Who, at this moment in time, are the best golfers at every age? Who is currently the best 20-year-old on the planet? And the best 50-year-old? Is Inbee Park, 28, better than Rickie Fowler, 28? Does Paul Casey have more game than Jimmy Walker? What follows is our ranking of the best golfers, ages 16 to 60. When assessing players’ worthiness, we weighed their previously demonstrated ability, win totals and World Ranking status with a heavy dose of “What have you done for me lately?” Here are our winners (ages accurate as of March 8, 2017), along with a few notables who deserve honorable mentions.
Age : Best Golfer
16: Noah Goodwin
17: Phachara Khongwatmai
18: Joaquin Niemann
20: Charley Hull
26: Patrick Reed
30: Billy Horschel
31: Russell Knox
33: Kevin Kisner
35: James Hahn
36: Adam Scott
38: Bubba Watson
40: Henrik Stenson
41: Zach Johnson
44: Shingo Katayama
45: Padraig Harrington
47: Rod Pampling
48: Ken Duke
50: Steve Stricker
51: Scott McCarron
53: Colin Montgomerie
55: Mark Brooks
56: Kenny Perry
57: Freddie Couples
59: Bernhard Langer