Who's the GOAT? Settling the Debate Between Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus

Everyone loves a good GOAT debate. Alex Miceli has taken a closer look at the numbers and writes that the answer is obvious.

Who’s the GOAT?

The Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus, turned 83 last weekend.

Happy belated birthday, Jack.

Most fans agree that Nicklaus’s golf career stands as one of the best, if not the all-time greatest.

Depending on your age, Nicklaus is either your GOAT or, if you’re younger, Nicklaus might fall just behind Tiger Woods.

I just turned 65 and watched Nicklaus win majors. The question to me is moot.

But it’s not fair to impose my will on others, so let’s take a look at the Golden Bear’s record. And if you’re under 30 and grew up on a steady diet of Woods, perhaps Nicklaus will soon be part of your conversation.

There’s only one place to start: majors. Nothing—not the Players Championship, the FedEx Cup nor the Ryder Cup—comes close to the four majors when assessing a golfer’s career.

Nicklaus and Woods excelled in the biggest events, but Nicklaus’s career in majors is off the charts and will likely not be duplicated.

Wins are key, and Nicklaus leads Woods 18 to 15. But while the three-win difference is important, the runner-up differential is maybe even more impressive.

Nicklaus has 19 runner-up finishes in majors to just seven for Woods. To go a little deeper, Nicklaus has nine third-place finishes versus just four for Woods.

Now we do the math: In majors, Woods has 26 top-threes, and Nicklaus has 46 top-threes, a substantial difference. It’s hard to question how Nicklaus is not the GOAT just on his major record.

Of course, on his overall résumé, Nicklaus in almost every measure is the better of the two, except with wins, which is not inconsequential.

Woods has 82 victories in his career and Nicklaus 72, a considerable difference, but by itself not definitive when looking at the other finishes.

Nicklaus had 57 runner-up finishes in his career and 269 top-10s while Woods had 31 runner-up finishes, or 26 behind Nicklaus, and 199 top-10s, 60 less than the Golden Bear.

With the exception of total wins, Nicklaus beats Woods in every category. He’s now 83, and it says here he’s still the GOAT.