Tiger Jack. At the majors. While Jack does have more major victories, Tiger still has more PGA Tour wins. 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. 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. Has Tiger Woods ever missed the cut at The Masters? In the two in which he didn't, he tied for 11th and 13th. Woods won 77 tournaments in 300 starts. Jack finished higher 38 times to Tiger's 22, with the twogreats tying four times. The 2022 Masters can be an opportunity for Woods to tie it up, and maybe even surpass the 82-year-old later on. 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. There are any number of ways to compare Woods and Nicklaus. Owing to his injuries, the chances of Woods playing like he used to are bleak. On the other hand, Nicklaus won 54 tournaments in his first 300 starts. Across a wide range of sports, we will debate and remember the Greatest Of All Time, and look ahead to whos next. United States on the 19th tee during the Paynes Valley Cup on September 22, Not all professional golf wins are equal. Jack, of course, never won four straight, though he did come close. The count is still 18 to 14 in favor of Nicklaus. But you dont want to see anybody in pain. In order to surpass him, Woods needs to win five more majors. We've been debating the Jack Nicklaus vs. Tiger Woods question ever since that historic 1997 Masters and we'll be debating it for decades to come. Follow along here. Is Tigers compressed run of success more impressive? pic.twitter.com/Qz8D6j7th0, Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) April 5, 2022. A record-setting streak of cuts made. I dont know a whole lot about what hes been through, Nicklaus began. 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. This is a simple debate. Is that because Nicklaus game was at a lower level that allowed the other top-ranked players to catch him? 14 best photos of Tiger Woods' first day at the 2023 Masters Tournament, Ranking every NFL team's 2023 draft class from 32 (sorry, 49ers) to 1 (whoa, Colts), Kentucky Derby 2023: post position draw results and morning line odds, Ranking all 32 current NHL away jerseys, from worst to best, The Brewers' Willy Adames got ejected after a blatantly spiteful sequence from umpire Adam Beck, 13 Winners (Bill Belichick!) In 1999, the start of the "Tiger Slam," Tiger Woods was ranked No. 18 still remarkable stats from Jack Nicklaus' illustrious career 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. Who is the greatest golfer ever: Tiger or Jack? | For The Win I play a lot of golf. One has 82 PGA Tour wins, the other 73. 17. I think its a lot more serious. Back in the late 2000s, the question around Tiger Woods didn't feel like "if" he would break Jack Nicklaus's 18 majors. When Tiger won the 1997 Masters his score of 270 broke by. However, the 82-time PGA Tour winner is not ready to give up just yet. From the 1973 Masters to the 1976 Masters , Nicklaus had 13 straight top-10 finishes in majors. Its difficult to compare players across eras, and when you look at the numbers, an argument can be made for each. 82. Only 14 golfers have won five or more majors. Jack Nicklaus vs. Tiger Woods: Who Faces Tougher Competition? Furthermore, Woods has 82 PGA Tour wins, while Nicklaus has 73. Jacks best streak was 105. We talk quite a bit, Nicklaus said. Its tricky comparing athletes from different generations. Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus are arguably the two greatest golfers to ever play the game. First, Tiger has played against a deeper, more international field. Who has hit the most holes in one all-time? Those dominating wins at Augusta National, Pebble Beach and St. Andrews. Even with those impressive numbers, he still cant compete with Nicklaus. - 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. Jack won six Masters, four U.S. So that will only add more hope for those rooting for Tiger to earn a 16th major title with a win this week. Of his 163 rounds at the tournament, more than 40 were played after he turned 50 years old. This was in SI this week. Starting at the 2000 U.S. Open, Tiger locked in like nobody before or since, winning four-straight majors by 25 strokes, with a combined score of 65-under. If Augusta National is the best test in golf, Nicklaus earned slightly better marks. Please check your email for a confirmation. 1, Player No. Tiger or Jack: Who is the greatest golfer of all time? Tiger Woods Vs Jack Nicklaus Stats | StatMuse 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. Still, we give this to Tiger for two reasons: Jacks contemporaries included Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson and Lee Trevino, each of whom won six or more majors. and Jack Nicklaus vs. Tiger Woods Stats | More Sports - TigerDroppings The off-course earnings arent even a comparison. Yep the same exact position with Tiger looking to match Jacks record of six Masters titles. Both golfers have been instrumental in the tours success, making golf a household name. Tiger Woods has 7 major runners-up finishes and 33 major Top-5 finishes. John Daly Announces He Will Be Following His Bizarre Masters Tradition This Year. In comparison, Phil won his five majors by a combined 10 shots. 4, and Trevino was ranked fifth. Those were stunning achievements that set the standard until Tiger arrived and did it even better. On the surface, it seems like an easy question. Ever. 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.. Tiger had 15 such tournaments in the 2000s (counting the two events. WATCH THIS STORY: John Daly Announces He Will Be Following His Bizarre Masters Tradition This Year, Full Spectrum Services LLP 2022 | All Rights Reserved. 