OWGR: Ranking Every World No. 1 in History

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AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 07: Ernie Els of South Africa reacts on the ninth green during the first round of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 7, 2016 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

7. Ernie Els

Time at the top: 9 weeks

The Big Easy has had a big impact on Tour in the past 20-plus years, with his own career highlighted by four major championships. However, his impact on golf in South Africa might be even greater. Gary Player was the pioneer, but Els continued to blaze a trail, with dozens of South Africans on Tour, including Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen, attributing their success to Els’ academies.

That is a bit off-topic from the discussion of world No. 1 golfers, but how many guys on this list have been better ambassadors for the game than Ernie? Don’t you want that out of your No. 1 guy? I thought so. You can take a more concrete approach and argue that Day, Spieth and McIlroy are all going to eclipse Els’ totals of 4 majors and 41 major tour wins — in fact, they’ve all already spent more time at No. 1 than Els. But this is somewhat of a popularity contest, so the Big Easy gets the nod.

Next: Vijay Singh

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