7 golfers you might not remember were No. 1 in the world

August 28, 2015

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Bernhard Langer

The German was the first golfer to hold the top spot when the Official World Golf Ranking debuted on April 6, 1986. The 1985 Masters champ was on ranked No. 1 for three weeks before being replaced by Seve Ballesteros.

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Ian Woosnam

Woosnam became World No. 1 and then won the Masters, the lone major title of his career, the following week. He held the top spot for just under a year until Fred Couples overtook him in March of 1992.

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Tom Lehman

The top spot in the OWGR changed hands seven times during a volatile 1997 season. If you blinked, you missed Lehman's reign on top. It lasted for one week in April.

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Ernie Els

A four-time (and counting) major champion, Els rising to No. 1 shouldn't surprise. What might, though, is that he held the top spot for a total of just nine weeks -- despite being golf's top player on three separate occasions.

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Lee Westwood

Tiger Woods' record reign as World No. 1 (281 consecutive weeks) came to an end on Halloween in 2010. Woods didn't seem to upset about it when he posed with golf's new No. 1 in Shanghai the following week. Westwood wound up being No. 1 for two stints that lasted a total of 22 weeks.

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Martin Kaymer

If you don't remember the German's short reign on top, you probably remember this "buff" he wore during the 2011 WGC Match Play. Kaymer lost to Luke Donald in the final, but he became No. 1 in the process. He only lasted for eight weeks before falling into a long slump that he finally came out of in 2014 with wins at the Players and U.S. Open.

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Luke Donald

Donald's victory over Kaymer at the Match Play propelled him to a career season in which he took over the top spot in May and went on to win the PGA Tour's Player of the Year Award. It was the first of four stints at No. 1 for the Englishman, who spent a total of 56 weeks there.

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7 golfers you might not remember were No. 1 in the world

Shop This Look

Bernhard Langer

Ian Woosnam

Tom Lehman

Ernie Els

Lee Westwood

Martin Kaymer

Luke Donald

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