Capelle On Golf

The golf world is transfixed by Tiger Woods’ pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ 18 majors. A number of pundits believe that he could capture the Grand Slam this year. This would leave him just one shy of the Golden Bear’s record. Though winning majors is Tiger’s objective, finishing right behind first place in the majors, as he did at last year’s Masters and U.S. Open, is nothing to be sneezed at.

Nicklaus himself recorded some Everest sized numbers that have sadly been ignored by he media. Among the tallest is his 54 top fours - in the majors. His first came with a second to Arnold Palmer at the 1960 U.S. Open, his last with his stunning comeback at the 1986 Masters. Over this period he played in 100 majors, finishing in the top four a whopping 54% of the time. It gets even better. From 1962-1980 (his prime), Nicklaus finished in the top four 47 times, an average of 61.8%!

So far Woods has recorded 22 top fours in 44 majors as a pro, an average of 50%. So, in order to match Nicklaus’ record during his prime, Woods must record 25 top fours in his next 32 majors, a 78.1% pace. As for Nicklaus’ record of 54 top fours, Woods can tie it by merely finishing in the top four in every major over the next eight years!

It certainly looks like Woods will break Nicklaus’ record for most majors. Still, golf must consider other major milestones in determining the Best Ever, and top fours in the majors is definitely one of them. So as it stands now, Nicklaus is by far golf’s greatest winner/contender, and that’s a tough combination to beat.