Golf’s Superstar
Golf’s Superstar
Today we want to try and tackle what it means to be Golf’s Superstar. When you look at sports, not just golf, you can find athletes that are considered “superstars” in their own leagues. For me personally, I grew up in the Michael Jordan craze of the NBA, now people have players like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, etc. Football, baseball, soccer, it doesn’t matter they all have superstars in the past vs now. This is not to debate what generation is the best in sports or who the G.O.A.T of each sport is because there is a very very low chance that we would all be able to agree. This is a means to discuss what makes a superstar, specifically for the golf world.
What Is A Superstar?
What are the criteria to be considered Golf’s Superstar?
- Win A Major
- Number Of Major Wins
- Regular PGA Event Wins
- Fan Favorite
What exactly is your scale to determine this superstar status? Currently, Rickie Fowler is beloved by almost every single fan but when you break it down by the numbers Rickie is not as dominate as other PGA Tour players who turned professional during, or around the same time as he did. Check out our chart below –
| Player | Turned Profesional | Wins | Majors |
| Player 1 | 2008 | 5 | 1 |
| Player 2 | 2007 | 16 | 4 |
| Player 3 | 2016 | 5 | 0 |
| Player 4 | 2012 | 6 | 4 |
| Player 5 | 2011 | 6 | 1 |
| Player 6 | 2000 | 5 | 1 |
| Player 7 | 2003 | 6 | 0 |
| Player 8 | 2003 | 5 | 0 |
| Player 9 | 2007 | 20 | 1 |
| Player 10 | 2012 | 11 | 3 |
| Player 11 | 2009 | 5 | 0 |
So who’s career are you taking? Player 10, Player 2, Player 4, or another one? Well, let’s dive into the names of those players listed above –
| Player | Turned Profesional | Wins | Major |
| Player 1 – Webb Simpson | 2008 | 5 | 1 |
| Player 2 – Rory McIlroy | 2007 | 16 | 4 |
| Player 3 – Bryson DeChambeau | 2016 | 5 | 0 |
| Player 4 – Brooks Koepka | 2012 | 6 | 4 |
| Player 5 – Patrick Reed | 2011 | 6 | 1 |
| Player 6 – Jason Dufner | 2000 | 5 | 1 |
| Player 7 – Hunter Mahan | 2003 | 6 | 0 |
| Player 8 – Nick Watney | 2003 | 5 | 0 |
| Player 9 – Dustin Johnson | 2007 | 20 | 1 |
| Player 10 – Jordan Spieth | 2012 | 11 | 3 |
| Player 11 – Rickie Fowler | 2009 | 5 | 0 |
Nothing against Rickie, Mahan, Watney or Dufner but if you’re taking a blind test then you’re most likely taking one of the other careers.
Regular Events vs Majors
Does it come down to winning on the biggest stage to determine if you’re Golf’s Superstar? In other sports, it is hard to say that championships make you the G.O.A.T or a superstar. An example would be Dan Marino vs Trent Dilfer, for any casual NFL fan they would say that Dan Marino is the better QB but Trent Dilfer has a Super Bowl ring, so is he more of a superstar? For golf, the easy argument is Brooks Kopeka, Player 4 in our chart above, he has 6 PGA Tour wins, 4 of which are Majors. Personally, since golf is an individual sport I think you have to put a lot of consideration into wins and major wins. Brooks Koepka is one of Golf’s Superstar.
Fan Favorite vs Not
How much weight do you put into the category or fan favorite? Is that synonyms with being a superstar? Tiger Woods is loved and hated by a lot of fans, we can easily see that when we post articles about him on our social media accounts. Patrick Reed has had a solid career so far on the PGA Tour but the majority of fans do not like him. Reed is known to have the kind of attitude that turns people off from being true fans of his. Bryson DeChambeau is known for slow play and taking a scientific approach to the game, almost every golf fan HATES slow play, so this alienates DeChambeau to a sector of the golf fans. So, how important is being a fan favorite? Is any press good press? Do you think DeChambeau and Reed are golf superstars?
Final Thoughts
So, have we made it easier to decide exactly what a golf superstar is? Does golf have a player like LeBron James, Mike Trout, Tom Brady, Messi, Alex Morgan? Yes, Rickie Fowler is golf’s biggest star, in my opinion. Will we ever have a Tiger Woods like persona? No, Brooks Koepka is so good at winning Majors, really the guy is GREAT at it but personality-wise he is so hard to get behind. Just this week he said “Regular tournaments…I don’t practice” well we don’t practice either Brooks but we typically lose a box of balls and shank a ton of shots during a round of 18 holes at our local muni, Brooks is hard to be the “everyman.” Is anybody in this generation going to enter the Tiger vs Jack G.O.A.T discussion, again, no. Jordan Spieth had a great chance to be in that talk but over the last year, he has lost some of his steam, still a GREAT player though, that in no way is meant to put Spieth down. Jordan is a golf superstar and he will find his stroke again. Dustin Johnson, a great player, seems like a hard guy to talk to but on the course, great. He has amassed 20 wins in a short time but again he only has 1 major, that has to weigh in right?
So what are your thoughts? What makes a golf superstar? Is Rickie the biggest star in golf? Or could it be another golfer that we left out? Does the crown go to Rory? SO MANY QUESTIONS!
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