Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus are widely considered to be two of the greatest golfers of all time, but there remains great debate as to who was the better player. Will Tiger’s ferocious play and winning record on the PGA Tour be the biggest payday, or will Jack’s dominance at major championships be the most important?
One guy you don’t want to have that kind of interaction with is golf legend Gary Player. The nine-time major champion, whose career overlapped with Nicklaus’, recently moved into the top three golfers of all time ahead of his 90th birthday.
His answer was decisive.
“Jack is first, Tiger is second and I’m third,” the player told the Palm Beach Post. “I don’t even have a question.”
Player’s reasoning?
“The way I judge the greatest players of all time is, ‘There’s a record book.’ That’s the only way. It’s a record book on paper. And Nicklaus achieved the best record. There’s no question about it.
“If Tiger Woods had made the right choices, he would have been the greatest athlete of all time. But the worst word in athletics and sports is ‘what if.'” Because “if” doesn’t matter. That’s the point. ”
At the height of his power, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Woods would one day break Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships. However, an injury severely disrupted those plans. Woods has only won one major since 2008 (the 2019 Masters) and remains three wins shy of matching Nicklaus’ record. Tiger celebrates his 50th birthday.
In addition to winning more majors, Nicklaus has finished runner-up in majors 19 times compared to Woods’ seven. Nicklaus’ heyday was even longer, with Jack becoming the oldest player to win the Masters in 1986 at age 46.
Nicklaus may be the king of the majors, but it’s hard to find a golf expert who would argue there was a better player than Woods in his prime.
Specifically, Tiger’s 2000 season may be the best showcase of golf the game has ever seen. This year alone, Woods won nine PGA Tour events (six in a row!) and three of four majors, including a 15-stroke victory at the U.S. Open, the largest margin of victory in a major.
In 2001, Woods won his second of five Masters tournaments to conclude the “Tiger Slam,” becoming the first golfer to win all four golf majors consecutively. And despite facing tougher overall competition and having a shorter peak, Woods’ 82 PGA Tour wins (nine more than Nicklaus) is the all-time record.
The views of Nicklaus and Woods should not blind us to the fact that the players themselves rank as the third-greatest golfer of all time. He pushes himself above other all-time greats like Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, and Bobby Jones. If you evaluate their respective careers, Player definitely has an excellent track record.
The player is one of only six golfers in history to win a career Grand Slam, and the only man to accomplish the feat on both the PGA Tour and PGA Champion. He was the first non-American born player to win a Grand Slam, and his 160 professional wins are reported to be more than any other golfer in history.
“It’s very interesting when they judge players,” the player said. “They put Bobby Jones and Arnold ahead of me. I can’t say an amateur golfer (Jones) has my golf record. His record is not even close to mine. If you look at Arnold’s record, it’s nowhere near mine. No. I won more majors than Arnold. I won more senior majors than Arnold. He didn’t have that record.
“But in a way, I love the fact that they do that because what (Palmer) did for golf and I grew up with him and he was the best.”
While Player’s accomplishments as one of the greatest golfers of all time are solid, he has a new goal in mind: living to be 100 years old. He attributes the player’s incredible longevity, still competing in the PNC Championship every year, to lifelong fitness that was decades ahead of his time.
“When I started it in 1953, I was slammed,” he said. “My brother Arnold Palmer said, ‘Gary, you can’t do this much weight training.’ Bobby Jones said, ‘Gary, you can’t do this much weight training.’ Your muscles will become stiff. Once you’re over 35, you can’t win tournaments anymore. ”
“Well, they all died,” the player said with a laugh. “But I’m still going.”
