Phil's career, while its been impressive, does not catapult him into the top ten golfers whomever lived. We have a tendency to rank the players of today (because we see them and they are fresh in our mind) ahead of the greats of yesterday, many of whom played 50-75 years ago. You can't just look at statistics (i.e. major championships) in a vacuum. For a variety reasons, some of the greats didn't have the same opportunities to play all the majors. Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead for example rarely competed at the British Open (too costly to travel). Nelson played once, Snead played once (and won), Hogan played once (and won). Also, these men lost 4 years of the Masters and 3 US Opens due to WWII. Also, players like Gene Sarazen and Walter Hagen for most of their careers, didn't have a Masters tournament to even compete in (wasn't invented). Bobby Jones retired at such a young age, who knows what he could have accomplished.
I think its fair to put Phil in the top 20 of all time, but as of today, he's not even close to the top ten. He doesn't rank historically with any of these players: Jack, Tiger, Hogan, Jones, Hagen, Snead, Player, Sarazen, Palmer, and Nelson. I didn't even have room for Watson in the top ten (tough omission). I think Tiger is the only player of the last 25 years who should be even considered for inclusion on this list.
Right now, I would put Phil's career on par (pun intended) with the likes of Seve, Faldo, Trevino, Billy Casper and Ray Floyd. Still hall of fame great, but just not "front room" hall of fame great.
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-- Modified on 7/25/2013 12:51:00 AM
