The World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler doesn’t even make the cut
Despite only playing three tournaments this year, Tiger Woods still managed to reign supreme off the fairways.
The 15-time major winner is the most popular figure in golf and his presence is still felt on social media even with his limited appearances.
The 47-year-old’s 2023 season was once again hampered by injury as he was forced to withdraw from the Masters following the third round with reaggravated plantar fasciitis in April and underwent ankle surgery two weeks later.
Before that he teed it up at the Genesis Open in February and only made his competitive return from surgery at the Hero World Challenge at the end of November before playing the parent-child team event, the PNC Championship, with son Charlie in December.
But Woods seemingly didn’t need to be topping the leaderboards to continue to cement his place as a fan favorite as he came out as the most popular golfer of 2023, according to Vegas Insider.
According to the site’s data, Woods led golf’s Google searches in 42 out of 50 states in the United States.
Even off the fairways, Woods is a leading figure in the game, joining the PGA Tour’s policy board as a player director earlier this year amid the turbulent negotiations with LIV Golf.
He also has the tendency to easily set the internet alight, most recently with rumors of a split from Nike and his viral ‘Big Dog’ meme.
But before his first round of the PNC Championship, Woods was filmed greeting his son Charlie’s caddie with a firm handshake as he called him ‘Big Dog’, which sent fans on social media into meltdown with hilarious responses as to what the exchange reminded them of.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen then used the phrase while talking to his teammates against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Woods’ Google triumph saw him beat golf’s glamor girl and social media sensation, Paige Spiranac, who boasts an impressive 3.9 million followers on Instagram.
She came in as the most-Googled player in four states and second in 32.
Spiranac, who played Division 1 college golf at both the University of Arizona and San Diego State before struggling to make it on the LPGA Tour, has taken social media by storm in her tiny, tight-fit skirts and low-cut tops, earning her the title of ‘world’s sexiest woman’.
While she may have failed to pip Woods in the Google rankings this year, Spiranac easily rivals the 82-time winner on the PGA Tour and Rory McIlroy in terms of social media popularity.
The American beauty is worth around $3.7m, and rakes in an estimated $12,000 per Instagram post.
That is more per Instagram post than the likes of Woods and McIlroy, the biggest names in the men’s game.
Two thousand dollars more than Woods to be precise, with the 15-time major winner boasting just 3.3m Instagram followers compared to Spiranac’s 3.9m.
Meanwhile, McIlroy, who has been the PGA Tour’s most outspoken supporter against LIV over the past two years, dominated third place in most states.
However, surprisingly World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is nowhere to be seen on the leaderboard, with the Texan not even coming third in his home state.
But the likes of Rickie Fowler, Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa also cropped up as popular searches.
Tom Hoge somewhat surprisingly came in top in North Dakota but given he was raised and still resides in Fargo, ND, he clearly has a loyal home-state fanbase.
Similarly, Keegan Bradley was the most popular search in his home state of Vermont after he won the Travelers Championship in Connecticut, and, Tony Finau was the most popular in his native Utah.
Meanwhile, although not an Oklahoma native, Fowler topped the charts in The Sooner State, as an Oklahoma State Cowboy alum.
