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216 pages

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If you enjoy golf, following the careers of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, along with number-crunching, then this book is for you!
Throughout much of the highly-successful golfing career of Jack Nicklaus, many players arrived being touted, "the next Nicklaus." However, only one player has taken that mantle head-on to move forward the standard set by Nicklaus - Tiger Woods. Woods' explosive start in competitive golf at an early age propelled him further and faster in many areas over Nicklaus beginning with his junior amateur days. But has Woods succeeded in de-throning Nicklaus?
As both players have repeatedly stated that the standard of greatness in golf revolves largely around performance in the major championships, that will be the focus of this book, but not exclusively. While comparing eras is typically regarded as impossible, the purpose of this book is to quantify and place into perspective these two players' records in such a way as to add debate to the subject of who the greatest player thus far has been.

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Publié par	AuthorHouse
Date de parution	03 novembre 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781665569576
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE

COMPARATIVE CAREER ANALYSES OF JACK NICKLAUS & TIGER WOODS

WADE P. WHITE

AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: 833-262-8899

© 2022 Wade P. White. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/31/2022

ISBN: 978-1-6655-6959-0 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-6958-3 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-6957-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022916101

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS
Introduction

Amateur Summary
Cup Matches
Scoring
Venue Versatility
36-Hole Cuts Made & Missed
Competition
Money Leaders
Player Of The Year
World Ranking
Limited-Field Pga Tournaments With No 36-Hole Cut
Major Championship Victory Margins & Wire-To-Wire Wins
Major Championship Detail
Percent Of Purse
Placement Summary
Placement Detail
The Top Five
Year-To-Year Summary

Epilogue
Appendices
Bibliography

INTRODUCTION
“Years ago, somebody told me that when Tiger was a kid, he taped a list of my golf accomplishments on his closet. Well, if he’s making a checkmark every time he matches me in something, he must have his pencil out pretty darn often.” – Jack Nicklaus
Upon conclusion of the 2006 PGA Championship where Tiger Woods won by five shots, I retired to the Internet to read various articles and discussion boards regarding his triumph. As I already knew, the win marked Woods’ 12 th professional major championship victory with only six remaining to tie the record total of 18 set by Jack Nicklaus.
What I didn’t know was while there were many comments written by both professional writers and amateur commentators about Woods being “on pace” to do this or “ahead of Nicklaus” to do that, which of these more obscure or detailed aspects were fact, which were fiction, and which required additional background or context.
I first played golf in 1981 and took an early interest in its history of players and championship records. Over time, my awareness drifted from following it as intently. Yet, Woods’ major championship record chase renewed my interest enough that I began tracking his performance against that of Nicklaus.
Since Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have stated repeatedly the standard for greatness in golf is defined by performance in the major championships, most of the comparative data in this book will revolve around those four championships and the players’ records. For readers unfamiliar with the respective championships, they are:
• Masters Tournament
• U.S. Open Championship
• Open Championship (aka “British Open”)
• PGA Championship
While the game of golf continues to evolve and the professional circuit adds significant events, the consensus among competitors, media, and fans alike is the four majors are the gold standard for the game’s top players. These are the championships by which players are most remembered and careers best defined.
Such a standard is neither recent nor limited to the game of golf. Upon winning the “Impregnable Quadrilateral” or calendar-year Grand Slam in 1930, the great amateur Bobby Jones was rewarded with a ticker tape parade in New York City. The four championships at the time were the U. S. and British Open Championships along with the U.S. and British Amateur Championships, but the theory was the same. The year 1930 still resonates with many as the greatest year in golf as this feat has never been duplicated since with either the new or old version of the Grand Slam.
Ben Hogan won the “Triple Crown” in 1953, consisting of the first three Grand Slam events under the modern terminology. Unfortunately, he was unable to compete in the PGA Championship that year due to its schedule conflicting with the Open Championship. As with Jones, Hogan was celebrated in New York City with a ticker tape parade.
Outside of the game of golf, Roger Federer’s performance in the Grand Slam events in professional tennis has elevated him to being widely regarded as the greatest professional men’s player to date. However, many might make a case for Rod Laver. While Laver’s championship total is fewer, he won the calendar-year Grand Slam twice. Nevertheless, the commonality is performance in the four Grand Slam championships. As Jimmy Connors wrote in his autobiography, The Outsider , “Grand Slam events, which are also called the majors, are the ones where you make your reputation, then as now. They have the most ranking points, the most prize money, and they attract the most attention.” Consequently, a correlation exists between the greater the event, its inherent pressure, and the player who masters that pressure the best over time. This theory is no different, regardless of sport.
For Nicklaus and Woods, the composition of the major championships has remained static. That makes a comparative analysis fairly straightforward. However, the more I began to study their major championship performances, the further I delved into their total records. Thus, while this book will focus largely on the major championships, it will not focus exclusively on them.
There is more to the careers of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods than just the major championships. Therefore, time will also be spent delineating how they fared in other aspects (i.e. money titles, Player of the Year, scoring, etc.). It is with these ancillary areas that a proper context should be placed as the criteria for achievement has changed over the years.
For the discerning reader, please note the following caveats pertaining to both players’ records:
• When running calculations/spreadsheets on placements for Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and applicable competitors, any ties were treated as discrete so the results would compute properly. While any ties do not change the records favorably or unfavorably, they will be referenced when possible.
• The focus of this book should be on the most competitive range of professional years for both players. For Jack Nicklaus, 1962 through 1986 made sense as it encompassed his first and last victories. Therefore, a similar range was set for Tiger Woods. Due to injuries in his later years, I included September of 1996 through the 2022 Open Championship. And although Woods missed a few years, the ages of he and Nicklaus were similar throughout.
Also, the acronyms below will be sprinkled throughout various charts. The references are:
• DNP
Did Not Play
• MC
Missed Cut
• N/A
Not Available
• T-
Tied for (placement)
• WD
Withdrew

Growing up, I repeatedly heard my father utter the words, “Let’s put this in perspective.” The overriding goal of this book is simply that – to better place in perspective prominent points of the careers of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods while breaking down myths surrounding each player relative to the other and their respective eras.
It would be naïve to believe through these pages, I will singlehandedly sway the legions of Tiger Woods’ fans to second-guess their position or move many Jack Nicklaus fans into aligning themselves otherwise. Therefore, my goal is not to develop a case for one or the other as the greatest player, but to provide copious data, both old and new – and in new formats – to add to the debate.
Regardless of player preference, I hope the reader will acknowledge the effort that went into compiling the data in the following pages. In addition, I will attempt to present the information with a lack of subjectivity. Whether agreeing or disagreeing with the conclusions or formats, the reader should discover representations of statistics, contexts, and perspectives perhaps not previously considered.

AMATEUR SUMMARY
“When I won the Amateur at Pebble (in 1961), I played 3-iron or 4-iron into that green half the time for my second shot.” – Jack Nicklaus on the 14 th hole at Pebble Beach (565-yard par five) Golf Digest – “Weighing in for the U.S. Open” June 1983
“He’s lean, he’s strong, his swing is marvelous. I couldn’t see the ball come off the club for the first 27 holes. It came off the club that fast.” – Buddy Marucci on Tiger Woods after the 1995 U.S. Amateur final Sports Illustrated – “Encore! Encore!” September 1995
While the majority of this book will cover the records of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods during their professional careers – notably in the major championships – the following provides a summary of their records as amateurs.
Along with Bobby Jones, who won five U.S. Amateur Championships, four U.S. Open Championships, three Open Championships, and one British Amateur Championship, both Nicklaus and Woods are considered the greatest amateurs to play the game – each having been the top-ranked amateurs their final t