In terms of major championship victories, Tiger Woods’ eventual overtake of Jack Nicklaus had long seemed certain, but in recent years, injuries have plagued him.
Due to Tiger Woods’ extensive injury history, golf legend Jack Nicklaus has acknowledged that he does not see Tiger breaking his record for major championships.
The 48-year-old has had a spectacular career, becoming one of the most decorated athletes in the history of the game in almost three decades. Woods’ five Masters victories tied Sam Snead’s record for the most PGA Tour victories, which stands at 82.
Still, the American is three behind fellow countryman Nicklaus in the overall men’s Major championship standings. Currently, Woods leads Nicklaus by 15 victories to 18 in this category; the most recent of the former’s victories came at the 2019 Masters.
The former world No. 1 has since had difficulty increasing his total, in part because of the negative effects of his 2021 vehicle accident on his health. It’s important to note that Woods has only won one Major since 2007. During that time, the celebrity needed multiple back surgeries, suffered stress fractures, and had problems with his ACL.
Even so, after his most recent victory at Augusta, the icon appeared to be in a strong position to finally break Nicklaus’ long-standing record, but he has since been beset by injuries. The man he has battled to unseat has now given some thought to Woods’ health issues in the later stages of his career.
In an interview with the Golf Channel, he acknowledged: “I believe he would have won if he had stayed healthy, but he didn’t.” I’m sorry for him,” she said before speculating about what her future would hold for his career. “Tiger is likely to participate in the senior tour. He could get into a cart and kill everyone with absolute certainty.”
After undergoing a subtalar fusion surgery in 2023 in the hopes of permanently fixing his ankle problems, Woods returned to the game. Before this, in April, he had hobbled around the Augusta National course and withdrew from competition at the Masters.
The renowned six-time Masters champion Nicklaus also demonstrated in a broad talk that he still has the same enthusiasm for the game as he did during his illustrious career. Speaking about the current situation surrounding the planned merger of the rival PGA Tour and LIV Golf circuits, he stated: “I spoke with Jay [Monahan] approximately three weeks ago.
“I don’t really know where they’re going. I hope that they get this thing together all in the best interest of the game of golf. The LIV thing has been a powerful addition to the game, probably impacted a lot more than we thought it was going to, but it has, and it probably will continue to do so.”
In addition, he endorsed Jay Monahan, the commissioner of the PGA Tour, citing the lack of progress in establishing a legally binding agreement to create a “for profit entity” as well as the extension of the deadline for a deal. “I know he’s taken a beating, but I’ve always been in complete support of Jay,” he continued. Jay has always acted in the tour’s and golf’s best interests.”
