Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus? Have your say on the best golfer in history

Image: Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus have 33 major championships between them

Who was the best, Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus?

Woods' sensational Masters victory has reopened a debate that has lay dormant for a few years, with Woods' injury and personal problems leaning many towards Nicklaus in the final outcome.

But Woods proved at the weekend that he is not done yet, so do his heroics at Augusta tip the scales for you, or does he still have more to do to beat Nicklaus?

Image: Tiger Woods celebrates after winning the Masters

Is it as simple as the number of majors won? Read our summary of the debate and then have your say in our poll below…

In basic numbers, Nicklaus is now three clear of Woods in major championships with 18. If the best are defined by their performance in the biggest events, then Nicklaus has the advantage with his six Masters titles, four US Opens, three Open Championships and five PGAs.

Advertisement

Yet Tiger's period of dominance was without parallel. He won seven of 11 major championships from the 1999 PGA to the 2002 US Open before a run of four in eight between 2005 and 2006. He also won four straight - the Tiger Slam - over a period of 10 months by a combined 25 shots, something Nicklaus never achieved, although he did come close - losing by a shot to Lee Trevino at the 1972 Open Championship.

Image: Woods won the 2000 US Open by a record 15 shots at Pebble Beach

At his peak, Woods was untouchable. The 15-shot win at the 2000 US Open represented his absolute best. At 12 under, he was the only player to finish under par at Pebble Beach, and he followed that up with a record eight-shot win at the Open at St Andrews.

Also See:

However, Nicklaus was at the top of the game for 18 years, compared to Tiger's 14. Again though, this could change given his current resurgence and return to the top 10 in the rankings, but Nicklaus' record of only finishing outside the top 10 in five major championships throughout the entire 1970s is unreal. He had an incredible 48 top three finishes in Slams!

Image: Jack Nicklaus finished in the top 10 in all but five major championships in the 1970s

In terms of tournaments won, Woods has the edge. Sunday saw him win his 80th PGA Tour event to Nicklaus' 73. Woods is now just one behind Sam Snead's record of 81.

Woods also made the cut a record 142 consecutive tournaments. Nicklaus' best run was 105.

So, who was the best? It's a straight choice. You need one of these players to play for your life at their peak. Who do you choose?

Outbrain