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Golf's greatest active players — Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson and Retief Goosen — are dominating the sport.
And their fellow competitors know it.
"Those guys are playing at a different level than most of us," said Adam Scott, one of golf's rising young stars.
The Big Five have fared well so far in 2005, combining for 15 wins worldwide and in their 85 tournaments through the International have missed just five cuts (Singh at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which was won by Mickelson, and the Memorial. Woods and Goosen didn't play the weekend at the Byron Nelson, while the South African also came up short in the Deutsche Bank Players Championship in Europe).
"I can't remember a time when golf was in this position, where you've got that many guys right at the top of the world rankings and playing consistently well," European Tour member Thomas Bjorn said. "It's interesting for the game. It's healthy for the game."
Woods reclaimed the No. 1 ranking for Singh by winning at Augusta. But Singh, who stunned the sport by ending Woods' five-year reign last September, got the top spot back in mid-May.
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Woods' Masters' victory mean that the Big Five has accounted for five of the last six green jackets. Singh started the run in 2000, Mickelson triumphed in 2004, while Woods has 2001, 2002 and 2005 titles to his credit.
While Els has yet to win the Masters, he is still ranked third, despite suffering a knee injury, followed by Mickelson and Goosen, who is often overlooked by others but added to our list by virtue of his two U.S. Open titles and strong consistent play (he tied for third in the Masters).
Just three years ago, Woods had the sport all to himself.
Woods was coming off his eighth major title at the 2002 U.S. Open and the buzz was about when, not if, he would break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors.
But Woods, while still winning his share of tournaments and prize money, went winless in 10 majors and opened up the door for Singh, Els, Mickelson and Goosen to make their mark.
Singh, the hardest worker in the game and perhaps all of sports, has won the last two PGA Tour money titles and was voted by his peers as its top player last year, during which he added a third major to his list of accomplishments by capturing the PGA Championship in August.
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Els, also a three-time major winner by virtue of his 2002 British Open title to go along with a pair of U.S. Open titles in the 1990s, has dominated the European Tour the last two years.
Mickelson's dramatic win at Augusta over Els last year ended his seemingly endless — and sometimes painful — quest to win a first major. If not for a sub-par 2003 season, which still counts in the official golf rankings, Lefty would probably be higher in the rankings.
The unassuming Goosen gets plenty of praise from his rivals, especially fellow South African Els, and cemented his inclusion among golf's elite members with a superb performance at rock-hard Shinnecock last year, grinding out a victory over Mickelson to become a multiple-major winner.
Follow along as NBCSports.com takes a detailed look at the Big Five. From ball-striking to putting, this group is second to none.
Vote: Rate the Big Five in each category
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