Jack Nicklaus’ major championships record looks like it will be safe for a long time.
Tiger Woods was the biggest threat to beat Jack Nicklaus’ tally of 18 major championship victories. But after a series of surgeries over the last decade and a half, we’ve all but kissed goodbye to the possibility of Woods breaking his hero’s record.
He was predicted to make his return to golf in 2026, but Woods recently announced that he underwent his seventh back surgery, ruling him out for the foreseeable future. He’ll likely finish his career with 15 majors. That’s an incredible tally, but still short of the 19 needed to pass the great Nicklaus.
When he won the US Open in 2008, Woods looked certain to win another five major titles. But he has won only one since then, the 2019 Masters. Life comes at you fast.
That’s led many to question whether Woods has ever truly achieved his full potential in golf. His dominant run in the early 2000s was unlike anything we have ever seen, so 15 majors hardly do him justice.
But Rick Shiels turned that conversation on its head, by pointing the finger at Nicklaus’ esteemed career.
Rick Shiels questions whether Jack Nicklaus fulfilled his full potential
Nicklaus holds a nearly untouchable record with 18 major wins, but in reality, it could have been so many more. The golfing icon also holds the record for the most second-place finishes in major championships.
In fact, he finished in second more times than he won, leaving Shiels to question how many majors Nicklaus should have won.
Speaking on The Rick Shiels Golf Show podcast, he said, “Are we going to look back at this and feel like [Woods] did not fulfil his potential?
“Between 1997 and 2008 you can’t argue, he won so much it was ridiculous. But that 11 year span between 2008 and 2019 where he didn’t win and he had all of the drama, and the time out of the game, and all these other things and shenanigans off the golf course.
“He has won 82 official PGA Tour events, tied with Sam Snead also on 82. He should have smashed that record. You could argue. Did Jack Nicklaus not even fulfil his potential? I know that sounds ridiculous. He won 18 tournaments. The amount of times he came second was staggering, absolutely staggering.
“So could Jack Nicklaus have got to 25? Could Tiger have got to 30? There is no such thing as a perfect career. No athlete has ever had a perfect career.”
Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy didn’t achieve their potential
There are examples of this littered throughout the modern game. Rory McIlroy was tipped to break Nicklaus’ record when he won his fourth major championship in 2014. Who would have expected his next to be 11 years later, when McIlroy finally won the Masters at Augusta?
Tommy Fleetwood is also a classic example. It took him 164 events before Fleetwood won the Tour Championship, claiming his first win on the PGA Tour. He had 30 top-five finishes during that time, and in another life, Fleetwood could already be a multiple-time winner.
Even Phil Mickelson would have been a career grand slam winner if not for a meltdown on the 18th hole at the 2006 US Open.
It’s just not realistic for us to analyze careers like that. Nicklaus finished second 19 times at major championships, but isn’t that something that should be celebrated rather than criticized? 19 times he remained in contention and pushed the winner all the way.
To win a major, you had to beat Nicklaus. He was always going to be looking over your shoulder down the stretch.
As for Woods, his work ethic and intensity are what made him great. He paid the price with the toll it eventually took on his body, but without enduring that workload, would he ever have reached 15?
In the case of these all-time greats, sometimes it’s worth appreciating what they achieved rather than pointing to where they could have done more.
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