5 shortest golfers in history to play golf

Gary Player, Tadd Fujikawa, Brian Harman (Images via Getty)
Gary Player, Tadd Fujikawa, Brian Harman (Images via Getty)

Golf is a game of skill and technique and also power. Golfers' height is usually not a barrier to their successful play. Golfers who are tall can generate quite a bit of clubhead speed and distance when taking a shot. Being a short golfer requires a lot more use of technique and creative ideas to stay in the game.

However, being short does not mean one cannot have a successful career on the course. There have been several players who have been short but have had exceptional careers. Here are the five shortest players to ever played pro.


5 shortest players to ever play golf

5) Brian Harman

Standing at a height of 5 feet 7 inches, Harman is one of the shorter pros on the PGA Tour. However, this has not stopped him from playing well, including a win at the 2023 Open Championship.

He has also won the 2014 John Deere Classic and the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship, where he beat Dustin Johnson and Pat Perez by one stroke.


4) Gary Player

Gary Player is considered to be one of the most successful of all time, at 5 feet 6 inches tall. Gary Player turned pro in 1960 and took 160 professional wins throughout his career. He took nine major wins and even goes by the nickname of Mister Fitness.


3) Gene Sarazen

Gene Sarazen has made quite an impact on the world of golf. At 5 feet 5 and a half inches, Sarazen won seven major championships and even completed his Career Grand Slam.

Sarazen won his final major at the 1935 Masters. During the Masters, he shot the shot of the year, where on the 14th hole he landed a super rare albatross. The bridge on the Augusta National course has been named after Sarazen because of the shot that he hit.


2) Ian Woosnam

Ian Woosnam is a European pro that made his impact on the golf world in the 80s and 90s. Woosnam is a Welsh golfer whose height is 5 feet 4 inches. Woosnam turned pro in 1976 and won over 52 tournaments throughout his career. Despite his short stature, Woosnam was known to generate a powerful swing.


1) Tadd Fujikawa

Tadd Fujikawa is the shortest known player on the PGA pro list at 5 feet 1 inch. He has competed and won on the PGA Tour. In 2006 he became the youngest-ever golfer to qualify for the US Open and subsequently make the cut at the major as well.

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