Avid golf fans will wholeheartedly agree that Jack Nicklaus was one of the greatest golfers of all time, and arguably the best.
Arguably.
Any conversation regarding the best golfers in history would have to include one player who is still writing his own legend-Tiger Woods.
Sure, we could extrapolate the rest of Tiger’s career based on his success so far, but some might easily counter that Tiger is currently sitting at his peak and will only go downhill from here.
I say that’s rubbish. If Tiger decided to retire from golf tomorrow so he could spend all of his time with his Swedish ex-model wife Elin Nordegren-and who would blame him-his career as it stands makes a strong case for the greatest of all time.
At the tender age of 31, Tiger’s numbers are already nearing Nicklaus’, despite Tiger’s playing a couple of decades fewer than his predecessor.
While Woods’ total of 13 major championship wins is still short of Nicklaus’ record by five, Tiger has already won 81 events-both PGA and non-next to Nicklaus’ total of 113.
In 1966, Nicklaus completed his first career grand slam with-a win in each of the four majors-at the age of 26, the youngest to do so. That is, until Tiger beat that record by two years in 2000.
Over a stretch that lasted from 2000 to 2001, Woods tallied his own career slam by becoming the reigning champion in all four majors at the same time. The media pronounced the first-time distinction as the “Tiger Slam.”
What makes these accomplishments even more remarkable is the time period in which Tiger has dominated. It’s impossible to judge how Nicklaus would have fared against today’s top names.
But because of today’s availability of resources and excellent training facilities and coaches, the sport churns out a greater number of quality golfers than it did 40 years ago.
In other words, Nicklaus and Woods both beat out top-notch competition, but Woods beat more of them.
Stats and numbers alone don’t make for a true measuring stick when determining greatness. An athlete’s ability to face adversity and his propensity to overcome it is what makes lasting impressions in the eyes of the public.
Who could forget the hold-your-breath chip shot on the 16th at the 2005 Masters at Augusta? One of the greatest shots in history sealed Tiger’s official comeback following a slump attributed to everything from marriage strains to knee surgery to his divorce with longtime coach Butch Harmon.
Tiger would scorn the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Instead, he would ask, “If it’s only good, why not make it great?”
Twice in his career, Woods has broken down his swing-one which most pro golfers only dream of possessing-in an attempt to develop an even better one. Both times his career suffered and both times Tiger returned even better.
Tiger is not afraid to take risks, even if it means taking a step back in order to go two forward. He wants to progress to lofty heights that others are afraid to achieve.
Let’s not forget that the media has fashioned Tiger into possibly the most recognizable athlete on the planet.
Tiger’s face is constantly burning under an interrogation lamp held by a public that expects him to win every tournament, year in and year out.
That kind of pressure would make Terrell Owens crack, no matter how much Owens loves the limelight.
The money, the fame, the success-all are perfect ingredients to make even the greatest athletes turn complacent. But not Tiger. He’s still hungry. And when he is finally done feasting on the rest of his PGA prey, there will be no questions as to who is the greatest of all time.