The absence of Tiger Woods from the Masters could negatively affect the reach of the event on social media platforms, as Woods remains the most dominant golfer on social media by a large margin. The fan base for Woods is at nearly 7 million followers, more than three times his closest competitor.
 |
|
Fans want to stay connected to McIlroy and Woods.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
|
According to a review of the current top 50 players, Woods is joined by fellow Nike endorser Rory McIlroy as the only two golfers with more than 2 million supporters across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as of April 2.
Twitter is the most popular social media tool, with 35 of the top 50 golfers represented on the site. Woods is first with 3.8 million fans, followed by McIlroy, Ian Poulter, Bubba Watson and Lee Westwood to round out the top five. Notable popular golfers on Twitter outside the current top 50 include Stewart Cink with 1.1 million followers and John Daly with 371,000.
On Facebook, Adam Scott and Graeme McDowell join Woods, McIlroy and Watson as the most liked, all with more than 75,000 fans.
Instagram is the least used of the social networks for golfers, but some younger golfers have used the platform to show their off-course sides. Rickie Fowler has become the most popular golfer on Instagram, showcasing his life away from the game, while Dustin Johnson and Keegan Bradley also have used the growing social media site effectively.
All numbers were compiled based on official accounts for each golfer based on their current Official World Golf Ranking.
| Rank |
Golfer |
Home Country |
Total Supporters |
| 1 |
Tiger Woods |
U.S. |
6,887,222 |
| 2 |
Rory McIlroy |
Northern Ireland |
2,252,030 |
| 3 |
Ian Poulter |
England |
1,719,273 |
| 4 |
Bubba Watson |
U.S. |
1,220,764 |
| 5 |
Rickie Fowler |
U.S. |
816,057 |
| 6 |
Lee Westwood |
England |
695,107 |
| 7 |
Graeme McDowell |
Northern Ireland |
662,867 |
| 8 |
Luke Donald |
England |
550,803 |
| 9 |
Jason Dufner |
U.S. |
407,757 |
| 10 |
Dustin Johnson |
U.S. |
362,602 |
| 11 |
Justin Rose |
England |
335,440 |
| 12 |
Keegan Bradley |
U.S. |
330,090 |
| 13 |
Hunter Mahan |
U.S. |
280,282 |
| 14 |
Sergio Garcia |
Spain |
278,505 |
| 15 |
Zach Johnson |
U.S. |
201,550 |
| 16 |
Webb Simpson |
U.S. |
131,641 |
| 17 |
Brandt Snedeker |
U.S. |
123,547 |
| 18 |
Francesco Molinari |
Italy |
113,563 |
| 19 |
Jordan Spieth |
U.S. |
110,909 |
| 20 |
Adam Scott |
Australia |
101,275 |
| 21 |
Henrik Stenson |
Sweden |
100,185 |
| 22 |
Ernie Els |
South Africa |
92,043 |
| 23 |
Charl Schwartzel |
South Africa |
70,264 |
| 24 |
Graham Delaet |
Canada |
57,349 |
| 25 |
Gary Woodland |
U.S. |
53,152 |
 |
| Rank |
Golfer |
Total supporters |
| 1 |
Tiger Woods |
3,834,032 |
| 2 |
Rory McIlroy |
1,856,793 |
| 3 |
Ian Poulter |
1,618,159 |
| 4 |
Bubba Watson |
1,083,058 |
| 5 |
Lee Westwood |
633,613 |
| 6 |
Rickie Fowler |
630,231 |
| 7 |
Graeme McDowell |
569,728 |
| 8 |
Luke Donald |
474,119 |
| 9 |
Jason Dufner |
364,451 |
| 10 |
Justin Rose |
321,106 |
 |
| Rank |
Golfer |
Total supporters |
| 1 |
Tiger Woods |
2,996,001 |
| 2 |
Rory McIlroy |
375,192 |
| 3 |
Bubba Watson |
137,706 |
| 4 |
Adam Scott |
101,275 |
| 5 |
Graeme McDowell |
76,777 |
| 6 |
Sergio Garcia |
65,481 |
| 7 |
Luke Donald |
63,500 |
| 8 |
Ian Poulter |
63,226 |
| 9 |
Dustin Johnson |
63,167 |
| 10 |
Lee Westwood |
61,494 |
 |
| Rank |
Golfer |
Total supporters |
| 1 |
Rickie Fowler |
185,826 |
| 2 |
Dustin Johnson |
60,399 |
| 3 |
Tiger Woods |
57,189 |
| 4 |
Keegan Bradley |
40,486 |
| 5 |
Ian Poulter |
37,888 |
| 6 |
Jordan Spieth |
30,135 |
| 7 |
Rory McIlroy |
20,045 |
| 8 |
Graeme McDowell |
16,362 |
| 9 |
Justin Rose |
14,334 |
| 10 |
Luke Donald |
13,184 |
