Why they rank here
Rory McIlroy is the finest ball-striker of his era and, since April 2025, a member of golf's most exclusive club. His victory at the 2025 Masters completed the career Grand Slam, making him only the sixth man to win all four professional majors and ending an eleven-year major drought that had come to define his prime. McIlroy has won 5 majors in all, including the 2011 U.S. Open by eight shots and back-to-back majors in the summer of 2014, along with roughly 29 PGA Tour titles and more than 120 weeks at World No. 1. Blessed with prodigious clubhead speed and a classic, rhythmic swing, he has topped the European order of merit repeatedly and stood as the leading voice and on-course face of professional golf through the tour's era of upheaval.
Career profile
Each bar shows how this athlete compares with the strongest in our all-time list for that metric.