There are arguments to be made in Woods' defense, but even he has to admit that until he gets to 19, he's just chasing down the Golden Bear. In 1999, the start of the "Tiger Slam," Tiger Woods was ranked No. All comparisons, he would bellow, referring to those that involved athletes of different generations, are onerous.". He never came back to win, despite a half-dozen opportunities to win majors with a Sunday charge. That Nicklaus was able to keep his average under par for his career after playing so many non-competitive rounds is an underrated and remarkable achievement. The evidence suggests Tiger was beating up on inferior competition. The longtime CBS producer, hailed as the father of televised golf, was right, of course. The cut streak. With 18 wins to his name, Nicklaus is currently leading. My puttings good. He said, I just cant walk. And he says, If it helps where I can walk, Im willing to do it. . Meanwhile, Nicklaus came back in eight of his majors. However, the 82-time PGA Tour winner is not ready to give up just yet. He captured 18 major titles in his career compared to Woods and his 15, up until now. . Jack has 18 majors and Tiger has 14 majors, therefore Jack is the greatest of all time. In 2000, other than Tiger Woods, the remainder of the top-five ranked players in the world won 11 percent of PGA Tour events. Even in a sports such as sprinting, where numbers on a stopwatch tell what appears to be a cut-and-dried story, theres more than meets the eye. I play a lot of golf. In golf, its reserved for two people: Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. When you look back over the duration of their careers, and the totality of their victories, the edge goes to Woods. While both have had to face quality competition to get their wins, Id have to side with Tigers era being deeper than Nicklaus era. The two icons have changed golf, making it into the commercialized tour sport we know today. So, whose career would you rather have, Woods or Nicklaus? Maybe Jack could call Tiger the greatest golfer of all time and Tiger could call Jack the greatest champion of all time. 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. Yang, Bob May, Rich Beem and Rocco Mediate. Hes won 15 of them, of which three came at The Open Championship. (Photo by 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. 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. First, Tiger has played against a deeper, more international field. It just says that Tigers peers never put pressure on him on a Sunday and he never put pressure on them. In the 70 majors that Jack played from the 62 Masters tothe 79 U.S. Open, he was out of the top 10 just 16 times while winning 15. Apart from that, both legends have also inspired generations to take up the game. Well, because it is! I can just see it from a fans standpoint, Sorenstam said. This week we dedicate to the G.O.A.T. Jacks best four-year runs were 22 (from 1970-73) and 17 (from 1964-67). Lefty won five major championships. When Tiger won the 1997 Masters his score of 270 broke by one shot therecord that Jack had set in his 1965 rout. Woods stands at 15, and his last major title being the 2019 Masters. Tiger won eight of hisfirst 22 majors; Jack won seven of his first 22. TOP 10 WINS ROUNDS MONEY; Tiger Woods: 1025: 198: 82: 1,375: $120,954,766: Explore. Annika Sorenstam, winner of 72 LPGA titles, walked away from the game on her own terms and has returned to play a handful of celebrity events, last years U.S. Womens Open and the U.S. Senior Womens Open, which she won in 2021. She loves NBA a little too much, and is sinking his putt on the 18th green to win during the final round of the Masters Nicklaus was on top of the golf world (or close to it) for 18 years. Michael Jordan and LeBron James are the subjects of debate when it comes to the GOAT in basketball. Golf Channel, All Rights Reserved. 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. And so courageous.. Back in the late 2000s, the question around Tiger Woods didn't feel like "if" he would break Jack Nicklaus's 18 majors. Tiger had 14. Jack 3, Tiger 2, Hogan 1 Category 7:. While Nicklaus finished second more than 10 times to players on that list, Woods' runner-up finishes have been to one-hit wonders like Trevor Immelman, Zach Johnson, Rich Beem, Y.E. In terms of his golf legacy, Woods' past shouldn't count any more or less than Nicklaus' scandal-free career. My short games great. Nicklaus made just $5,734,031, placing him 338th. There are more talented golfers coming from more diverse locales, but very few of Woods' contemporaries have stepped up in majors. 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. Because really, either answer is pretty freakin good. One of the most distorted views in golf is that Jack Nicklaus had far more competition during his playing years than Tiger Woods has today. The late Frank Chirkinian hated it when anyone would try to compare Jack Nicklaus to Ben Hogan. 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. Woods hasnt officially retired yet, but the chances of him winning another major are very slim. It must be noted that this comparison involves only majors; if you expand it to include regular Tour events Tiger wins easily. They both had a stretch of winning at least one major title in six of nine years. Jack Nicklaus has insisted that Tiger Woods will break his record of 18 victories in Major tournaments. I dont know a whole lot about what hes been through, Nicklaus began. 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. 