Advantage: Nicklaus. Devika Pawar is a Golf and NBA writer at Essentially Sports. There are any number of ways to compare Woods and Nicklaus. Were the Nike guys who came up with the swoosh and jumpman logo on vacation when it came time to design Woods' emblem? In 1999, aside from Tiger Woods, the remainder of the top-five ranked players in the world won only 10 percent of PGA Tour events. I also have to go with pizza. His rivals were killers too Palmer got him at Cherry Hills, Trevino took him down four different times including on an 18-hole playoff at Merion and Tom Watson won three majors over Nicklaus, all in heartbreaking fashion. Aside from Jack Nicklaus, Player, Casper, Palmer, and Trevino won nearly 18 percent of PGA Tour events. 1 ranked golfer in the world; Player was No. At this stage, not even Woods knows whether Humpty Dumpty can be put back together again. Michael Jordan and LeBron James are the subjects of debate when it comes to the GOAT in basketball. Nicklaus made just $5,734,031, placing him 338th. Terms of Service Then theres Tiger, who never had a Sunday showdown with any of the modern greats. There are more talented golfers coming from more diverse locales, but very few of Woods' contemporaries have stepped up in majors. Sit around any 19th hole for way too long and you might hear this question pop up: who is the greatest golfer of all-time, Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus? If hedoes, it would be to the sports utter delight. In the two in which he didn't, he tied for 11th and 13th. Overall, the current depth of fields and reach of international talent exceeds that in the days of Nicklaus. Its a title thats become common in conversations about sports and gets thrown around far too casually in some regards these days. On the surface, it seems like an easy question. However, the 82-time PGA Tour winner is not ready to give up just yet. Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus are arguably the two greatest golfers to ever play the game. Copyright 1996 - At the British Open in the summer of 72, Jack struggled in the first three rounds but shot a 66 on the final day (a course record) to get to the top of the leaderboard. Even with those impressive numbers, he still cant compete with Nicklaus. Despite his thrilling 2019 Masters victory, Tiger's 45th trip around the sun is a reminder that he will almost certainly not reach the ever-elusive 19-major championship mark to best Jack. Learn more about troubleshooting WordPress. Thatd be the first time a Masters champion has gone back-to-back at Augusta since Tiger in 2001 and 2002. Jack has 18 majors and Tiger has 14 majors, therefore Jack is the greatest of all time. In comparison, Jack Nicklaus' 36-hole outright conversion rate was 63. Nobody ever flew higher than Tiger. Now, you can make two counterpoints to that statement the same ones people use to defend Serena Williams against similar criticism. In the end, major titles arent given more weight because of their timing. While the 46-year-old is confident about a win this year, Woods clinching the Masters title is not easy. I think its a lot more serious. Whether he makes the cut or not, he adds to the tournament in so many ways. Neither needed a breaking-in period when it came to majors. Another impressive Woods number is cuts made. Hes a very motivated and dedicated young man to continue to play the game of golf., Nicklaus added of the 47-year-old golfer, whose body has been through the ringer: The dedicated young doesnt last very long.. Listen, I know Nicklaus has three more major titles than Tiger. As far as individual major tournament statistics go, over the span of time it took both Jack and Tiger to reach their first 14 major victories, the comparison looks like this: Jack: 55. In a particular major where they are both playing theirbest, Tiger wins in a playoff. pertaining to the NBA as well. . Im hitting the ball great. Jack broke another Hogan scoring record at the 1967 U.S. Open in winning by four shots over Palmer. And as Tiger Woods returns to major championship competition with this weeks British Open, resuming his pursuit of Nicklaus 18 majors, the debate is officially rekindled. They both had a stretch of winning at least one major title in six of nine years. While Jack does have more major victories, Tiger still has more PGA Tour wins. When he won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin he single-handedly crushed Hitlers myth of Aryan supremacy. United States on the 19th tee during the Paynes Valley Cup on September 22, The older of the two has also been the runner-up 19 times as opposed to Woods 7. 