Also, as far as winning boatloads of majors goes, I’m not sure how important it is to start in one’s early 20s. By far, the most important factor is to be the best golfer of one’s time. This is the main reason Jack, Tiger, Bobby Jones, and Hogan were able to win so many majors. Next important is reaching one’s peak at a time when there ISN’T another dominant player winning a boatload of majors. Watson, I think, is a good example of a player with good timing. He came of age, majors-wise, just as Jack was starting to fade. Arnie, by contrast, saw his run of majors end in lage part because of Jack’s emergence.

Beyond these things, I think figuring out how to play well LATER in one’s career is probably more important than winning early. Even Nicklaus won as many majors AFTER age 40 (three) as he did BEFORE age 25. For the vast majority of major championship winners, their primes came in their late 20s to early 40s, and their overall place in the record-books is determined primarily by how efficiently they racked up wins during this time, NOT by starting particularly young.