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. Another impressive Woods number is cuts made. RIDGEDALE, MISSOURI SEPTEMBER 22: Jack Nicklaus talks to Tiger Woods of the The Tiger Slam. AUGUSTA, GEORGIA APRIL 14: Tiger Woods of the United States celebrates after And even though it's 2013 and the Nicklaus brand is mostly forgotten, I've seen a Golden Bear logo more recently than a TW logo. Why do golf fans often consider major victories as the most important? Aside from him, there are just two other players with three major wins during the Tiger era: Ernie Els and Vijay Singh. Those dominating wins at Augusta National, Pebble Beach and St. Andrews. Listen, I know Nicklaus has three more major titles than Tiger. See trending; Company. Both players have outstanding Open. As Woods is currently preparing for the 2022 Masters, lets take a look at their major wins, along with some other stats. If we review the above. In overall tournament wins, Tiger has Jack by a count of 79 to 73. conversations in every sport, but obviously theres a lot more to golf than just four weekends per year. 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. Sign up for the For The Win newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. Tiger won four majors in a row from the 2000 U.S. Open through the 2001 Masters, a Tiger Slam instead of a Grand Slam only because all four wins did not come in the same calendar year. But consider: Nicklaus made 43 starts at the Masters over a span of nearly a half-century. "He's the greatest champion that's ever lived," Woods said of Nicklaus after winning the Memorial in 2012. While the 46-year-old is confident about a win this year, Woods clinching the Masters title is not easy. The last category to compare Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus is the level of competition each player faced on a weekly basis. Obviously Woods should not be punished in this comparison for missing tournaments, so they are not counted in this quest to determine whowas more dominant in his era. Rather, it felt like a matter of "when." Following Woods' 2008 win over . 15 for Tiger was . With the. That being said, Woods has certainly started less (86) major events than Nicklaus (164). 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 . Im hitting the ball great. You Into Another Realm. 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. Furthermore, he's made it to the Top-10 on the leaderboard 41 times in 87 appearances. He still can't touch Nicklaus. That feeling didnt last long. There were the brutal struggles after that which led many to wonder why he was even trying to come back at all. In the majors with a cutoff of the 2008 U.S. Open, after which Woods began missing tournaments because of injury, Its dead even. Was Palmer, Player, Trevino, and Watson a lot better than Tigers competition, thus providing Nicklaus with tougher head-to-head competition each week? His winning percentage was 26% and won 14 majors in his first 63 starts. 64. ClearlyJohnson Wagner and J.B. Holmes are no Gary Player and Arnold Palmer. Has Tiger Woods ever missed the cut at The Masters? In 1972, the best year of Nicklaus career; a year that saw him win three out of the four majors, Nicklaus was ranked No. MS: All eyes on Finau, Rahm; all ears on McIlroy, Green wins three-way playoff at JM Eagle LA, Mexico payout: Rahm sets record before May, Timeline: A look at Tiger's injuries in his career, Tiger announces he's undergone ankle surgery, Day: Screw broke through Tiger's skin at PGA. In the 1975 Masters, for instance, the entire top 10 was from the United States. Life is good if youre a great golfer, thanks to Tiger Woods. 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. But, Tigerhas also hadto compete against the likes of Rocco Mediate, Boo Weekly, Woody Austin, Hunter Mahan, Chad Campbell, Stephen Ames, J.B Holmes, Johnson Wagner, Ryuji Imada, Anthony Kim, Kenny Perry, and Chez Reavia. I think wed all like to see him play, Sorenstam said. At various points in his career, Jack won three of six majors (1966 Masters to 1967 U.S. Open) and four of eight (1970 British Open to 1972 U.S. Open). Whether he makes the cut or not, he adds to the tournament in so many ways. 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. For those paying attention, some interesting parallels existed between Tiger Woods in 2020 and Jack Nicklaus in 1986 as we entered this week. But he is so tough. This is one argument that will wage for years to come, and I personally dont have the answer to it. On the other hand, Jack Nicklaus amassed 164 starts in major championships throughout his career. Nicklaus finished second in 19 majors, and Woods has six runner-up results. 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. The overall win total in tournaments reveals one interesting thingWoods in his prime was better than prime Nicklaus. During Tiger Woods' career, his main competitors in majors have been Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh, and Jim Furyk. Thirty years later, Tiger would do the same before a 28th-place finish at the British ended his chances.). Tiger Woods' epic 2019 Masters win sent the golf world and internet into a frenzy. Tiger: Won his Masters at 43, still time to be a super old winner. If Augusta National is the best test in golf, Nicklaus earned slightly better marks. In the 1970s, Nicklaus only finished outside the top 10 in five majors. That leaves him at T-17 for the tournament. He won back-to-back-to-back majors from the 1971 PGA to the 1972 U.S. Open, joining Ben Hogan as the only golfers to ever accomplish the feat. From 1962-1978, Jacks prime, just two foreign players (Gary Player and Tony Jacklin) won at the Masters, U.S. Open or PGA Championship. That's more than one stroke better than Nicklaus' per-round average of 71.98. She has a keen eye for Woods plight. 73. 