1986 Masters (46) ben hogan. Who won the Masters? How much does Jacks longevity help his cause? Woods competitors have won 22 percent of all majors during Woods career, again showing that the number of players with the ability to win a major has been far greater during Woods career than it was during Nicklaus career. Woods has always been a front-runner finisher, winning 14 of his 15 majors while leading or co-leading entering the fourth round. Gesture at The Open Championship 2021, Full Spectrum Services LLP 2022 | All Rights Reserved. The longtime CBS producer, hailed as the father of televised golf, was right, of course. At the majors. (Photo by Lefty won five major championships. The question of who is the greatest golfer of all time comes down to two men: Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. So heres how these two legends faired in major championships in their respective careers. One has 82 PGA Tour wins, the other 73. Of course, Tiger Woods is still active, which leaves the G.O.A.T. That being said, Woods has certainly started less (86) major events than Nicklaus (164). And I know I could be seen as biased because Ive been fortunate to live through Tigers prime. I play a lot of golf. 1 in the world, he was followed by David Duval, Colin Montgomery, Davis Love III, and Ernie Els. Having developed an avid interest in sports at an early age, The last category to compare Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus is the level of competition each player faced on a weekly basis. Furthermore, Woods has 82 PGA Tour wins, while Nicklaus has 73. WINS ROUNDS MONEY; Tiger Woods: 1025: 198: 82: 1,375: $120,954,766: Explore. He still can't touch Nicklaus. In order to surpass him, Woods needs to win five more majors. In the 1970s, Nicklaus only finished outside the top 10 in five majors. Sign up for the For The Win newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. Hes showed a lot of guts and courage to play and try to be part of whats going on with the way hes been, he continued. Nicklaus had won the 1971 PGA, played in February as a concession to the South Florida heat, then added the 1972 Masters and U.S. Open titles. Some might argue that no one else took home the trophies during Tigers reign because he was winning all of them. Its difficult to compare players across eras, and when you look at the numbers, an argument can be made for each. Opens, three British Opens and five PGA Championships. Hes won 15 of them, of which three came at The Open Championship. Nicklaus has played in six, with a 1783 record. ClearlyJohnson Wagner and J.B. Holmes are no Gary Player and Arnold Palmer. On the other hand, Jack Nicklaus amassed 164 starts in major championships throughout his career. It just wasnt a thing back then. Embracing such comparisons without bashing a particular golfer is the right spirit! Golf The Masters Augusta National Golf Club Augusta, Georgia, U.S. April 8, 2021 Honorary starter Jack Nicklaus of the U.S. with Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson before the ceremonial start on the first day of play REUTERS/Brian Snyder. In terms of his golf legacy, Woods' past shouldn't count any more or less than Nicklaus' scandal-free career. Jack vs. Tiger is always a great debate. 4, and Trevino was ranked fifth. When you look back over the duration of their careers, and the totality of their victories, the edge goes to Woods. If you buy into this Tiger/Jack narrative, and theres some strong evidence in this favor, that would mean theres at least a chance of some more history accomplished by Tiger at Augusta National. Ernie Els and Vijay Singh are the only two other golfers to capture at least three majors. This is a simple debate. Both players have outstanding Open. Especially in his case. While Jack Nicklaus has the most major titles, Tiger Woods has the most overall PGA Tour tournament wins in his career with 82, tied with Sam Snead. Fans will argue Woods played against better competition, which gives him an edge seeing as he won nine more PGA Tour and 32 more European Tour events. Is Tigers compressed run of success more impressive? This is where the debate gets interesting and harder to quantify. Those were stunning achievements that set the standard until Tiger arrived and did it even better. Neither did Ernie, Vijay, Retief, David Duval or any other top golfer of the last 20 years. Tiger had 14. Nicklaus had 57 runner-up finishes in his career and 269 top-10s while Woods had 31 runner-up finishes, or 26 behind Nicklaus, and 199 top-10s, 60 less than the Golden Bear. In the 1970s, Nicklaus only finished outside the top 10 in five majors. Both players have set records with most cuts made as Jack had 105, but Tiger trumped it with 142! I dont buy that one. However, Woods has the Tiger Slam, which was holding all four titles at once although not in a calendar year. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images). He adds so much to the game every time he tees up. How big is that task? When push comes to shove (which never really happens in an argument about the great game of golf, though the chances go up the longer you stay at the 19th hole), I easily have to go with Tiger. That's more than one stroke better than Nicklaus' per-round average of 71.98. Nicklaus had eight final-day comebacks in majors. Even if you think Tiger will win more majors (and I do), getting five and topping Nicklaus is nearly unfathomable. In 1991, a 15-year-old Tiger Woods was the subject of his first Sports Illustrated profile. Open Championship Victory. Tom Brady is the GOAT as far as NFL quarterbacks. In Nicklaus best four-year stretch he won 22 from 1970-73 and added another 17 titles from 1964-67. The fact that over his career he didn't win as many medals as Carl Lewis does nothing to convince me that Carl was better. Woods made his debut as a