golf in 2022. García has won 36 international tournaments as a professional, most notably the 2008 Players Championship and the 2017 Masters Tournament. García was also the Chairman of Spanish football team CF Borriol. García has spent much of his career in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking, including over 300 weeks in the top 10 between 2000 and 2009, and over 450 weeks in the top 10 in total. He reached his highest career ranking, second, after winning the HSBC Champions tournament in November 2008. García has achieved career earnings of more than US$43 million. As a player, he is noted for strong iron play and accuracy. In the Ryder Cup, he competed in ten of the eleven matches playing during his professional career cumulatively earning a record 28.5 points during those matches.
4. Jon Rahm (b. 1994)
With an HPI of 33.71, Jon Rahm is the 4th most famous Spanish Golfer. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Jon Rahm Rodríguez (born 10 November 1994) is a Spanish professional golfer from the Basque Country. He was number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a then record 60 weeks and later became world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, first achieving that rank after winning the Memorial Tournament in July 2020. In June 2021, Rahm became the first Spanish golfer to win the U.S. Open. In 2023, he won the Masters Tournament, his second major championship. On 7 December 2023, Rahm announced that he was joining LIV Golf. In 2024, he was ranked the world's second highest-paid athlete by Forbes.
5. Azahara Muñoz (b. 1987)
With an HPI of 0.00, Azahara Muñoz is the 5th most famous Spanish Golfer. Her biography has been translated into different languages.
Azahara Muñoz Guijarro (born 19 November 1987) is a Spanish professional golfer on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour.
People
Pantheon has 5 people classified as Spanish golfers born between 1957 and 1994. Of these 5, 4 (80.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Spanish golfers include Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Sergio García, and Jon Rahm. The most famous deceased Spanish golfers include Seve Ballesteros. As of April 2024, 1 new Spanish golfers have been added to Pantheon including Azahara Muñoz.
Living Spanish Golfers
Go to all Rankings
Miguel Ángel Jiménez
1964 - Present
HPI: 37.65
Sergio García
1980 - Present
HPI: 34.17
Jon Rahm
1994 - Present
HPI: 33.71
Azahara Muñoz
1987 - Present
HPI: 0.00
