Quiz! Can You Name Every Male World No.1 Golfer From Europe?
Since the Official World Golf Ranking was launched in 1986, ten European golfers have been named World No.1 – can you name them all?


The Official World Golf Ranking was launched in April 1986 in the lead up to that year’s Masters, and were then known as the Sony Rankings. The first World No.1 is also the first answer in this golf quiz.
The top three in the initial rankings were all European. The highest of the five Americans in the top ten was in fourth place. (If you wish to have a stab at naming all the top 10, we have a quiz on the First Official World Golf Ranking.)
However American national golfing pride was restored when 46-year-old Jack Nicklaus, who had been ranked 33rd on that initial listing and who had only won twice on Tour since his last Major in 1980, won that Masters.
From 1968 to 1985 Mark McCormack had published a world ranking in his World of Professional Golf Annual. His rankings considered performances in the preceding three-year period.
But Tony Greer, a civil engineer, had been working on his own system of ranking, principally for his own amusement which Mark McCormack’s International Management Group picked up on. It joined forces with the R&A, who wanted a method for determining qualifiers for The Open, to establish an official world ranking.
In all, 25 golfers have been the men’s World No.1, and 10 of these golfers have come from Europe. Can you name them all against the clock?
More golf quizzes:
- Golfers With The Most PGA Tour Wins
- Every Winner Of The PGA Championship This Century
- Tiger Woods' Life And Career
- The Top 10 Women's Major Winners
- Most Wins At The Masters
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Contributing Writer Roderick is the author of the critically acclaimed comic golf novel, Summer At Tangents. Golf courses and travel are Roderick’s particular interests. He writes travel articles and general features for the magazine, travel supplement and website. He also compiles the magazine's crossword. He is a member of Trevose Golf & Country Club and has played golf in around two dozen countries. Cricket is his other main sporting love. He is also the author of five non-fiction books, four of which are still in print: The Novel Life of PG Wodehouse; The Don: Beyond Boundaries; Wally Hammond: Gentleman & Player and England’s Greatest Post-War All Rounder.
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