GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ - Professional golfer Tiger Woods, winner of this
week's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, stakes a claim as one
of the more-recognized people in the United States. In a January
25-26 Gallup poll, 62% of the public correctly named Tiger Woods
when asked to identify the world's top professional golfer and last
year's top money winner. The question also asked respondents to
name other public figures based on their roles or professions. More
Americans were able to name Tiger Wood than the U.S. Attorney
General (59% named Janet Reno), the Tonight Show host (Jay Leno,
59%), and the star of the movie "The Hurricane" (Denzel Washington,
38%). Tiger Woods is best known among young people, with 67% of 18-
to 29-year-old respondents able to cite him when asked to name the
world's top pro golfer.
Survey Methods
The results below are based on telephone interviews with a randomly
selected national sample of 1,044 adults, 18 years and older,
conducted January 25-26, 2000. For results based on this sample,
one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error
attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus
3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question
wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can
introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion
polls.
Just off the top of your head, would you happen to know the name of … (Random order)?
A. The vice president of the United States
| Al Gore | Any other response | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Jan 25-26 | 90% | 1 | 9 |
| 1997 Jun 27-30 | 69% | 1 | 29 |
B. The attorney general of the United States
| Janet Reno | Any other response | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Jan 25-26 | 59% | 2 | 39 |
| 1997 Jun 27-30 | 45% | 2 | 53 |
C. The host of "The Tonight Show" on TV
| Jay Leno | David Letterman | Any other response | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Jan 25-26 | 59% | 14 | 6 | 21 |
| 1997 Jun 27-30 | 63% | 6 | 2 | 29 |
D. The governor of Texas
| George W. Bush | Any other response | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Jan 25-26 | 72% | 1 | 27 |
E. The world's top professional golfer who was also the leading money winner on the PGA professional golf tour last year
| Tiger Woods | Any other response | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Jan 25-26 | 62% | 3 | 35 |
F. The speaker of the House of Representatives in Washington
| Dennis Hastert | Any other response | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Jan 25-26 | 6% | 6 | 88 |
| 1997 Jun 27-30* | 53% | 2 | 45 |
| (*)Newt Gingrich | |||
G. The star of the recently released movie, "The Hurricane"
| Denzel Washington | Any other response | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Jan 25-26 | 38% | 1 | 61 |
H. The prime minister of Israel
| Ehud Barak | Any other response | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Jan 25-26 | 6% | 8 | 86 |
| 1997 Jun 27-30* | 16% | 4 | 80 |
| (*) Benjamin Netanyahu | |||
I. The chairman of Microsoft
| Bill Gates | Any other response | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Jan 25-26 | 62% | 3 | 35 |
J. The richest person in the U.S.
| Bill Gates | Any other response | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Jan 25-26 | 61% | 12 | 27 |
K. The host of the TV show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"
| Regis Philbin | Any other response | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Jan 25-26 | 66% | 3 | 31 |
