Three Of The Best English Golfers in History

Golf is a great British sport, and there have been some great English golfers. These golfers have been comparable to some of the best American golfers and have won numerous PGA golf championships. These are the best English golfers in history.

Harry Vardon

Vardon was a great English golfer of the late 19th and early 20th century. He won his first golfing Major in 1896 at the British Open. This was the first of many for Vardon, who would set a record for British Open Championship wins. Vardon won six British Opens, which remains a record number. In addition, Vardon was one of the first English golfers to win a major outside of England during his tour of America. He won the US Open.

Aside from his numerous victories at the majors, Vardon also established the Vardon grip. Today, this grip is one of the best-established golf club grips in golf. In addition to this, the Vardon Trophy is now given to players on the PGA golf tour who have the best scoring average for the season.

Nick Faldo

Faldo has been the best English golfer of more recent times, and indeed generally. Faldo first came to prominence during the 1970s when he became the youngest player to have played in a Ryder Cup team in 1977. In the 1980s, he won his first major title at the British Open. Then, Faldo also won three Augusta Masters championships, defending the title in 1996. Faldo was well established as the top-ranked golfer in the game during the 1990s and won a total of six major titles.

Undoubtedly the most successful English golfer in the majors beyond the UK, Faldo was also one of the best golfers to play for the European Ryder Cup team. More recently, Faldo has also captained the EU team that was defeated in the Ryder Cup.

Tony Jacklin

Jacklin was a trailblazing English golfer from the 1960s and 1970s who went head-to-head with the likes of Nicklaus and Palmer. He won the 1969 U.K. Open and then the U.S. Open in 1970 by seven seven-stroke margin. Jacklin won a total of four PGA Tour and eight European Tour titles during his playing career.

He was also a pivotal player in Ryder Cup championships during his era. The most widely remembered is the 1969 Ryder Cup in which Nicklaus conceded a short putt to Jacklin, which halved the match. Nicklaus and Jacklin later co-designed and named a golf course, The Concession, to remember that moment.