Tiger Woods or Paige Spiranac? Who was the most Googled golf personality in 2023?

02/01/2024 17:51

Tiger Woods may have spent most of 2023 recovering from surgery, but he was still the figure in golf people wanted to know the most about in 2023.

Woods’ closest competitor wasn’t a fellow PGA Tour pro but popular golf influencer Paige Spiranac.

Spiranac, who played Division 1 college golf at both the University of Arizona and San Diego State before delivering a mixed bag on the LPGA Tour, has taken social media by storm with her unique approach to the sport.

She boasts an impressive follower tally on Instagram and other social media platforms and makes full use of the medium to maximise her earning potential.

She was named the world’s sexiest woman in 2022 and currently has a social media presence that rivals all of the sport’s top figures barring Woods.

The king of golf, having won 15 major championships, is continuously active on social media despite his few appearances and is a figure that people simply cannot get enough of in this game.

Once again, the 47-year-old’s 2023 season was marred by injury as he had to withdraw from The Masters after the third round due to recurrent plantar fasciitis in April. Two weeks later, he had ankle surgery and would be on the shelf for some time.

He competed in the Genesis Open in February but wouldn’t play again until November with the parent-child team tournament, the PNC Championship, with son Charlie until late November, following his return to action from surgical recovery at the Hero World Challenge.

cracking up at this map of most-Googled golfers. a couple intriguing twists! pic.twitter.com/v9ZMILczjv

— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) December 28, 2023

Woods doesn’t need to top leaderboards to be popular with research proving that he generates more Google searches per month than any other figure in the sport by some distance.

But Spiranac was the most Googled golf personality in four US States and came in second in a further 32 and she just keeps raking in those clicks.

And despite not being able to surpass Woods in the Google rankings this year, Spiranac is far more popular on social media than both Rory McIlroy and world No.1 Scottie Scheffler.

While Keegan Bradley and Tony Finau topped the charts in their respective home states, there were also significant search numbers directed towards the likes of Rickie Fowler, Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa.

Fowler, an Oklahoma State Cowboy alumni, topped the charts in The Sooner State despite not being a resident of Oklahoma.

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