JACK VS. TIGER
WHO IS THE GREATEST GOLFER OF ALL TIME?
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With every victory Tiger Woods adds to his amazing resume, the question gets asked, "is Tiger the greatest golfer of all time, or does that honor still belong to the legendary Jack Nicklaus? Here we'll compare Jacks' first 19 seasons,(his best) with Tigers first 13 seasons, to see how Tiger and Jack match up.
(hi-lighted "Golden Bear yellow" or "Tiger Sunday Red"areas indicate edge to that player. Green indicates what we consider a more useful statistic for comparison.)
Category |
JACK NICKLAUS
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TIGER WOODS |
| Tale of the tape | Born Jan. 21, 1940. 5'11, 190lbs |
Born Dec. 30, 1975. 6'1", 185lbs |
| Year turned pro | 1962 | 1996 |
| Years used in evaluation | 1962-1980 (Jack's best) |
1996-present (June 17, 2008) |
| PGA tour victories | 70 (19 seasons) |
65 (13 seasons) |
| PGA events played | 370 | 221 |
| Winning % | 18.9% | 29.8% |
| Finished 2nd | 45 | 24 |
| % finished in top 2 | 31% | 40.2% |
| Finished 3rd | 31 | 17 |
| % finished in top 3 | 39.5% | 47.9% |
| MAJORS Won | 17 | 14 |
| MAJORS played | 76 | 48 |
| Winning % in Majors | 22.3% | 29.1% |
| 2nd place in Major | 15 | 5 |
| % finished in top 2 | 42.1% | 39.6% |
| 3rd place in Major | 9 | 3 |
| % finished in top 3 | 53.9% | 45.8% |
| Vardon Trophy Awards (low stroke avg. for year) | 8 (64,65,71-73,75&76) | 7 (99,00-03,05&07) |
| Leading Money Winner | 8 (64,65,67,71-73,75&76) | 9 (97,99,00-03,05-07) |
| Ryder Cup Record(overall) | 17-8-3 | 10-13-2 |
| Ryder Cup Record (Singles) | 4-4-2 | 3-1-1 |
| Strength of Competition in Majors (# of Majors won by runner up) |
Total Majors won by runner up to Jack (37) Gary Player(9) Arnold Palmer(7) Ray Floyd(4) Bruce Crampton(4), Billy Casper(3), Ben Crenshaw(2), Johnny Miller(2), Doug Sanders(2), Tom Kite(1), Tom Weiskopf(1), Tommy Jacobs(1), Tony Lema(1) (may be more than 1 runner up) (6 runner ups with zero major victories-35.2%) |
Total Majors won by runner up to Tiger (15)
Phil Mickleson(3) ,Ernie Els(3) Tom Kite(1), Retief Goosen(2), Chris DeMarco(2), David Duval(1), Woody Austin(1), Shaun Micheel(1) (may be more than 1 runner up) (7 runner ups with zero major victories-50%) |
| Strength of competition in Majors based on All Time Rank. | 9 of top 25 golfers of All Time finished 2nd to Jack in a major. | 1 of top 25 golfers of all time finished 2nd to Tiger. (Phil Mickleson, #23. Next closest Mark O'Meara #49) |
It's easy to see from the chart above that Tiger has a better winning % than Jack and is on pace to break Jack Nicklaus' 18 Major victories probably in the next 2 or 3 years. It's also important to note that Jack leads, and will probably never be caught by Tiger in number of 2nd and 3rd place finishes. This stat is relevant in comparing the two players because of the disparity between the quality of upper echelon player in both time periods. Jack's numerous 2nd and 3rd place finishes indicate that he was almost always a factor and in position to win often, not that he couldn't close the deal. Coming in 2nd to the likes of Palmer, Player, Floyd and Watson carries no shame. Tiger, on the other hand has no rival, no threat to beat him every weekend.
If Tiger and Jack played in each others' time, would Tiger have more trouble beating the likes of Palmer, Player, Casper, Floyd, Watson, Trevino, Miller and Crenshaw than he does against the players of today?(that was a rhetorical question) And how would a young Jack Nicklaus do today in Tiger's place playing against Mickelson, Els, Singh, Goosen, DeMarco and Austin instead of Palmer et. all?(another rhetorical Q.) Isn't it safe to say that half or more of those 2nd and 3rd's would have been victories had Jack played in this golfing era without all those legends chasing him every weekend?
I see what Tiger does every weekend and am amazed. He's just a phenomenal player, without whom the game would be almost not worth watching. (The PGA stopped using the slogan "These guys are good" because they realized everyone was thinking it should really be "This guy is good".)
I also remember watching Jack as a kid and how amazing he was as well. The charge of the Golden Bear was so much fun to watch, and he often was being chased by one or more already legendary golfers. It was a great time for golf. Unfortunately for Tiger he doesn't have this kind of competition. His "rivals"seem to wilt at the mere site of that Crimson shirt. A wilting you didn't get from 9 of the top 25 golfers of all time that Jack faced in his day. So when looking at the number of wins, or the number of majors, it's also important to add the intangible of WHO they were won against. If Jack went out today and played in "a Major" against you and your Saturday 4-some he'd win his 19th Major, does it matter who he beat or just that he won?
Because of this I don't think Tiger will ever be able to hold the title "Greatest Golfer Ever"even if he wins 30 majors, nor should he. Nicklaus was just "beyond great" at a time when being great was a title held by 8 or 10 players! Just as Nicklaus had his Palmer and Player, and Ali had his Fraiser and Foreman, Tiger needed someone to challenge him week in and week out to even possibly be considered the "greatest". Right now that someone just isn't out there, and even if he arrives tomorrow it's most likely already too late.
In the end I think the only fair conclusion is to call it a draw. I don't think anyone can ever be "better" than Jack Nicklaus, or Babe Ruth, or Muhammad Ali, or Tiger Woods for that matter. You just can't! Both Jack and Tiger are being honored when they are considered to be "as great" as the other.
They say a tie is like kissing your sister, but in this case your sister is Marisa Miller and you haven't seen her for a very long time!
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See also Tonks vs. Tiger
