Tiger alert

Having observed them both in their heyday, I disagree. But I won't deny that there's an argument right now.

Why rush it? I think Tiger's going to settle this one for good in the next 2-3 years.

 

Nicklaus, in a landslide. Jack has finished runner-up 19 times. In majors. Tiger? 4. Nicklaus' major wins are also interesting in that he won his first of each of the big four in the early 1960s and won his last ones in the 1980s which means he crossed over a bevy of top players. Furthermore, Nicklaus had Top-10 finishes in the Masters twice in the 1990s in his 50s.

 

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18 majors (JN) 13 (TW)
6 green jackets (JN) 4 (TW)

What you said is if Tiger died today.....Jack's pro career spanned well over 20 years...hell, his 1986 Masters victory came when he was 45.

Tiger has been at this professionally for 10 years.

10 years from now, chances are he will be the best ever, but as of now....(In my opinion) he's not.

 

46 actually.

 

I once shot a 22-under par 26 on Mini Putt. You all should have been there for the after-party. It was insane.

 

I shot a 5 on Orbitz golf once.

 

I did that once -- on the computer.

 

Tiger's getting to the point where he's been more dominant in a 10-year stretch than anyone before him, including Nicklaus, so you could make a good case for Tiger as the best of all time.

Look what Sandy Koufax did in a five-year stretch.

 

You guys need to quit using Nicklaus' seconds in majors and Tiger's lack of them as some kind of benchmark. You think Jack enjoyed finishing second? You're the same people who complain that Tiger has never come from behind on Sunday to win a major, even though he's got 13 now. When he gets major No. 19 to break Jack's record, and still without coming from behind on Sunday, you'll find a way to put an asterisk by that.

 

Sorry Hondo but a guy who wins 18 majors and takes second 19 times has a better record than a guy who has won 13 majors and finished second four times. Tiger may beat Nicklaus' record someday but he hasn't yet.

37 top-2 finishes is better than 17 top-2 finishes. Period. Taking second is better than third, fourth, fifth or whatever place follows.

 

And a guy who wins 19 majors will have a better record than the guy who won 18, even if every single major was not the result of having come from behind on Sunday. Especially since Tiger will pass Jack's total victories of 73 within three years. Quit assigning style points to majors and quit assigning so much value to finishing second. I assure you, Jack doesn't.

 

And when Tiger gets to 19, he'll be known as the best ever. Until then it's Nicklaus, just as Aaron was the greatest home-run hitter until Bonds passed him.

But no matter what Nicklaus thinks, a guy who finishes second 19 times is a better golfer than a guy who finishes second once, fifth a couple times and then finishes 20th or below or misses the cut the rest of the time.