11. Jack vs. Tiger is always a great debate. Woods has won 79 PGA Tour events which is second only to Sam Snead's 82 and is already six ahead of Nicklaus. Second, could it be that Tigers competition is inferior because of Tiger? You have one golf tournament to win. You can pick any player from any point in their career. Tiger Woods is sidelined for an indefinite amount of time after undergoing surgery on his right ankle to address post-traumatic arthritis caused by injuries suffered in his single-car crash in Los Angeles in February 2021. Its more evidence that Peak Tiger > Peak Jack. And will be good for him. The evidence suggests Tiger was beating up on inferior competition. An unprecedented run of seven majors in 11 starts. 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. Jack Nicklaus vs. Tiger Woods | Golf Digest Nicklaus was on top of the golf world (or close to it) for 18 years. Amateurs, putting on his first green jacket or making history with performances so dominant that breaking Jack Nicklaus record of 18 majors seemed like a mere formality. 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. Each total, except for his Claret Jugs, is an all-time records (or tied for one). Heres how Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus stood after 300 tournament starts in their respective careers. 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. Nicklaus did still own the advantage in major titles, 18-16, after 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. 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. In comparison, Jack Nicklaus' 36-hole outright conversion rate was 63. 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. 3, Palmer No. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File) ORG XMIT: NYDD203. Advantage: Nicklaus. pertaining to the NBA as well. Jack has 18 majors and Tiger has 14 majors, therefore Jack is the greatest of all time. I can just see it from a fans standpoint, Sorenstam said. Tiger was the ultimate front-runner, winning all 14 of his majors while leading or co-leading entering the fourth round. 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. Tiger is still a man at work. 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. Nicklaus has played in six, with a 17-8-3 record. Im hitting the ball great. It also reignited an old debate: Can Tiger break Jack Nicklaus' record for the most major championship wins . For instance, Usain Bolt is faster than Carl Lewis was and Carl Lewis was faster than Jesse Owens. And I know I could be seen as biased because Ive been fortunate to live through Tigers prime. Nicklaus main competitors won 29 percent of all major championships played during the prime of Nicklaus career. Of course, their popularity is a result of their incredibly illustrious careers. Thats too good. Jesse Owens was 5-10, Carl Lewis is 6-2 and Usain Bolt is 6-5. Heres a reminder: Jack Nicklaus won 18 major championships in his career, while Tiger Woods clinched 15. At this stage, not even Woods knows whether Humpty Dumpty can be put back together again. 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. On the other hand, Jack Nicklaus amassed 164 starts in major championships throughout his career. How many titles does Tiger Woods have? Let us know in the comments below. Nicklaus was better at Augusta during his prime. Especially in his case. Overall, the current depth of fields and reach of international talent exceeds that in the days of Nicklaus. But it will. When you think of Jack Nicklaus, the first thing that comes to mind is major championships. 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. 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. He made the weekend in a record 142-straight tournaments. Thats a 23-shot cushion in two majors. Not that we wont keep arguing about it for the next 25 years. All comparisons, he would bellow, referring to those that involved athletes of different generations, are onerous.". I dare say that his winning percentage is the most untouchable of all of hisaccomplishments. Privacy Policy. Nicklaus has won more majors than Woods. Was Palmer, Player, Trevino, and Watson a lot better than Tigers competition, thus providing Nicklaus with tougher head-to-head competition each week? The two active players with more than three major titles Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els are rarely direct rivals for Woods. Yang, Bob May, Rich Beem and Rocco Mediate. People only cared about the actual Grand Slam, which Jack was halfway toward with his wins at the Masters and U.S. Open. 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. 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. The casual golf fan will associate Nicklaus competition withthe likes ofArnold Palmer, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Billy Casper, and Tom Watson. 15 for Tiger was . Learn more about troubleshooting WordPress. What a final-round duel between Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus at the The Golden Bear would have an encore in the 80s, winning threemore majors to bring his total to 18, a number as well known to golfenthusiasts as the batting average of.406 is to baseball lovers. In the end, major titles arent given more weight because of their timing. 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. (Tiger became the third.). Woods made more on Tour in one year than Nicklaus did in his entire career 11 times: 1999 ($6,616,585), 2000 ($9,188,321), 2002 ($6,912,625), 2003 ($6,673,413), 2005 ($10,628,024), 2006 ($9,941,563), 2007 ($10,867,052), 2008 ($5,775,000), 2009 ($10,508,163), 2012 ($6,133,158), 2013 ($8,553,439). Here's a chart of their majors as professionals, in order and head-to-head: By signing up, you agree to the (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images). Both are legends of the game, but who deserves the greatest title? He never came back to win, despite a half-dozen opportunities to win majors with a Sunday charge. Yes, Nicklaus has more major championships in golf, but Woods has won more tournaments. 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. That feeling didnt last long.