1970 long time ago

The 1970s saw plenty of older players, such as Arnold Palmer and Gene Littler, keep on winning tournaments while new stars such as Tom Watson, Seve Ballesteros, Raymond Floyd and Ben Crenshaw appeared on the scene to rule the game for decades to come.



There were enough great players to make it difficult to whittle the list down to the best 10. Our take focuses on PGA Tour wins and major titles in the decade. With that in mind, keep clicking to see our choices for the top 10 players of the 1970s.

10. Billy Casper

PGA Tour victories in 1970s: eight (of 51 total)



Major titles in 1970s: one (of three total)



Casper started winning on the PGA Tour in the mid-1950s, and his excellent play continued all the way into his 40s. He won the 1970 Masters, beating Gene Littler in a playoff.



An excellent putter and a short-game guru, Casper didn’t have the flash exhibited by some of his more famous competitors, but he stretched his victories across three decades and earned his final PGA Tour victory at the First NBC New Orleans Open in 1975.



Casper was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1978. He died in 2015 at age 83.

9. Dave Stockton

PGA Tour victories in 1970s: seven (of 10 total)



Major titles in 1970s: two (of two total)



Stockton was one of the best putters ever on the PGA Tour, and he has parlayed that into guru status today, often helping current Tour stars with their approach to putting as well as their strokes.



His first major title came at the 1970 PGA Championship, where he held off Arnold Palmer and Bob Murphy by two strokes. He added another victory in that event – his last Tour title – in 1976 when he sank a 15-foot par putt on the final hole to beat Raymond Floyd and Don January by a shot.

8. Hale Irwin

PGA Tour victories in 1970s: 11 (of 20 total)



Major titles in 1970s: two (of three)



Irwin was a multi-sport athlete and a two-time All-Big Eight defensive back for Colorado’s football team before turning his attention to professional golf. His first Tour victory came at the 1971 Sea Pines Heritage Classic, an event he would win again in 1973 for his second Tour victory.



He broke through in the majors at the brutal 1974 U.S. Open in what became known as the Massacre at Winged Foot, where he shot a 7-over 287 for a two-shot victory. Irwin added another U.S. Open title in 1979 on another extremely tough setup, this time at Inverness, earning him the reputation as a star on the toughest tracks.



He continued winning on the Tour through 1994 – his final victory came in the MCI Heritage Golf Classic, back where it all began for him at Harbour Town – before going on to win 45 times on what is now known as the PGA Tour Champions. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.
7. Tom Weiskopf

PGA Tour victories in 1970s: 12 (of 16 total)



Major titles in 1970s: one (of one total)



Weiskopf displayed a rare combination of power and control, but his temper (what he has since called simple frustration with himself for poor shots) could get the best of him, earning him the nickname Towering Inferno.



He won the 1973 British Open at Troon, besting Neil Coles and Johnny Miller by three shots, and he finished runner-up in another five majors (four in the 1970s). He won five PGA Tour events in 1973 plus two others around the world during his best season. His first Tour victory was in 1968, and he continued winning on Tour until 1982. He won four times on what is now the PGA Tour Champions and has established himself as a well-regarded golf course designer
6. Hubert Green

PGA Tour victories in 1970s: 16 (of 19 total)



Major titles in 1970s: one (of two total)



Green was the 1971 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, earning his first title that season at the Houston Champions International. In March 1976, Green won three events in a row: the Doral-Eastern Open, the Greater Jacksonville Open and the Sea Pines Heritage Classic.



Green gutted out his first major title in 1977, winning the U.S. Open at Southern Hills under the surveillance of extra security after he was notified during the final round of a death threat against him that had been called in.



Green continued winning on Tour until 1985, when he earned his second major title at the PGA Championship. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007. Green battled oral cancer after a 2003 diagnosis, and he died in 2018 from complications of throat cancer.
5. Johnny Miller

PGA Tour victories in 1970s: 18 (of 25 total)



Major titles in 1970s: two (of two total)



Miller might be best known to younger fans for his 28 years as a broadcaster, but for six years in the ’70s he was a true star of the PGA Tour and one of the most accurate iron players the game has ever seen.



As he has been keen to mention on air, his performance in the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont was among the best rounds ever in a major. He shot a closing 63 to overcome a six-shot deficit, leaping past players such as Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer.