U.S. captain at the 2019 Presidents Cup, where he also played and went 3-0-0. Of course, it will take an extraordinary effort with such a talented leader board. Tiger shot 68-71 to sit at five under par after 36 holes. Tiger Woods has 7 major runners-up finishes and 33 major Top-5 finishes. Andrew Redington/Getty Images). (He was 11th and 13th in the two he didnt.) In the 1975 Masters, for instance, the entire top 10 was from the United States. For those paying attention, some interesting parallels existed between Tiger Woods in 2020 and Jack Nicklaus in 1986 as we entered this week. graduate from KJ Somaiya, Devika has an experience with sportswriting at "I feel very bad for Tiger. The count is still 18 to 14 in favor of Nicklaus. This is an astonishing success rate! It basically means that whereas in Nicklaus era the top few players in the world won a significant number of PGA Tour events, in Tiger Woods' era there is far more parity which can be statistically seenin thelower percentage of events won by the top five golfers in the world. Because Im comparing majors by the specific number they were in each mans career, I have compared the 1971 PGA, Nicklaus 37th major, with the 2006 Masters, Woods 37th major. Furthermore, he's made it to the Top-10 on the leaderboard 41 times in 87 appearances. So that will only add more hope for those rooting for Tiger to earn a 16th major title with a win this week. Meanwhile, Nicklaus came back in eight of his majors. But what changes that narrative is thisNicklaus finished second in majors 19 times. I dare say that his winning percentage is the most untouchable of all of hisaccomplishments. Woods made his debut as a U.S.. Usain Bolt made me look harder at the careers of Carl Lewis and Jesse Owens. Without Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus, the PGA Tour might not be what it is today. National team appearances are a challenging comparison due to playing partners being a tricky variable. So well start the comparison in those years, and compare each mans first major with the others first major, second to second, and so forth. That leaves him at T-17 for the tournament. Woods won 27 tournaments from 1999-2002 and added 25 tournament trophies to his collection from 2005-2008. But it will. It must be noted that this comparison involves only majors; if you expand it to include regular Tour events Tiger wins easily. Tigers best 33-major streak featured 21 top 10s. The 2022 Masters can be an opportunity for Woods to tie it up, and maybe even surpass the 82-year-old later on. Maybe Jack could call Tiger the greatest golfer of all time and Tiger could call Jack the greatest champion of all time. Nicklaus is in third at 73. Jason Day said Tiger Woods told him the painful reason that Woods withdrew from last year's PGA Champ. Lets look at a breakdown of their major championship statistics: Woods has played in 87 major championships. Tiger Woods has had to compete against the likes of Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Jim Furyk, and many other perennial PGA Tour winners. Tiger's 15-shot win inthe 2000 U.S. Open set a record for widest margin of victory, but his scoreof 272 only tied the record (since bettered by Rory Mcilroy) that Jackset in the 1980 U.S. Open. In the case of Woods, his unquestionable biggest rival was Phil Mickelson. On the other hand, Nicklaus won 54 tournaments in his first 300 starts. But he wont need to top Jacks 18 to pass him as the greatest; given the circumstances, if he can win two more majors and, say, eight more tournament titles, itd be hard to say he was second-best to anyone. All comparisons, he would bellow, referring to those that involved athletes of different generations, are onerous.". And now, with Tiger making his comeback amidst more international winners than ever, the field is even deeper because of the wider reach that Tiger brought to the game. Unless anyone has a time machine that can transport the likes of Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Casper, and Watson into todays PGA Tour and the likes of Woods, Mickelson, Els, Goosen, and Singh into the PGA Tour of the '60s and '70s, that is one question that will never be answered. Many casual golf fans immediately think that Nicklaus played during golfs golden age and was faced with more competition from greater players. "He's the greatest champion that's ever lived," Woods said of Nicklaus after winning the Memorial in 2012. Home See trending; Company. Mixed in there was the Tiger Slam his streak of four-straight majors which will likely serve as the lead on his sports obituary. Are players such as Mickelson, Els, Singh, and Goosen just as good today as Palmer, Player, Trevino, Casper, and Watson were, and is Tiger just that much better than them? Tiger had 15 such tournaments in the 2000s (counting the two events. In his time at the top, Jack won 17 majors. Tiger Woods has 198 top ten finishes with 82 wins and has won $120,954,766 in his career. When he won a greenjacket again in 1965 by nine shots over Palmer and Gary Player (theonly time the Big Three would ever finish in the top three together in amajor), he shaved three strokes off the scoring record of 274 set in 1953 byHogan. