Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2017 - 40

BACKSPIN
Head to Head
* BY MARK CRAIG *
When comparing Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods,
who comes out on top?
F
our men with 18 majors between them were chatting
at Muirfield Village Golf Club on the eve of the 2002
Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio.
Yours truly was joined by a young fella from a nearby radio
station, legendary Columbus sports writer Kaye Kessler and
his buddy, Jack Nicklaus, an 18-time major winner and the
most media-friendly athlete to ever stand head and shoulders
above his sport.
Nicklaus was talking about Hazeltine National as a venue
for the 2002 PGA Championship when the young fella from
the radio station spoke up. The young fella was nervous as he
tried to frame a question that would elicit Nicklaus' thoughts
on 26-year-old Tiger Woods, who had won five of the past
eight majors.
" Jack, " the young fella began, " you were
the Tiger Woods of your era ... "
Kessler smiled at the naiveté of comparing
Nicklaus to Woods, not Woods to Nicklaus.
Kessler first wrote about Nicklaus in 1950,
when Jack Grout, the head pro at Scioto
Country Club, called to report that 10-yearold
" Jackie " shot 51 the first time he ever
played nine holes.
As for Nicklaus' reaction, well, the Bear
was pure golden. He never skipped a beat.
" Yep, " said Nicklaus, agreeing with the
young fella's premise while shooting Kessler a wink, " that's
what they used to call me. The Tiger Woods of my era. "
I covered 10 majors from 2000 to 2003. Tiger won five of
the first seven. In golf history, only 19 men have won five majors
in a lifetime.
So, most of us, Nicklaus included, assumed Woods would
pass Nicklaus eventually. And then Woods rocketed to 14 majors
by winning 12 of 34 at the start of the century.
The first major I covered-the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble
Beach-felt more like a coronation than a competition.
Woods posted his record 15-shot victory as Nicklaus bid farewell
to the U.S. Open.
" Nineteen majors definitely is viable, " Woods said that
week. " Like Jack did, the key is to put yourself in position to
40
MINNESOTAGOLFER Summer 2017
win on the back nine on Sunday. "
Since Woods started the century 12-for-34, he's gone 0-for35,
missing 11 majors while battling injuries, multiple back
surgeries and personal scandal, not to mention a disobedient
tee ball and a putter drained of its incomparable magic.
Woods has missed five straight majors heading into the
117th U.S. Open June 15-18 at Wisconsin's Erin Hills. Now
41, it has been nine summers since Woods, then 33, won his
last major on a broken leg at Torrey Pines.
" Physically, Tiger looks fantastic, " Nicklaus said in February.
" But he goes and plays, and then he either physically can't
make it, or mentally and physically-maybe they work together,
I don't really know. And I'm not sure he knows. It's sad
to me. ... I hope he gets it corrected. "
Some might argue that Woods is still the
most dominant golfer of all time. He had
blowout major wins, spent 683 weeks as the
world's No. 1 golfer, and his 79 victories are
six more than Nicklaus'.
But Nicklaus also set major records for
Tiger
Woods
top-five finishes (56) and runner-up finishes
(19). Woods was top-five 31 times and runner-up
six times.
Perhaps the most telling stat that separates
these two careers is consecutive majors
played. Woods, the guy who introduced
physical fitness to golf, once played in 46 straight. Nicklaus,
the guy they called " Fat Jack, " set the record of 146 straight
while winning majors over a 24-year period.
One of my many memories covering the 2000 U.S. Open
was the hordes of new golf fans scurrying about yelling,
" Where's Tiger? " At one point, I laughed as I walked past a
golf cart loaded down with NBC television equipment and a
sign of the times in big, black letters: " No, I don't know where
Tiger is. "
Those words are pertinent 17 years later. But they've taken
on a whole new meaning.
Mark Craig is the NFL/Vikings columnist and a golf writer for
the Star Tribune.
www.mngolf.org
http://www.mngolf.org

Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2017

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