This is a list of the fifty-three golfers who have won 17 or more official (or later deemed historically significant) money events on the PGA Tour.[1][2] It is led by Sam Snead and Tiger Woods with 82 each.

Many players won important events early in the 20th century, prior to the formation of the tour, with records being kept by the PGA of America. At various times, the PGA Tour has reassessed the status of some tournaments. In the 1980s, the significance of all historical tournaments was reassessed by golf historians, working together with PGA Tour staff, during the course of a major statistical research project.[3] The Open Championship was first recognized as an official tour event in 1995, and in 2002, all victories in earlier Open Championships were classified as official PGA Tour wins.

Accumulating 20 wins is significant, because it is one of the requirements for "life membership" on the PGA Tour. This means that the golfer does not need to requalify for membership on the tour each year by finishing in the top 125 on the money list (starting in 2013, top 125 on the FedEx Cup points list), or through an exemption for tournament victories. Many golfers struggle to do this through their late-40s, but those with 20 wins avoid this problem. However, life members are required to maintain a certain (relatively modest) standard of play to retain their playing privileges: when they can no longer do so, they are moved into the "Past champions" membership category, effectively becoming honorary members.

Since 1975, only four players have won PGA Tour events after their 50th birthday, the age at which golfers become eligible to compete on PGA Tour Champions: Craig Stadler won in 2003 at age 50, Fred Funk won in 2007 at age 50, Davis Love III won in 2015 at age 51, and Phil Mickelson won the PGA Championship in 2021 at age 50, becoming the oldest winner of a major. Sam Snead is the oldest to win a PGA event, at age 52, in 1965. Others who have won PGA Tour events past age 50 include Jim Barnes, John Barnum, and Art Wall Jr.

The list is complete as of July 16, 2023.[1]

Rank Player[a] Lifespan Wins Majors[b] Winning
span		 Span
(years)
T1 United States Sam Snead H 1912–2002 82 7 1936–1965 30
United States Tiger Woods H 1975– 15 1996–2019 24
3 United States Jack Nicklaus H 1940– 73 18 1962–1986 25
4 United States Ben Hogan H 1912–1997 64 9 1938–1959 22
5 United States Arnold Palmer H 1929–2016 62 7 1955–1973 19
6 United States Byron Nelson H 1912–2006 52 5 1935–1951 17
7 United States Billy Casper H 1931–2015 51 3 1956–1975 20
T8 United States Walter Hagen H 1892–1969 45 11 1914–1936 23
United States Phil Mickelson H 1970– 6 1991–2021 31
T10 United States Cary Middlecoff H 1921–1998 39 3 1945–1961 17
United States Tom Watson H 1949– 8 1974–1998 25
12 United States Gene Sarazen H 1902–1999 38 7 1922–1941 20
13 United States Lloyd Mangrum H 1914–1973 36 1 1940–1956 17
14 Fiji Vijay Singh H 1963– 34 3 1993–2008 16
15 United States Jimmy Demaret H 1910–1983 31 3 1938–1957 20
16 United States Horton Smith H 1908–1963 30 2 1928–1941 14
T17 England[c] Harry Cooper H 1904–2000 29 0 1923–1939 17
United States Gene Littler H 1930–2019 1 1954–1977 24
United States Lee Trevino H 1939– 6 1968–1984 17
T20 United States Leo Diegel H 1899–1951 28 2 1920–1934 15
United States Paul Runyan H 1908–2002 2 1930–1941 12
22 United States Henry Picard H 1906–1997 26 2 1932–1945 14
T23 United States Tommy Armour H 1894–1968 25 3 1920–1938 19
United States Johnny Miller H 1947– 2 1971–1994 24
Scotland Macdonald Smith 1892–1949 0 1912–1936 25
T26 United States Dustin Johnson 1984– 24 2 2008–2020 13
South Africa Gary Player H 1935– 9 1958–1978 21
Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy 1989– 4 2010–2023 14
T29 England[d] Jim Barnes H 1886–1966 22 4 1914–1937 24
United States Johnny Farrell 1901–1988 1 1921–1936 16
United States Raymond Floyd H 1942– 4 1963–1992 30
T32 United States Davis Love III H 1964– 21 1 1987–2015 29
Scotland Willie Macfarlane 1890–1961 1 1916–1936 21
United States Lanny Wadkins H 1949– 1 1972–1992 21
United States Craig Wood H 1901–1968 2 1928–1944 17
T36 United States Hale Irwin H 1945– 20 3 1971–1994 24
Australia Greg Norman H 1955– 2 1984–1997 14
United States Johnny Revolta 1911–1991 1 1933–1944 12
United States Doug Sanders 1933–2020 0 1956–1972 17
T40 United States Ben Crenshaw H 1952– 19 2 1973–1995 23
South Africa Ernie Els H 1969– 4 1994–2012 19
United States Doug Ford H 1922–2018 2 1952–1963 12
United States Hubert Green H 1946–2018 2 1971–1985 15
United States Tom Kite H 1949– 1 1976–1993 18
United States Bill Mehlhorn 1898–1989 0 1923–1930 8
T46 United States Julius Boros H 1920–1994 18 3 1952–1968 17
Australia Jim Ferrier 1915–1986 1 1944–1961 18
United States Dutch Harrison 1910–1982 0 1939–1958 20
Zimbabwe Nick Price H 1957– 3 1983–2002 20
T50 Scotland Bobby Cruickshank 1894–1975 17 0 1921–1936 16
United States Jim Furyk 1970– 1 1995–2015 21
United States Harold "Jug" McSpaden 1908–1996 0 1933–1945 13
United States Curtis Strange H 1955– 2 1979–1989 11

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Players with the same number of wins are listed alphabetically; players under 50 years of age are shown in bold; members of the World Golf Hall of Fame are indicated by H.
  2. ^ Major championship wins are counted using the modern definition of The Open Championship, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters Tournament.
  3. ^ Harry Cooper was born in England, but grew up in Dallas, Texas, and became a U.S. citizen before starting his professional career. However, he was not allowed to compete for the U.S. in the Ryder Cup. U.S. citizens born outside the country, even if they were born with only U.S. citizenship, were not eligible to represent the U.S. in the Ryder Cup until 2002. Even today, those who naturalize after age 18 are ineligible for Team USA.
  4. ^ Jim Barnes was born in England, but became a U.S. citizen soon after moving to the United States in 1906.

References

  1. ^ a b "Most career wins (top 50)". PGA Tour. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "Most Career Wins on the PGA Tour". Liveabout.com. February 17, 2024.
  3. ^ Barkow, Al (November 1989). The History of the PGA TOUR. Doubleday. pp. 200-298. ISBN 0-385-26145-4.
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