Tiger Woods, the golfing legend, was the most searched golfer this year, beating out golf sensation Paige Spiranac with Scottie Sheffler not even mentioned.
Tiger Woods was the most-searched golfer of 2023 (Image: Getty)
Tiger Woods continues to show how dominant he is off the course. Despite playing in only three tournaments this year, the golfing legend still was head and shoulders above the rest of the peers in one aspect this year.
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The 47-year-old was the most Googled golfer in 42 of the United States’ 50 states, per Vegas Insider. For Woods to be the most-searched golfer on Google makes sense as he has almost 10 million followers on his social media accounts, with 6.5million being on X (formerly Twitter) and 3.3million more on Instagram.
After Woods, the next most-searched golfer was golfing sensation Paige Spiranac. Spiranac often dazzles her fans with her choice of outfit and incredible golfing analysis and sH๏τ-making, which has helped introduce golf to a wider audience.
Because of her exploits on the links, Spiranac has amᴀssed over four million followers on social, with 3.9million coming from Instagram and almost one million on X. As a result, Spiranac was the most-searched golfer in four states: Alaska, Arkansas, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Paige Spiranac was not the most-search golfer this year (Image: Getty)
Rounding out the list were Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler, Tom Hoge and Tony Finau with one state each. Bradley was the most-searched golfer in Vermont, Fowler in Oklahoma, Hoge in North Dakota and Finau was the most-searched golfer in Utah.
Other names were searched but not searched enough included Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Justin Thomas and Wyndham Clark, among others. Interestingly enough, Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world, did not appear on the list for most-searched golfers of the year.
Although golfers like McIlroy and Collin Morikawa appeared on the list at least once – in either first, second or third place, depending on the state – Scheffler was not once placed anywhere. For context, McIlroy, the No. 3-ranked golfer in the world, was the third-most searched golfer in 23 states.
A reason for why Woods, Spiranac and McIlroy all had more impressive search numbers than Scheffler is because of how much the trio dominated the golfing landscape, in terms of social media presence. For Woods, the 15-time major winner often found himself dominating the social media conversation, from his dealings with the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to memes and fans generally interested in what the legend was doing and which tournaments he would be playing in.
Spiranac, on the other hand, typically has used her influence to amᴀss her following. As such, she was named the “world’s Sєxiest woman” in 2022 and has helped grow the game with her entertaining posts on social media and YouTube.
Meanwhile, McIlroy, like Woods, has been perhaps the most popular golfer as he continued to voice his opposition to LIV Golf, even after seeing No. 3 Jon Rahm switch to the Saudi Arabian-backed circuit.
In all, while it makes sense to see Woods, Spiranac and McIlroy dominating the golfing social media landscape, Scheffler not even being one of the most-searched golfers in the United States has to be a bit concerning. Though considering the aforementioned trio’s social media presence and ability to remain relevant in popular culture, Scheffler’s position, or lack thereof, makes sense.