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? The argument for Nicklaus is pretty simple: he won the most majors and had even more runner-up finishes in the biggest events. "@cartiluver14 @SonnyWeems123 Post car crash sources + Golf Digest has an admitted partnership with Woods and they were called out on it, they also, stopped using the Logo when they mention Tiger." Woods was able to monetize his talent more in his era, topping the PGA Tours all-time earnings list at a whopping $120,895,206. While Woods' win at the 2019 Masters finally ended a decade-plus drought in the game's biggest events, it's this lesser-known record that has come into focus since Major No. Of the four, only Yang beat Tiger, taking him down at the 2009 PGA Championship. This ones mind-blowing: Jack finished inside the top 10 in 31 of 33 majors from 1970-78. Tiger has been the rare athlete to live up to unimaginable hype, be brought back down by scandal and injury and then absolutely crushing all the expectations (and doubts) in historic fashion. See trending; Company. But, looking at the other side of the coin, no one has really stepped up to consistently challenge Woods the way Palmer, Player, Trevino, Casper, and Watson challenged Nicklaus. In a particular major where they are both playing theirbest, Tiger wins in a playoff. He won 27 overall tournaments from 1999-2002 and then 25 tournaments from 2005-2008. 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. Neither did Ernie, Vijay, Retief, David Duval or any other top golfer of the last 20 years. This was in SI this week. So while both golfers have had incredible careers, it does appear that Tiger Woods has had a slightly more successful run. Director of Professional Golf isnt a normal position at golf club, but Quail Hollow isn't a normal club. If hedoes, it would be to the sports utter delight. He was compared to Mozart. In 1972, Player, Trevino, Crampton, and Palmer won 16 percent of PGA Tour events. who shockingly missed the cut at RBC Heritage, Patrick Cantlay drained a hole-in-one at the RBC Heritage and was promptly roasted for his slow pace, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Phil never beat Tiger on a major Sunday. He recorded an 18% win rate but had amassed more Top-5s and Top-10s in major championships when compared to Woods. Jack: Won the Masters at age 46, making him the third-oldest major winner ever. Its more evidence that Peak Tiger > Peak Jack. and losers (oh no, Lions) of the 2023 NFL Draft, Kentucky Oaks 2023: Post position draw results and morning line odds, Every 2023 Kentucky Derby horse name, ranked, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. National team appearances are a challenging comparison due to playing partners being a tricky variable. He had the claret jug in his sights at Muirfield, but he finished second by one shot to Trevino, who chipped in on the 71st hole. In order to surpass him, Woods needs to win five more majors. There are any number of ways to compare Woods and Nicklaus. Woods holds the record for both the lowest adjusted and unadjusted scoring average . So that will only add more hope for those rooting for Tiger to earn a 16th major title with a win this week. 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. For me, that question is like if someone asked me what I like more, tacos or pizza. We talk quite a bit, Nicklaus said. During the best part of Jack Nicklaus career, his main competitors were Tom Watson, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, and Billy Casper. So heres how these two legends faired in major championships in their respective careers. 3, Palmer No. Nicklaus has played in six, with a 17-8-3 record. - In four of the five majors where Nicklaus . 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. More: List of Tiger's injuries through the years. Woods' highs have been greater. Some favor Woods, often recounting his influence on the golf world. 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. 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. Arjun Athreya is a senior writer at Essentially Sports and has been contributing 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. Finishing as a runner-up or in the Top-5 of a major is also considered a good result. 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. Its a title thats become common in conversations about sports and gets thrown around far too casually in some regards these days. If Woods wins three or more, then theres no need for a discussion and he would be the undisputed GOAT. Nicklaus has won more majors than Woods. Advantage: Nicklaus. Neither needed a breaking-in period when it came to majors. There have been few worthy adversaries. - Nicklaus got the better of Woods on five of the 22 occasions, most notably his T6 to Tiger's T8 in the 1998 Masters when Nicklaus was 58 years old. At the majors. Granted, Woods is too young and too busy to have such a global golf footprint, but it feels safe to say that 20 years from now we'll still be debating who was the greater golfer, but there won't be an argument about golf's best ambassador. The merits of both are often debated on 19th holes around the country, with the younger players usually siding with Tiger, and vice-versa for Jack. In the end, major titles arent given more weight because of their timing. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File) ORG XMIT: NYDD203. 4, and Trevino was ranked fifth. While there is really no conclusive answer, several bits of statistics might offer some perspective. My naming this group of players as Tigers competition, all of whomhappen to bePGA Tour winners, is not to say that these players are comparable to Palmer, Player, Trevino, etc. These two generational talents can never be compared with each other. 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.
Quincy, Il Police Department,
Apollo 11 Medallion For Your Contribution,
Articles J