We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Most Underrated Golfer Ever?

JB

JB

Follow @THPGolf on Social Media
Albatross 2024 Club
Staff member
Joined
Oct 8, 2008
Messages
284,754
Reaction score
446,823
Location
THP Experiences
Let's preface this with a couple of items so we don't end up with the obscure.

We will limit it to the PGA Tour.
Say from 1950-
And they had to have won at least twice.

Go!
 
My first thought is Larry Nelson. 19 wins, 2 majors and was an after thought whenever any captaincy for the Ryder Cup was discussed, albeit meeting all the criteria previously considered in selecting a captain.
 
Billy Casper. 51 victories and 3 majors and had to play against Nicklaus, Player, Trevino and many other greats at their peak as he is only 3 years older than Jack. He holds the record for career Ryder Cups points by an American. One of the top 5 clutch putters of all time.
 
tahoebum said:
Billy Casper. 51 victories and 3 majors and had to play against Nicklaus, Player, Trevino and many other greats at their peak as he is only 3 years older than Jack. He holds the record for career Ryder Cups points by an American. One of the top 5 clutch putters of all time.
Click to expand...
I was going to say Buffalo Bill as well.
 
Charles Howell III.

3 PGA Tour wins
16 second place finishes
95 top-10 finishes
$39.7 million in career earnings
 
Not sure he's the most underrated ever, but Jim Furyk comes to mind for me. I was stunned when I read his career earnings. Recently was #3 in all time earnings, only behind Tiger and Phil with $71M. 26 Wins, including a US Open. Shot the first ever 58. And did it all with a crazy swing and being a short hitter.
 
I always felt like Zach Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen were underrated for guys with double digit professional wins and major championship victories
 
I'll go with Tom Lehman. He had a few wins but a ton of runner-up finishes and has been a workhorse type of player for a very long time.
 
Jerry Barber.
 
tahoebum said:
Billy Casper. 51 victories and 3 majors and had to play against Nicklaus, Player, Trevino and many other greats at their peak as he is only 3 years older than Jack. He holds the record for career Ryder Cups points by an American. One of the top 5 clutch putters of all time.
Click to expand...

Took the first name I had right from me. Severily underrated.
 
MWard said:
Took the first name I had right from me. Severily underrated.
Click to expand...

If Rory had Casper's putting ability and mental tenacity he'd have 7 or 8 majors by now IMO.

An article from bleacher report recently ranked the 6 best clutch putters of all time.

You can argue about the order but nobody who knows would disagree that these 6 golfers all are in the top 10 putters of all time.

1. Bobby Locke
2. Crenshaw
3. Billy Casper
4. Bobby Jones
5. Tiger
6. Jack
 
Last edited:
Tom Kite was the first that came to mind. Not a ton of PGA Tour wins (19) and only one major but he seemed to always be a force to be reckoned with week in and week out.
 
tahoebum said:
If Rory had Casper's putting ability and mental tenacity he'd have 7 or 8 majors by now IMO.
Click to expand...

Kinda terrifying how many more wins Rory would have if he just improved his putting even by 30%
 
tahoebum said:
Billy Casper. 51 victories and 3 majors and had to play against Nicklaus, Player, Trevino and many other greats at their peak as he is only 3 years older than Jack. He holds the record for career Ryder Cups points by an American. One of the top 5 clutch putters of all time.
Click to expand...

He is a very popular choice.
 
golfunfiltered said:
Charles Howell III.

3 PGA Tour wins
16 second place finishes
95 top-10 finishes
$39.7 million in career earnings
Click to expand...
You beat me to it. First person who came to mind! 💪
 
tahoebum said:
Billy Casper. 51 victories and 3 majors and had to play against Nicklaus, Player, Trevino and many other greats at their peak as he is only 3 years older than Jack. He holds the record for career Ryder Cups points by an American. One of the top 5 clutch putters of all time.
Click to expand...
He would be my choice far and away.
 
Billy Casper... He should be mentioned right up there with Nicklaus, Palmer, Player and Snead. My dad played against him in college and when Casper told him he was joining the PGA, my dad thought "well he'll never amount to anything"! Lol
 
I agree on Casper, but anther contender could be Haler Irwin. 3 US Opens and 17 other wins on tour, plus he had a very long and meaningful career.
 
How about Bruce Lietzke?

13 - PGA victories, but rarely played more than 20 tour events annually.

Once he’d earned enough to “keep his card” he was home with family, fishing, and tinkering with his race cars.
 
H8tobogie said:
I agree on Casper, but anther contender could be Haler Irwin. 3 US Opens and 17 other wins on tour, plus he had a very long and meaningful career.
Click to expand...

I **** you not, when I started this thread, it was because I was looking at Hale Irwin stats.
 
My first thought was Billy Casper but Raymond Floyd also deserves some love.
 
How about Vijay Singh. No one liked him, but racking up 34 wins on the PGA Tour and 3 majors is pretty dang good. He had a bulletproof swing too, if he could putt he would have put a serious dent in Tiger's career.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top