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images for Paynes Valley Cup). Championships monopolize the G.O.A.T. The oldest player to win a major:. since early 2020. Tiger, in defense of his 2019 Masters title, sat 33rd . The casual golf fan will associate Nicklaus competition withthe likes ofArnold Palmer, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Billy Casper, and Tom Watson. Part of that was the standard lip service you pay to Nicklaus after winning his tournament, but part of it is knowing only one stat matters. After all, there werent many majors to be had when Woods was taking seven in three years. Starting four. after undergoing surgery on his right ankle, withdrew during the rain-delayed third round, List of Tigers injuries through the years. What would it take for a changing of the guard? Tiger has played 74 rounds at Augusta National and has a scoring average of 70.86, the best in history. For Nicklaus, he battled against stiffer competition and four of the greatest golfers in the history of the game, including Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson, and Lee Trevino, each of whom won six or more majors. During Tiger Woods' career, his main competitors in majors have been Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh, and Jim Furyk. If we review the above. Its more evidence that Peak Tiger > Peak Jack. MORE MASTERS 2020 CONTENT FROM GOLF DIGEST: Masters 101Everything you need to know about the major How to watch the Masters on TV and streaming online Ranking every golfer in the Masters field Our 13 best bets to win the 2020 Masters 50 defining moments in Masters history, ranked Never say neverAn oral history of Tiger's dramatic 2019 Masters victory How Tiger Woods plays every hole at Augusta National Can Bryson break Augusta? 9 things Augusta National doesnt want to talk about The most memorable rules issues in Masters history A completely unscientific ranking of 10 Masters traditions The 13 best B characters in Masters history. Tiger has played 74 rounds at Augusta National and has a scoring average of 70.86, the best in history. I think hes in more pain than he lets everybody know. https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/04/tiger-woods-jack-nickalus, Golf fans worried about Tiger Woods after he withdrew from Masters Sunday, Tiger Woods clobbered an overwhelming amount of bettors who didn't think he'd make the cut at the Masters, Justin Thomas saved his pal Tiger Woods by dropping a shot at the Masters and moving the cut line back, Why Fred Couples is using a yellow ball at the Masters. Both are Hall of Famers and have been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nations highest civilian honor. Like it or not, there are many who root against Woods because of his philandering, and that undoubtedly will affect how he's remembered. He also had to deal with bigotry, segregation and poverty. To be honest, there is really no one particular aspect that can crown a golfer as the GOAT. There are always different sets of statistics to look into. USE OF AND/OR REGISTRATION ON ANY PORTION OF THIS SITE CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF OURVISITOR AGREEMENT(UPDATED 1/6/23),PRIVACY AND COOKIES NOTICE(UPDATED 1/4/23) ANDCALIFORNIA PRIVACY NOTICE. After the 1971-2006 comparisons, the tournaments fall back in line until Woods 2008 season, when after winning the U.S. Open, he missed the British Open and PGA while recovering from injury. For me, that question is like if someone asked me what I like more, tacos or pizza. Tigers 81 PGA Tour wins has him just one behind Sam Snead for the most ever and eight ahead of Nicklaus. I personally believe that 150 legitimate competitors is a tougher challenge to face than a group of five or so great competitors. Who is your ultimate GOAT? 15 for Tiger was . There have been few worthy adversaries. Both Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus dominated golf in their respective eras. But none of the players have the experience winning majors like Tiger does, so he has that on his side as he looks to add another improbable chapters in golfs history books. Jack Nicklaus vs Tiger Woods | The Open's Greatest The Open 120K subscribers Subscribe 8.3K views 11 months ago Tiger and Jack need no introduction. Nobody had seen players like them. Sign up for the For The Win newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. Which is a more demanding situation, a farlarger number of overall competitors or a smaller, more concentrated group of great competitors? 2, Casper No. Nicklaus was on top of the golf world (or close to it) for 18 years. During his career, Tiger has seen winners come from Fiji, Spain, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Ireland, Northern Ireland, South Korea, England, Germany, New Zealand and South Africa a United Nations of major champions. Clearly Tiger Woods has more competition on a whole to worry about, but Nicklaus appears to have had more direct competition. Tiger played on the weekend in a record 142-straight tournaments. 