With an outstanding ability to fire approach shots dead at the flags, Miller racked up all 18 of his victories for the decade between 1971 and 1976. His last victory of that span was his second major, the 1976 British Open at Royal Birkdale. He then went cold (especially with the putter) until 1980, the start of a decade in which he would win six more times. His last Tour victory came in 1994 at Pebble Beach. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1998.
4. Tom Watson

PGA Tour victories in 1970s: 18 (of 39 total)



Major titles in 1970s: three (of eight total)



A student and friend of the legendary Byron Nelson, Watson overcame his initial disdain for links golf to become a five-time British Open winner, with two of those titles coming in the 1970s. He was known as a great ballstriker with an aggressive game, charging putts at the hole and possessing a short-game that could erase almost any miscue from the fairway.



After joining the Tour in 1971 and several frustrating missed chances at victory (including the 1974 U.S. Open), Watson broke through at the 1974 Western Open.



His first major victory was the 1975 British Open at Carnoustie, where he beat Jack Newton by a shot in a playoff. He won the 1977 Masters by two shots over Jack Nicklaus (who became a somewhat frequent Watson spoil), then outlasted Nicklaus by a shot in the 1977 British Open at Turnberry, which became known as the Duel in the Sun for his third major of the decade.



Watson was the PGA Tour’s leading money winner, the Player of the Year and the Vardon Trophy winner (for lowest scoring average) in 1977, ’78 and ’79 – he also was leading money winner and Player of the Year multiple times in the 1980s. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988.
3. Gary Player

PGA Tour victories in 1970s: 12 (of 24 total)



Major titles in 1970s: four (of nine total)



After earning his first PGA Tour victory at the 1958 Kentucky Derby Open and winning 12 Tour events before the start of the 1970s, the fit South African kept on winning throughout the decade.



He earned a two-shot victory at the 1972 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills, then won the Masters in 1974 and ’78. Still playing a global schedule, Player had multiple-win PGA Tour seasons in 1971 (two wins), 1972 (two), 1974 (three) and 1978 (three).



Despite not being the most powerful player, he earned a reputation as an unflappable opponent and creative shotmaker. His last PGA Tour victory was the 1978 Houston Open. He went on to win 19 times on what is now the PGA Tour Champions, and he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
2. Lee Trevino

PGA Tour victories in 1970s: 21 (of 29 total)



Major titles in 1970s: four (of six total)



Trevino is certainly one of the most unlikely multiple-major winners the sport has ever seen. After growing up poor in Texas and working in cotton fields from the age of 5, Trevino learned the game by sneaking onto courses to play and then caddying. He built his nerve in high-stakes gambling games and during a four-year stint in the U.S. Marine Corps as a machine-gunner.



He built a repeatable push-fade that led to him becoming one of the most accurate ballstrikers of all time, even if he didn’t have the power of adversaries such as Jack Nicklaus or Tom Weiskopf.



After breaking through for his first Tour win and major title at the 1968 U.S. Open at Oak Hill, where he beat Nicklaus by four shots, he went on to win the 1971 U.S. Open at Merion (beating Nicklaus in a playoff); the British Open in 1971 (Royal Birkdale) and 1972 (Muirfield, beating Nicklaus by a shot); and the PGA Championship in 1974 (Tanglewood, again beating Nicklaus by a shot) and 1984 (Shoal Creek).



Affectionately known as the Merry Mex, Trevino was a fearsome competitor who loved to talk during rounds, frequently carrying on one-sided conversations with the galleries. He was the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year in 1971; won the Vardon Trophy (lowest scoring average) in 1970, ’71, ’72, ’74 and ’80; and was the Tour’s leading money winner in 1970. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981.
1. Jack Nicklaus

PGA Tour victories in the 1970s: 38 (of 73 total)



Major titles in the 1970s: eight (of 18 total)



Every other player on this list – and every successful Tour player since – was measured by the achievements of the Golden Bear.



After establishing himself as the best player in the world during the 1960s with a powerful swing, a high ball flight and a patient mentality that was perfectly suited for long-term success in the majors, Nicklaus went through an uninspired three-year slump (by his lofty standards) that lasted into 1970. But after his father, Charlie Nicklaus, died in 1970, Jack recommitted to the game, improved his fitness and won the 1970 British Open, beating Doug Sanders in a playoff.



For the decade, he won the Masters in 1972 and ’75; the U.S. Open in ’72 (Pebble Beach), the British Open in 1970 and ’78 (both at the Old Course); and the PGA Championship in ’71 (PGA National), ’73 (Canterbury) and ’75 (Firestone).



His eight major titles in the 1970s alone would tie for sixth place with Tom Watson on the all-time list of major winners, not even counting his seven titles in the 1960s or three more in the ’80s.



Despite playing a lighter schedule than most Tour pros, Nicklaus was the Tour’s leading money winner five times in the decade (1971, ’72, ’73, ’75 and ’76) and Player of the Year four times (’72, ’73, ’75 and ’76). He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.