Players, caddies, media members, golf executives, locker-room attendants and tournament volunteers, among others, participated in our voting. Candidates must be younger than 50, so good-guy seniors like Steve Stricker, Jay Haas, Nick Price and Jeff Sluman have to be content with honorable mentions. We weren’t quite as specific in our criteria this time, knowing people have their own opinions of what constitutes a genuinely nice guy, though one trait seemed common: the propensity for treating people of all walks with equal respect.Related: What it takes to be a PGA Tour nice guy
Rickie Fowler is no stranger to what has become a tradition at Golf Digest—our ranking of the 30 nicest guys on the PGA Tour. In our first edition, in 2013, Fowler finished third, and two years ago the California native was ranked fifth when Jordan Spieth took the top honor. Spieth credited several mentors for helping him navigate the pro ranks at a young age, including our inaugural winner, Steve Stricker. Spieth also singled out Fowler for praise, saying the five-time PGA Tour winner is “unbelievably generous with his time and has more energy than I can ever hope to have.”
Apparently, widespread agreement abounds, because Fowler, 30, heads our 2019 survey, edging U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland and Spieth, respectively. “There are a bunch of good guys on tour,” Fowler says. “I’m just trying to treat people the way my parents taught me to. It’s cool to have my peers view me this way. Very cool, very humbling.”
T-29 Chez Reavie Reavie had a feel-good win at the 2019 Travelers Championship. It was just his second career PGA Tour title, and first in nearly 11 years.
T-29. Max Homa Homa won the Wells Fargo Championship in May and raised money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital for every birdie he hit.
T-27. Zach Johnson The two-time major champion runs the annual Kids On Course Classic through the Zach Johnson Foundation to raise money for a college scholarship fund.
T-27. Kevin Streelman The two-time PGA Tour winner, along with his wife, Courtney, raised money to open two development centers in the African nation of Togo, in addition to co-hosting the Tenth Avenue North Classic, a tournament held annually in Raleigh, N.C., which supports area ministries.
26. Paul Casey Casey launched a crowdfunding campaign in 2017 to support UNICEF.
25. Matt Kuchar Kuchar focuses his charitable efforts on helping children with serious illnesses live fuller lives.
T-23. Graeme McDowell The 2010 U.S. Open winner has set up The GMac Foundation with his wife, Kristin, to support children's medical research.
T-23. Joel Dahmen Dahmen told MassGolf during a First Tee event he participated in before the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in 2018: "To do this means so much to me. The game has given me so much. The game has given me pretty much everything I have. To try and give back to the game and these young kids, who are very impressionable, is awesome.”
22. Aaron Baddeley The four-time PGA Tour winner is a supporter of HopeKids, which provides for families who have a child with cancer or other life-threatening medical conditions.
21. Justin Rose Rose founded the Kate and Justin Rose Foundation, which is focused on improving children's lives.
T-19. Peter Malnati Winner of the 2015 Sanderson Farms Championship, Malnati has been a supporter of the Walking For Kids Foundation, which allows PGA Tour pros and sports fans the opportunity to support several children’s charities.
T-19. Charles Howell III Howell supports the Arnold Palmer Medical Center in his adopted home of Orlando.
18. Dylan Frittelli The South African who won the 2019 John Deere Classic played in the inaugural Spirit Charity Challenge at Whispering Pines Golf Club outside of Houston, which benefitted the charity of each player's choice.
17. Danny Lee Lee, after winning his first PGA Tour event in 2015, donated $90,000 to New Zealand Golf to help the development of the game in his home country.
16. Jason Day The former World No. 1 founded the Brighter Days Foundation, which provides funding and resources to deserving projects and organizations in their hometowns.
15. Tommy Fleetwood Fleetwood surprised a 12-year-old, who has raised thousands of dollars for different charities, with a personal golf lesson on the range at the BMW PGA Championship.
14. Xander Schauffele Schauffele, a four-time PGA Tour winner, plays for his father—who is also his swing coach—after his father's Olympic dreams in the decathlon were dashed when he was partially blinded in a collision with a drunk driver.
13. Brandt Snedeker Snedeker supports the Sneds Tour, a year-round junior golf tour in Tennessee for kids to learn the game of golf.
12. Justin Thomas The 2017 PGA champion launched the Justin Thomas Foundation in 2019 to help children in need, military families and junior golf.
11. Lucas Glover The 2009 U.S. Open winner donated his Presidents Cup charitable allotment to the Humane Society, Pros Beating Cancer and his alma mater, Clemson University.
10. Marc Leishman Leishman, the 2009 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, started the Begin Again Foundation after the near-death experience of his wife, Audrey, in 2015. The organization helps families with medical crises.
9. Scott Stallings Stallings is a three-time PGA Tour winner and has worked with the Tennessee Golf Foundation to provide free golf to juniors at a pair of nine-hole, par-3 courses, Concord Park and Beverly Park.
8. Tony Finau “Super approachable and always has time for anyone who asks. He’s the same guy now as when he was struggling to keep his card.”
7. Harold Varner III “He’s open and honest and friendly to everyone. He’s as real as they come.”
6. Adam Scott “The nicest guy on tour relative to his ability to play golf.”
5. Webb Simpson “His philanthropy work and his approach to people is very genuine. He lives it all the time.”
4. Rory McIlroy “He’s flat out the best. He’s great with the press. He’s really good with kids. He sees the bigger picture of life.”
3. Jordan Spieth “If I had to entrust someone on tour with my kids in my will, he’d be one of those people.”
2. Gary Woodland “Gary is the kind of person who reaches out privately and is very sincere and thoughtful. He goes out of his way to say thank you.”
1. Rickie Fowler “He has that friendly, calm and quiet demeanor that is all about kindness and connecting with people.”