All sports are built like pyramids. A mass of players at the bottom, trying and working to rise through the levels to become the best of the best, the elite in their field. Golf is no different.
The PGA Tour has 180 active players, each striving to improve every area of their game in order to become the best player in the world. But who are the truly elite performers? We're not just talking wins and losses, but looking at data to attempt to objectively measure who is at the top of golf’s performance pyramid.
That was the question I raised a year ago when I wrote the story “Who are golf’s five-tool players”. It was based on the baseball premise of players who possess all five skills within the game: hitting for power, hitting for average, base running, throwing and fielding.
To create the golf equivalent, I used strokes-gained data. Strokes gained works essentially as a metric of how good a player is versus their peers on tour. Convienently, there are five individual strokes-gained categories—off-the-tee, approach, around-the-green, tee-to-green and putting—that combine to produce “total strokes gained” for every player on the PGA Tour. Using those five categories, we can identify the PGA Tour's version of a five-tool player.
When looking at a player’s strokes-gained number in a specific category, any number that is positive (i.e. +0.05) would, technically, make them above average. For the purpose of measuring players using the “tool scale”, I have awarded a player the designation of having "a tool" for each strokes-gained category in which he gains 0.25 shots per round or more. Generally speaking, that puts a player in the 75th percentile of the category.
With that as the method, here is what I discovered about the 180 players on the PGA Tour in 2025.
Zero-Tool Players
It’s worth noting that while the title of “zero-tool player” sounds harsh, it’s not. A player could still be above average in most or all categories and still feature here. In 2025, this is where we found Max Homa. It was clearly an off year for the 35-year-old. As recently as 2023, Homa won multiple times, starred on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in Rome and was statistically a four-tool player. Fast forward to 2025 and a mix of swing changes, equipment changes, caddie changes and injuries took a toll on Homa’s game. While he still gains shots on the greens, he ranked 155th out of 180 players on tour in strokes-gained approach.
Total number of players: 54 (50 in 2024)
Notable examples: Homa, Tony Finau, Tom Kim, Brian Harman, Rasmus Hojgaard.
One-Tool Players
A one-tool player is typically a player with a superpower. While other parts of his game may not be elite, he is buoyed by one notable skill. Here we find Jake Knapp. Known as one of the longest, and smoothest swinging, players on the PGA Tour, the Californian’s superpower is actually his putter. While he ranked inside the top 20 in driving distance in 2025, he narrowly missed out on his off-the-tee tool badge, gaining 0.248 shots. However, on the greens, Knapp gained nearly half a shot on the field in 2025, ranking inside the top 15. An elite skill for one-tool player.
Total number of players: 44 (47 in 2024)
Notable examples: Knapp, Sam Burns, Justin Rose, Denny McCarthy, Tom Hoge
Two-Tool Players
Moving up the pyramid, less than half of the tour reached this level, but it is also the largest among the tool-player groups. For those that read my piece from last year, you would have seen that Xander Schauffele was top of the pyramid, the only five-tool player in 2024 on the back of two major victories. However, a rib injury curtailed much of 2025 for Schauffele. He had two months away from competitive golf and admitted being rusty when he returned. Despite that, he did have 10 top-25 finishes in his last 13 starts, rounding out his year with a win at the Baycurrent Classic in Japan in October. Schauffle remained an elite ball-striker, ranking inside the top 15 players on tour in approach play. However, he dropped from gaining half a shot on the greens per round (12th on tour in 2024) to losing nearly 0.2 shots putting in 2025 (139th). I expect he’ll be higher in the statistical pyramid in 2026.
Total number of players: 55 (38 in 2024)
Notable examples: Schauffele, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry
Three-Tool Players
We are now getting to the elite. If you featured in this group in 2025, that’s better than 85 percent of PGA Tour players. Rory McIlroy, who won the Masters and Players in 2025, features here. A lesser known three-tool player was Thomas Rosenmueller. The German was a rookie on the PGA Tour having earned his way through the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024. He possesses one of the wilder statistical games on tour. He was top 30 in driving and approach play, which also earned him his third tool in the tee-to-green category, yet was the fifth worse around the greens, and fourth worse on the greens out of the 180 players on tour. Combined, that led to 26 starts, zero top-10s and 10 missed cuts on the PGA Tour. He finished 167th in the FedEx Cup.
Total number of players: 21 (25 in 2024)
Notable examples: Rosenmueller, Rory McIlroy, Ben Griffin, Bob MacIntyre, J.J. Spaun, Collin Morikawa
Four-Tool Players
OK, we’re at the penultimate level of the pyramid. Only six players gained at least 0.25 strokes in four or more areas in 2025. There’s no surprise to see Tommy Fleetwood in this group. The Englishman had a breakout year, winning the FedEx Cup on the back of three straight top-five finishes in the playoffs. He made 18 of 19 cuts and had seven top-five finishes for the year. In fact, he was only 0.08 shots from being a five-tool player. He gained 0.242 shots off-the-tee in 2025. While he is one of the most accurate drivers of the ball, ranking 35th in accuracy, he is below average in distance at 299.4 yards (123rd on tour). Beyond that, the rest of Fleetwood’s game continues to be elite and sets up well for a big year in 2026.
