GOLF
Who are the longest drivers on the PGA tour? List of power hitters
The PGA Tour features big personalities, elegant finesse, and mammoth drives. Let’s take a closer look at the longest hitters on the tour.
The PGA Tour began keeping records of long drives back in 1980, and that has been one of the marquee criteria by which we judge golfing champions.
For the past two decades, the high-water mark was a tour average of 321.4 yards, set in 2003 by Hank Kuehne. Then, as the world settled into pandemic mode, Bryson DeChambeau broke it with a 322.1 yard average, before trumping that mark the following year with an average of 323.7 yards.
Driving distance leaders, 1980-2021
Here is the complete list of the top drivers each year based on PGA Tour’s average yards per drive.
| Year | Player | Yardage |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Dan Pohl | 274.3 |
| 1981 | Dan Pohl | 280.1 |
| 1982 | Bill Calfee | 275.3 |
| 1983 | John McComish | 277.4 |
| 1984 | Bill Glasson | 276.5 |
| 1985 | Andy Bean | 278.2 |
| 1986 | Davis Love III | 285.7 |
| 1987 | John McComish | 283.9 |
| 1988 | Steve Thomas | 284.6 |
| 1989 | Ed Humenik | 280.9 |
| 1990 | Tom Purtzer | 279.6 |
| 1991 | John Daly | 288.9 |
| 1992 | John Daly | 283.4 |
| 1993 | John Daly | 288.9 |
| 1994 | Davis Love III | 283.8 |
| 1995 | John Daly | 289.0 |
| 1996 | John Daly | 288.8 |
| 1997 | John Daly | 302.0 |
| 1998 | John Daly | 299.4 |
| 1999 | John Daly | 305.6 |
| 2000 | John Daly | 301.4 |
| 2001 | John Daly | 306.7 |
| 2002 | John Daly | 306.8 |
| 2003 | Hank Kuehne | 321.4 |
| 2004 | Hank Kuehne | 314.4 |
| 2005 | Scott Hend | 318.9 |
| 2006 | Bubba Watson | 319.6 |
| 2007 | Bubba Watson | 315.2 |
| 2008 | Bubba Watson | 315.1 |
| 2009 | Robert Garrigus | 312.0 |
| 2010 | Robert Garrigus | 315.5 |
| 2011 | J.B. Holmes | 318.4 |
| 2012 | Bubba Watson | 315.5 |
| 2013 | Luke List | 306.3 |
| 2014 | Bubba Watson | 314.3 |
| 2015 | Dustin Johnson | 317.7 |
| 2016 | J.B. Holmes | 314.5 |
| 2017 | Rory McIlroy | 317.2 |
| 2018 | Rory McIlroy | 319.7 |
| 2019 | Cameron Champ | 317.9 |
| 2020 | Bryson DeChambeau | 322.1 |
| 2021 | Bryson DeChambeau | 323.7 |
| 2022 | Cameron Champ | 321.4 |
Rory McIlroy
While monster drives are no guarantee of success, as we can see in the top 3 of the 2024 rankings: Cameron Champ, Chris Gotterup and Kevin Dougherty, it does help to hit it long as long as you can keep it in play as Rory McIlroy usually does, who comes in at fourth place on the list.