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. That being said, Woods has certainly started less (86) major events than Nicklaus (164). At the majors. Is Tiger just that much better that his skill level allows him to exceed that of his direct competitors by a larger gap than Nicklaus was able to achieve? It looks like an upside-down pitchfork. Tiger won his first major as a pro, the 1997 Masters, at age 21, destroying the rest of the field by a record 12 shots. - In four of the five majors where Nicklaus . If you accept that golfers are only measured by their performance in the biggest events, its a slam-dunk argument. Woods might be a few majors short, but he still has time to catch Nicklaus (though the chances of that have greatly decreased since his single-car accident in 2021). Jason Day said Tiger Woods told him the painful reason that Woods withdrew from last year's PGA Champ. Jesse Owens was 5-10, Carl Lewis is 6-2 and Usain Bolt is 6-5. In the 70 majors that Jack played from the '62 Masters to the '79 U.S. Open, he was out of the top 10 just 16 times while winning 15. Tigers biggest rival is Phil Mickelson, a guy best known for his collapses who not only failed to outduel Tiger on a Sunday, he failed to even duel him. graduate from KJ Somaiya, Devika has an experience with sportswriting at With one exception, that comparison neatly pits Masters against Masters, U.S. Open against U.S. Open, etc., for the first 17 years of each mans career as a pro taking Nicklaus to the end of 1978 and Woods to the end of 2013. When you think of Jack Nicklaus, the first thing that comes to mind is major championships. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images). Tiger: Won his Masters at 43, still time to be a super old winner. While both have had to face quality competition to get their wins, Id have to side with Tigers era being deeper than Nicklaus era. Yep the same exact position with Tiger looking to match Jacks record of six Masters titles. But he is so tough. Jacks best streak was 105. Championships monopolize the G.O.A.T. But man, tacos are freakin good, too. Home Of his 163 rounds at the tournament, more than 40 were played after he turned 50 years old. In the 1970s, Nicklaus only finished outside the top 10 in five majors. There are any number of ways to compare Woods and Nicklaus. 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. He also had to deal with bigotry, segregation and poverty. Result: Tiger by 37. He recorded an 18% win rate but had amassed more Top-5s and Top-10s in major championships when compared to Woods. Its more evidence that Peak Tiger > Peak Jack. A year later, Tiger made the pages of the venerable sports magazine again and a more apt analogy was made: Hes the next Nicklaus, maybe better.. Its Jack and its not that close. Woods benefited from being slow to mature physically, in contrast to Nicklaus, who was 5-feet-10 and 165 pounds at age 13. 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. Before Tiger, winners would often get $180,000 for a win. But, what the casual golf fan does not know is that during Nicklauss playing career, after Palmer, Player, Casper, Trevino, Watson, and a few others, the competition drops off like the continental shelf. How much does Jacks longevity help his cause? And will be good for him. Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus are arguably the two greatest golfers to ever play the game. Michael Jordan and LeBron James are the subjects of debate when it comes to the GOAT in basketball. See trending; Company. This week we dedicate to the G.O.A.T. However, the 82-time PGA Tour winner is not ready to give up just yet. With his 24-year-old eldest son Jackie as his caddie, Nicklaus opened with a modest 74 but improved with rounds of 71 and 69 to sit in a tie for ninth going into the final day. Ever. But Nicklaus' reach extends further than that the Golden Bear designs courses and promotes golf all around the world. 7. 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. But back to golf. In 1970, Jack Nicklaus was the No. 1, Player No. It must be noted that this comparison involves only majors; if you expand it to include regular Tour events Tiger wins easily. People only cared about the actual Grand Slam, which Jack was halfway toward with his wins at the Masters and U.S. Open. 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. Through last month's Masters, the 37-year-old Tiger Woods has 14 wins in 63 major championship starts as a professional; through the 1977 Masters, the 37-year-old Nicklaus had 14 wins in. One more insane Nicklaus stat: From the 1970 British Open through the 1978 British Open, he finished in the top 10 in 31 of 33 majors. These are both supremely awesome and we'll call it a wash. As you may have heard once or 500 times, Woods never has come from behind to win on the final day of a major. If we're comparing two careers, one that's complete and one that's complete for the sake of this discussion, Nicklaus is an easy winner. While there is really no conclusive answer, several bits of statistics might offer some perspective. 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. Nicklaus finished second in 19 majors, and Woods has six runner-up results. Some might argue that no one else took home the trophies during Tigers reign because he was winning all of them. Yang and Michael Campbell. Devika Pawar is a Golf and NBA writer at Essentially Sports. Whether he makes the cut or not, he adds to the tournament in so many ways. At the majors. In his time at the top, Jack won 17 majors. He took the PGA Tour to a whole new level and continues to make many golfers absolutely filthy rich because of all the money Tiger brought into the game. At this stage, not even Woods knows whether Humpty Dumpty can be put back together again. Tiger is still a man at work. This is an astonishing success rate! The older of the two has also been the runner-up 19 times as opposed to Woods 7. But then again, I have no way of knowing whether Nicklaus toughest competitors were indeed better than Woods toughest competitors, or whether Woods is that much better than Nicklaus that he has been able to distance himself from players that are equally as good as Nicklaus competitors were. Heres a reminder: Jack Nicklaus won 18 major championships in his career, while Tiger Woods clinched 15. Furthermore, he's made it to the Top-10 on the leaderboard 41 times in 87 appearances. 