Conference 7.286::golf

    
    1. Faldo
    2. Norman
    3. Azinger (who also plays well on any type of course)
    4. Stewart
    5. Wayne Levi (would not normally pick Wayne, but you said the top
    		     "AT PRESENT") 3 wins in the last 6 or 7 weeks
    		    and a real good showing at the Open

	1. Faldo
	2. Norman
	3. Everyone else.

	1. Faldo
	2. Stewart
	3. Norman
	4. Levi
	5. (tie) Azinger and Irwin

Beak

    Derek,
    
    Jose Marie Olazabal in the top 5, you got to be kidding me, the boy
    hasn't done anything worldwide. 
    
    My picks
    
    1. Nick "please hit the ball sometime today" Faldo - as much as I hate
    to say it, but er,ah well I guess he is....
    2. Curtis Strange
    3. Payne Stewart
    4. The Zinger
    5. Fred Couples
    
    Peter

    
    Peter,
          How can you justify putting Strange before Woosnam ?? 
      
     Woosnam had a very good U.S Open at Medinah, he then had back
    to back victories on the European Tour before finishing in the top
    5 in the Open. Remember it's the top 5 players in the world at present
    and Strange is certainly not one of those because he hasn't won in over
    a year (I think). Granted when Strange won back to back U.S. Open's
    he was probably the best in the world but the pressure of trying
    to win a third hasn't helped his game and at present he would be
    lucky to scrape into the top 10.
    
    Derek
    
    
    
    
    

Gene,

	If you asked the question a year ago I'm sure Calcaveccia and
Ballesteros would have been on a few lists.  I wonder if new family
circumstances have affected their games, that is there is less emphasis on 
golf.  Seriously...

I remember Bruce Lietzke, a self-proclaimed family man and not known for his 
practice habits, said of Seve's planned marriage "maybe now he'll play like
the rest of us..."  Supposedly Lietzke's peers on the tour have thought he
was an under-achiever for his talent.  Lietzke has said that family 
circumstances can significantly influence a tour players ability to win.

For the longest time Seve was single, and he was recognized as the "best" 
in the world.  I haven't followed Seve that closely, but since he got
married within the last few years it appears that Olazabal, Woosnam and
Faldo have all passed him. He lost an important match to Azinger in the
Ryder Cup last year.  Luckily for him, Ken Green and a few others blew up
on the 18th that day.  And most recently, he missed the cut at the British
Open.  HIS tournament. 

Calcaveccia seems to have lost his game, too.  Last year he won the British
Open, his daughter was born, and then he took the PGA off. He hasn't won
since.  He has had some horrible rounds, so bad that he "couldn't even hit
practice shots" and he walked off at Jack's tournament.  Like Seve, he also
missed the cut at the British Open. 

Of course, then there is Nicklaus. He is always described as a family man,
and we are all familiar with his 20 majors record. 
    
Jeff    

    
    Hi Jeff,
    
    It wasn't me that asked the question... ;-)
    
    BTW, I agree that home life sure can affect the golf game..
    
    Gene

    Derek
    
    According to the sony rankings, it's norman, faldo, jose, and stwert
    then mark cal (not sure on the last 2), btw woodsy is one of my
    faviorte golfers, but i had to put americans in there to get you going.
    
    peter

    Several of the last replys, are talking about extremely short periods
    of time for comparing players.  Several quote a year or less in making
    the comparison.  To me the question should then be, "Who is playing
    best at this time?", not "Who is the best golfer in the world?"  The
    way some of the comparisons are being made, at one time the best golfer
    in the world was Orville Moody.  Or by that same standard you could
    argue the Al Geiburger is the greatest of all time for his "59".
    Golfers aren't made in a year and it is far too short a time to make
    comparisons of relative ability.
    
    Big Mac
    

    
    RE: .9
    
    Hey Big Mac,
    
    Am I missing something here...? The base note says "name your top
    5 golfers in the world AT PRESENT". It doesn't say "who is the best
    golfer in the world?" 
    
    Regards
    Gene

         Hi Gene,
      Well, I,m going to have to agree with Big Mac on this one. I
    think you have to look at performance for at least 3-4 years and
    not just who's hot at the moment or over the last month or so.
       I don't think the picks change that much though for me even
    taking that into consideration.
    
        Norman
        Faldo
        Strange
        Stewart
        Woosnam
    
    I guess if we just went with "Top 5 at the present" it would be
    the top 5 from the Open. After all, there were golfers from all
    over the world there, so obviously the top 5 finishers are the
    top 5 in the world at present ! Easy as pie !!!
    
    Mad Hacker
    
    p.s. were there any rooskies at the Open ?

    re: -1
    
    	You are talking about the US open... right?
    
