Tiger Woods and LIV Golf were the most searched golf topics on Google in the United States in 2023, according to data provided by the search engine. At least with Woods, a 15-time major winner, that’s no surprise. But when you break down the search interest by month, you’ll see some eyebrow-raisers: Sam Ryder, Sam Bennett and even NBA legend Steph Curry.
The most popular golf topics in the search engine for 2023 were divided into categories: golfers (overall), golfers (monthly), and golf-related term (overall). To arrive at a ranking for each, Google listed searches based on its search engine trends data. It analyzed the “search interest” for the topics by taking a sample of all searches and then indexing the topics against the most important item in each list. So the top player in each category tops the list at 100%, and the percentages go down from there. Google did not provide raw numbers for 2023 search volume.
Let’s start with Woods. It also topped Google’s list last yearand probably every year since its inception, despite the fact that the 15-time major winner has only played two official PGA Tour events in 2023.
At the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles, which he hosts each February, Woods made the cut in his 2023 debut before shooting a thrilling third-round 67 at Riviera. At Augusta National two months later, the 47-year-old tied a tournament record already held by Gary Player and Fred Couples with 23 successive cuts at the Masters. But in cold temperatures and steady rain, Woods succumbed to his persistent plantar fasciitis and withdrew before the delayed third round resumed. He did not play again until December’s Hero World Challenge, although Woods made headlines for stepping up the TGL simulation league that was ultimately postponed, and for join the PGA Tour board of directors following the June framework agreement with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy was second in Google searches, generating 88.7 percent of Woods’ search interest. McIlroy has generated a lot of buzz, including several wins and close decisions. won the Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour in Januaryand at the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, a late bogey thwarted his hopes of ending a nine-year drought of major tournament victories. In July, McIlroy won the Genesis Scottish Open the week before the Open Championship. In late September, the Northern Irishman had a explode outside the Ryder Cup clubhouse following a verbal altercation with Patrick Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava, on the 18th green during a Day 2 match. In December, McIlroy resigned from the tour policy committee, citing its inability to meet its deadlines.
As you might expect, the top five most searched golfers per month highlighted the gap between what the internet finds interesting and the biggest golf-centric stories.
For example, you might think that the biggest golf story of January was Rahm, a two-time PGA Tour winner at the Sentry in Maui and the American Express in the California desert. The internet would disagree. Sam Ryder wearing brown sweatpants at Torrey Pines…and gets criticized on social media for it by John Daly and Phil Mickelson— propelled him to the top spot as the most-searched golfer on Google in January. In February, Woods made the cut at Riviera to take the top spot, while in March, Scottie Scheffler took over with a win at the Players Elite Championship.
In April, Rahm failed to become the most-searched golfer on Google by winning the Masters for his second career major. It was fellow Masters contender and amateur Sam Bennett who made Rahm the No. 2 seed. Bennett, the U.S. Amateur champion and Texas A&M star, was in contention all weekend at Augusta National and had an emotional story that had sports fans cheering for him: He lost his father, Mark, to early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in June 2021. Bennett got a tattoo on his arm to honor his father.
In May, Michael Block and his story— a club pro who hit an ace in the final round of the PGA Championship while playing with McIlroy en route to a 15th-place finish — made him the most-searched golfer on Google. In June, McIlroy took the top spot thanks to his runner-up finish at the U.S. Open and his status as the focal point of the framework deal news. July was a Google layup for golf icon Steph Curry, along with the Golden State Warriors icon make a hole in one and won the U.S. Century Championship with an eagle on the final hole. The second most searched golfer in July, Brian Harman, was unlucky. All he did was win the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
In August, we don’t know if Lucas Glover won two consecutive weeks or her incredible sweat stains During those victories, he was the most searched golfer, but he was. Viktor Hovland’s $18 million FedEx Cup victory put him at No. 2 on Google for the month. In September, Woods returned to his Google throne, but he was No. 2 in October behind Andy Bean, the 11-time PGA Tour winner who died aged 70 after undergoing double lung transplantWoods then returned to No. 1 in November, while in December the announcement of Rahm’s signing with LIV Golf allowed him to unseat Woods.
Finally, we come to golf-related topics. For the second year in a row, “LIV Golf” was the most searched topic on Google this year, while “US Open golf” was in second place. The only phrase that included a player’s name in the top 20 might surprise you: “sam bennett golf.”
