Tour pro golfers with animal nicknames

When it comes to tour pro golfers with animal nicknames, it’s a right old menagerie out on the world's fairways. Try these ten for starters…

The Golden Bear

18-time Major winner Jack Nicklaus much preferred this to “Ohio Fats” – the nickname Arnold Palmer fans gave him in his more portly early days because of the threat he posed to their hero.

The Great White Shark

Greg Norman’s blond hair and aggressive golf made this the perfect nickname, but it sometimes came back to haunt him rather cruelly with “toothless” jibes from the media when things went wrong in Majors.

The Walrus

It would be hard to believe that any golfer has ever looked more like his mammalian counterpart than Craig Stadler? Thus far, tour pro son Kevin, has failed to take on a similarly walrus-like appearance.

The Hawk

One of the original golfers with animal nicknames, Ben Hogan was known as The Hawk for his uncanny ability to survey a course and then execute a precision attack.

The Goose

A commentator’s dream. When Retief is playing well it’s a surefire bet that it won’t be long before “The Goose is really cooking today” issues forth from the lips of someone in the booth.

El Gato

Genial Argentinean Eduardo Romero was apparently once asked by a US interviewer, unfamiliar with the Spanish for cat, just why he was called “the cake”. Christened El Gato as he apparently stalked around like big cat checking out his shots.

El Pato

Mighty-hitting double Major winner Angel Cabrera says his Spanish “duck” nickname comes from his father, also called “pato”. Others say it is down to his unusual waddling gait…

The Elk

Working out how sweet-swinging Aussie Steve Elkington got this moosey moniker is hardly rocket science.

Snake

Left-handed Aussie Greg Chalmers’ tour nickname. Think about it – snake, Chalmers…

The Bulldog

Anyone who watched the unrelentingly tenacious Corey Pavin at his best in the 1990s will understand exactly how this one came about.