    		Smitty

    
    I give up...! We are talking two different languages here I guess...!

    I'll suggest a line from which to measure. 
    
    The top five throughout the world since the beginning of this golf
    season. Namely this years European Tour, PGA Tour(s), and this years
    majors.
    
    
    My five are:
    
    Faldo             Handily
    Stewart           A distant second
    Norman            Gamely but short at the finish
    Woosnam           A closer. One to watch.
    Nicklaus/Trevino  rationale being they dominated the senior events 
                      and played well in all the majors. ( I know I'll get
                      some flack over this one)
    
    It was tough to leave out a few like Gamez, and Olazabal but I'll stick
    with my 5.
    
    Ken  
    

    
    Is it true the post Open Sony World rankings have been released 
    and they still have Norman 1st and Faldo 2nd ??
    
    If this is true surely more emphasis must be put on the players
    performance in the majors rather than the normal tour events.
    
    Derek.
    

    re:.10
    
    I am  trying to say that I do not believe that Orville Moody was ever
    the best golfer in the world, even at the time he won the Open. He 
    obviously played better during that week, but I don't think he was the
    best golfer, even at "present".  My suggestion is that more goes into
    "best golfer" than a year of results.  Certainly, some of the golfers
    mentioned have more than a "year of results", but the Noters were
    citing the recent results and seemingly ignoring some of the past 
    accomplishments and the intangible qualities that go into the "BEST".
    
    The 5 golfers in the world that are playing the best at present, is
    different than the 5 best golfers in the world at present.  Is my
    feeling clarified?  Hope it is, Gene.
    
    Big Mac  

    Faldo would have to be considered the best "now." The Sony ratings, I
    believe, are computed over the past 3 years' performance, so by that
    measure, Norman still ranks ahead of Faldo. Maybe someone can be more
    informative about what it is the Sony ranking is based on?
    

	I don't remember the specifics, but the Sony ratings also have an
	Asian/Pacfic bias.  Norman has accumlated points for events for
        events like the Austrailian Open which are weighted more like a
	major than the Greater Greensboro open.

	Larry

    My top 5 are
    
    1. FALDO
    2. STEWART
    3. WOOSY
    4. NORMAN
    5. OLAZABAL
    
    I would like to put myself there at No 1 but I guess I'll have to
    wait my turn.
     
    

    1.Faldo
    2.Stewart
    3.Gamez(most consistent american this year)
    4.Norman
    5.Woosnam
    
    Ted Who would just like to be in the top 10000
    

    My personal favorites
    
    1. Trevino
    2. Norman
    3. Irwin
    4. Nicklaus
    5. Stewart
    
    BG

    1.NICKLAUS
    2.BALLAESTEROS
    3.FALDO
    4.TREVINO
    5.NORMAN
                   ADD UP THE TITLES AND PRIZE MONEY AND TRY TO BEAT THAT
    LOT

   Where is Kite, Langer & Floyd?  These guys should get consideration over
  Norman at least.

-rick

    You could also add a fellow named Player and not lessen the impact!

    In terms of domination for a period of time and sheer fun to watch I
    vote for ...
    
    Johnny Miller
    Calvin Peete
    Freddy Couples
    Greg Norman
    Seve Ballesteros
    
    SCD      

    In no order:
    Byron Nelson
    Sam Snead
    Ben Hogan
    Arnold Palmer
    Jack Nicklaus
    
    --I liked the way Nelson hit it best of all...
    
    __Jack

    Has everyone forgotten Tom Watson ? Doesn't he hold the second biggest
    record of Major's won, after Nicklaus ? 
    
    Norman

    re: .26
    
    what no Jones...???
    
    	in order...
    
    	Ben Hogan
    	Jack Nicklaus
    	Bobby Jones
    	Byron Nelson
    	Sam Snead
    	Arnold Palmer

There is no "top 5" Too many too great to pass up.

Certainly:

Nicklaus
Jones
Nelson
Hogan
Harry Vardon
Snead
Walter Hagen

Maybe in that order (although nelson/hogan is a toss-up).

Damn near up there are:

Watson
Player
Travino
Sarezan
.
.
.

If only they had:

Johnny Miller (kept his head on)
Calvin Peete (started younger and healthier)
Ray Floyd (won a few more close calls--arguably belongs a notch up)
Willie Smith (lived longer)
.
.
.

Oh, never mind. It's a hopeless enterprise from the start.

    Sorry,
    
    Never got to see the greats like Jones and Nelson play.  As for Watson,
    never liked him or his play.  He always seemed to have a charisma
    by-pass just before a tournament.
    
    SCD