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. Woods made his debut as a U.S. captain at the 2019 Presidents Cup, where he also played and went 3-0-0. Only 14 golfers have won five or more majors. Hes actually swinging pretty well; he just cant walk., These two @jacknicklaus @InsperityInvtnl pic.twitter.com/lN0ftjGEOJ, PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) April 29, 2023. If the debate of GOAT is based solely on major titles, Nicklaus is the winner hands down. The only leaderboard that matters is the one on the 72nd hole. Tigers run through the 2000s was must-see TV and man did he know how to put on a show and rise to the occasion often in dramatic fashion when the whole world was watching. All comparisons, he would bellow, referring to those that involved athletes of different generations, are onerous.". You dont want to see anybody, theyre hurting. At their best, both were nearly untouchable. Became a Collin Fan Today Twitter Reacts to Collin Morikawas Heartwarming Nicklaus is 1-1 as a U.S. captain in the Ryder Cup and 2-1-1 leading the Americans in the Presidents Cup. Let us know in the comments below. And I know I could be seen as biased because Ive been fortunate to live through Tigers prime. 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 Woods Explains the Raw Feeling of Winning a Major Championship: Catapults Well, guess what: Back in 1986, Nicklaus' position was wait for it T-17. Jack won six Masters, four U.S. Jack: Won the Masters at age 46, making him the third-oldest major winner ever. The exception is 1971, when the PGA Championship was played in February in Florida and was that years first major, not its fourth. In other words, each time Nicklaus teed off in a major championship, there were four other legitimate contenders who were capable of taking home the trophy. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. Who has hit the most holes in one all-time? My short games great. That always will be Nicklaus. birdie putt in 1986 on No. You Into Another Realm. and Nobody ever flew higher than Tiger. The last category to compare Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus is the level of competition each player faced on a weekly basis. Its tricky comparing athletes from different generations. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. 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. While one can point to improvements in technique for the evolution of speed, one can also point to lighter, improved shoes, more aerodynamic clothes and better track conditions, to say nothing of the improvements in nutrition and the effect that has had on the size of athletes. 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. 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.. It also reignited an old debate: Can Tiger break Jack Nicklaus' record for the most major championship wins . I can just see it from a fans standpoint, Sorenstam said. (They pretty much won those titles in the same time span, though Nicklaus went 17-straight seasons with a win, compared to Tigers 14.). Here's a chart of their majors as professionals, in order and head-to-head: By signing up, you agree to the Who would go down as the best in history? Those dominating wins at Augusta National, Pebble Beach and St. Andrews. Rather, it felt like a matter of "when." Following Woods' 2008 win over . The count is still 18 to 14 in favor of Nicklaus. Clearly Tiger Woods has more competition on a whole to worry about, but Nicklaus appears to have had more direct competition. "I feel very bad for Tiger. There are more talented golfers coming from more diverse locales, but very few of Woods' contemporaries have stepped up in majors. Please check your email for a confirmation. It just wasnt a thing back then. But those symmetries became more realand eerieon Saturday morning when they wrapped up the second round of play at Augusta National. GOLF DIGEST MAY EARN A PORTION OF SALES FROM PRODUCTS THAT ARE PURCHASED THROUGH OUR SITE AS PART OF OUR AFFILIATE PARTNERSHIPS WITH RETAILERS. See trending; Company. Tiger has excelled in an individual sport during a time when everything he did was examined, celebrated, and critiqued at levels that Nicklaus never even came close to having to deal with. But. Tiger Woods has 198 top ten finishes with 82 wins and has won $120,954,766 in his career. Embracing such comparisons without bashing a particular golfer is the right spirit! Of course, Tiger Woods is still active, which leaves the G.O.A.T. He could make a complete return to form and it still wouldnt guarantee anything. This is an astonishing success rate! He still can't touch Nicklaus. Listen, I know Nicklaus has three more major titles than Tiger. Life is good if youre a great golfer, thanks to Tiger Woods. Nicklaus has won more majors than Woods. 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. Thats not an indictment of Tiger. But consider: Nicklaus made 43 starts at the Masters over a span of nearly a half-century. The Tiger vs. Jack debate will likely rage on should Woods fall short of Nicklaus' major mark, but it appears that even based on his current list of accomplishments, he might have Nicklaus' vote . With every passing year, however, the Tiger Slam becomes more and more remarkable. Despite all the numbers, the GOAT debate might never have a conclusion. Woods made his debut as a U.S.. He captured 18 major titles in his career compared to Woods and his 15, up until now. Who do you choose? In the case of Woods, his unquestionable biggest rival was Phil Mickelson. 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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