Jack Nicklaus is arguably the greatest golfer of all time and his record at The Masters is something which really sets him apart from the rest.
Nicklaus remains the top man around Augusta National and has six green jackets to his name, one ahead of the great Tiger Woods.
Of those green jackets, the win in 1986 is arguably Nicklaus’ most iconic, given he wasn’t fancied by too many and he hadn’t won a major since 1980.
Nevertheless, win it he did and to add a sixth jacket at that time in his career was quite the feat.
However, when we look back at the other five green jackets Nicklaus helped himself to, he achieved some truly remarkable things over that time period and his record around Augusta in that spell is worth noting.
Jack Nicklaus’ record at The Masters between 1963 and 1979
Sometimes, a golfer dominates so much for a long period of time that we can easily forget just how good they were.
That is very apparent when it comes to Jack Nicklaus, who in 17 Masters appearances between his first in ’63 and the tournament in 79, produced a masterclass in golf.
Nicklaus won five times around Augusta National in that time period but more impressively, he finished outside the top ten on just two occasions.
His scoring, too, was brilliantly impressive. Nicklaus was 87 under par for the period, a whopping 69 strokes better than anyone else. More impressively, he gained a huge 206 strokes against the field in that time frame, 75 more than the next best in that metric, Gary Player.
Furthermore, in 66 rounds, Nicklaus shot worse than the field average just seven times.
It is little wonder, then, that he was so successful during that spell.
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How Scottie Scheffler matches up against Jack Nicklaus at Augusta National
Nicklaus’ record here is more about longevity and quality in that period than anything else.
However, current world number one Scottie Scheffler is very much on the right track at this moment in time.
Scheffler is currently 34 under par in six appearances at the Masters. On a basic average, that means he finishes each tournament around the five to six under mark (5.6)
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In comparison, if we work out Nicklaus’ record over those 17 tournaments, he comes in just below Scheffler with an average of 5.1 under par.
Of course, consistency is key and Scheffler first needs to play in 17 Masters tournaments in a row before a true comparison can be made.
But right now, he is certainly on track to match Mr Nicklaus and if he does, it would just add more weight to what is already looking like a long-lasting legacy in the game.
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