82. Let's look at the numbers: Most wins in golf 1 Tiger WoodsSam Snead 82 3 Jack Nicklaus 73 4 Ben Hogan 64 5 Arnold Palmer 62 Tiger Woods is tied with Sam Snead for the most wins in golf with . In a span of 10 months, Tiger won the career Slam, became the first man to ever hold all four major titles at once and jumped ahead of the pace his hero set en route to his hallowed 18 majors. I dont know a whole lot about what hes been through, Nicklaus began. Hes actually swinging pretty well; he just cant walk., These two @jacknicklaus @InsperityInvtnl pic.twitter.com/lN0ftjGEOJ, PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) April 29, 2023. Tiger Jack. But Nicklaus' reach extends further than that the Golden Bear designs courses and promotes golf all around the world. Tiger was the ultimate front-runner, winning all 14 of his majors while leading or co-leading entering the fourth round. But, on any given week, Tiger Woods is playing against 150+ players that have a realistic, legitimate chance to win if they get hot that particular week. In 1963, Jack became, at 23, the youngest to win the Masters. Its tricky comparing athletes from different generations. (They pretty much won those titles in the same time span, though Nicklaus went 17-straight seasons with a win, compared to Tigers 14.). Both golfers have been instrumental in the tours success, making golf a household name. He captured 18 major titles in his career compared to Woods and his 15, up until now. When Tiger won the 1997 Masters his score of 270 broke by one shot therecord that Jack had set in his 1965 rout. But those symmetries became more realand eerieon Saturday morning when they wrapped up the second round of play at Augusta National. Yep the same exact position with Tiger looking to match Jacks record of six Masters titles. Nicklaus dominates Woods in all of the major championships except The Open. Theyre both tied at three titles apiece. This list of players is simply comprised to show that Tiger Woods is faced a far wider pool of legitimate competitors than Jack Nicklaus faced during his career. In 1999, the start of the "Tiger Slam," Tiger Woods was ranked No. Second, could it be that Tigers competition is inferior because of Tiger? From 1962-1978, Jacks prime, just two foreign players (Gary Player and Tony Jacklin) won at the Masters, U.S. Open or PGA Championship. Here's why. It just says that Tigers peers never put pressure on him on a Sunday and he never put pressure on them. Now, in 2018, a 42-year-old Tiger is making his return to golf after years of scandal and an injury so severe that it threatened to end his career. Back in the late 2000s, the question around Tiger Woods didn't feel like "if" he would break Jack Nicklaus's 18 majors. Tiger has three more majors than any other man and five more than anyone whos played in the last 60 years, but he still cant compete with Jack in the number that matters most. In the majors with a cutoff of the 2008 U.S. Open, after which Woods began missing tournaments because of injury, Its dead even. Before Tiger, winners would often get. Who would go down as the best in history? He could make a complete return to form and it still wouldnt guarantee anything. He made the weekend in a record 142-straight tournaments. Thirty years later, Tiger would do the same before a 28th-place finish at the British ended his chances.). Because really, either answer is pretty freakin good. No predictions for the future or presumed milestones. He won seven of 11 major championships from the 1999 PGA to the 2002 U.S. Open and then, almost as an afterthought, had a run of four of eight (matching Jacks best) in the majors held in 2005 and 2006. And I know Nicklaus had Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, and many others but Tigers time, especially over the last 10 years, has been much more competitive. The man with the most major championships is the greatest golfer in history. It also reignited an old debate: Can Tiger break Jack Nicklaus' record for the most major championship wins . Arjun manages the Golf division and its content, and primarily covers news (Forget all the talk of four wins you hear on television no one ever sets out to tie a record.) Now, at this very moment you are probably thinking that I have completely lost my mind by naming players such as Hunter Mahan, Stephen Ames, and Chez Reavia as competition comparable to the likes of Palmer, Player, Trevino, Casper, and Watson. Jack: Won the Masters at age 46, making him the third-oldest major winner ever. THE MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED, DISTRIBUTED, TRANSMITTED, CACHED OR OTHERWISE USED, EXCEPT WITH THE PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION OF DISCOVERY GOLF, INC. 2023 DISCOVERY GOLF, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Masters 2020: The parallel stats between Jack Nicklaus in 1986 and Tiger Woods in 2020 are nothing short of eerie, How to watch the Masters on TV and streaming online, Ranking every golfer in the Masters field, 50 defining moments in Masters history, ranked, Never say neverAn oral history of Tiger's dramatic 2019 Masters victory, How Tiger Woods plays every hole at Augusta National, 9 things Augusta National doesnt want to talk about, The most memorable rules issues in Masters history, A completely unscientific ranking of 10 Masters traditions, The 13 best B characters in Masters history.
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