Total number of players: 5 (7 in 2024)
Notable examples: Fleetwood, Keegan Bradley, Si Woo Kim, Justin Thomas, Joseph Bramlett
Five-Tool Players
Yup, you guessed it. There was only one five-tool player on the PGA Tour in 2025 and his name is Scottie Scheffler. His only weakness the previous season when he was a four-tool player was his putting, however he made huge strides in that area this year. He jumped from 77th in strokes-gained putting in 2024, to inside the top 25 in 2025. He led the tour in strokes-gained approach for the third straight year, and was second in strokes gained off-the-tee. Perhaps underrated is Scheffler’s ability around the greens. He has ranked inside the top 30 in strokes gained around the green in each of the last five seasons, gaining a nearly 0.4 shots in 2025. He continues to be, far and away, the best player in the game and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
Total number of players: 1 (1 in 2024)
Only example: Scheffler
Since strokes-gained data on the PGA Tour started in 2004, only 21 players have gained more than 0.25 shots in the five key statistical categories. An average of one per season. Xander in 2024 and Scottie in 2025. The best of the best.
Here's the full list of all 180 players (with those who made the Tour Championship in bold).
Five tool players
Scottie Scheffler
Four tool players
Joseph Bramlett
Justin Thomas
Keegan Bradley
Si Woo Kim
Tommy Fleetwood
Three tool players
Aaron Rai
Akshay Bhatia
Andrew Putnam
Ben Griffin
Collin Morikawa
Corey Conners
Daniel Berger
Doug Ghim
Harry Hall
Hideki Matsuyama
J.J. Spaun
Kevin Yu
Kurt Kitayama
Mac Meissner
Maverick McNealy
Patrick Cantlay
Rico Hoey
Robert MacIntyre
Rory McIlroy
Russell Henley
Thomas Rosenmueller
Two-tool players
Adam Scott
Alejandro Tosti
Alex Smalley
Beau Hossler
Ben Kohles
Bud Cauley
Byeong Hun An
Cameron Young
Chris Gotterup
Chris Kirk
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Davis Thompson
Emiliano Grillo
Greyson Sigg
Harris English
Isaiah Salinda
Jason Day
Jesper Svensson
Jhonattan Vegas
Jordan Spieth
Keith Mitchell
Kevin Roy
Lee Hodges
Lucas Glover
Ludvig Åberg
Luke Clanton
Matt Fitzpatrick
Matt Kuchar
Matt Wallace
Matteo Manassero
Max McGreevy
Michael Kim
Michael Thorbjornsen
Nick Taylor
Nicolai Højgaard
Patrick Fishburn
Pierceson Coody
Rickie Fowler
Ricky Castillo
Ryan Fox
Ryan Gerard
Sami Valimaki
Sepp Straka
Shane Lowry
Stephan Jaeger
Steven Fisk
Sungjae Im
Takumi Kanaya
Taylor Montgomery
Taylor Moore
Taylor Pendrith
Thorbjørn Olesen
Victor Perez
Viktor Hovland
Xander Schauffele
One-tool players
Adam Svensson
Aldrich Potgieter
Antoine Rozner
Austin Eckroat
Braden Thornberry
Brandt Snedeker
Chan Kim
David Lipsky
David Skinns
Davis Riley
Denny McCarthy
Frankie Capan III
Garrick Higgo
Gary Woodland
Hayden Springer
Henrik Norlander
J.T. Poston
Jackson Suber
Jacob Bridgeman
Jake Knapp
Justin Rose
Kris Ventura
Luke List
Mackenzie Hughes
Matt McCarty
Matti Schmid
Max Greyserman
Min Woo Lee
Nico Echavarria
Niklas Norgaard
Patton Kizzire
Paul Peterson
Peter Malnati
Ryo Hisatsune
Sam Burns
Sam Ryder
Sam Stevens
Tom Hoge
Trevor Cone
Vince Whaley
William Mouw
Wyndham Clark
Zac Blair
Zach Johnson
Zero-tool players
Adam Hadwin
Adam Schenk
Andrew Novak
Ben Martin
Ben Silverman
Brian Campbell
Brian Harman
Brice Garnett
Cam Davis
Camilo Villegas
Carson Young
Chad Ramey
Chandler Phillips
Cristobal Del Solar
Danny Walker
Eric Cole
Erik van Rooyen
Harry Higgs
Hayden Buckley
Jeremy Paul
Joe Highsmith
Joel Dahmen
John Pak
Justin Lower
Kaito Onishi
Karl Vilips
Kevin Velo
Lanto Griffin
Mark Hubbard
Mason Andersen
Matthew Riedel
Matthieu Pavon
Max Homa
Nate Lashley
Nick Dunlap
Nick Hardy
Noah Goodwin
Patrick Rodgers
Quade Cummins
Rafael Campos
Rasmus Højgaard
Rikuya Hoshino
Ryan Palmer
Sahith Theegala
Seamus Power
Taylor Dickson
Thomas Detry
Thriston Lawrence
Tim Widing
Tom Kim
Tony Finau
Trey Mullinax
Will Chandler
Will Gordon