Tiger Woods’ former caddie says whether he would’ve overtaken Jack Nicklaus’ 18 major record had he stayed with Butch Harmon

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Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus are the consensus two greatest golfers of all time, with many people on either side of the debate.

However, some believe that Woods would have ended the debate a long time ago if not for one crucial mistake in his career.

He played by far his best golf while working with legendary coach Butch Harmon, before surprisingly moving on in 2004.

At the time, Woods was a 28-year-old with eight major championships on his resume and he was fully expected to overtake Nicklaus’ record of 18.

He only ended up with 15 and people blame it all on the decision to find another coach. Woods’ former caddie Steve Williams has now shared his verdict.

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Tiger Woods’ caddie weighs in on popular Jack Nicklaus debate

Williams, who caddied for Woods between 1999 and 2011, knows just how good he was in his prime better than anyone.

Yet, the New Zealander recently explained that his “statistics” prove that Woods was no worse after he stopped working with Harmon, even though the achievements say otherwise.

Williams said: “That’s a question that comes up a lot. I kept a lot of statistics caddying for Tiger – there are more statistics currently available than back in the early day – and my statistics would tell me that Tiger played just as good under Hank Haney as under Butch Harmon.

“It’s a hypothetical question but no, I don’t think that’s a fair statement. I think that he has the ability and the determination to overcome so many different things and when you’re making a new swing change… he gives those swing changes a lot of thought and if he thinks something can be better.”

Unfortunately, we don’t know what measurements he’s talking about but perhaps the impact of Woods’ coaching changes is overblown.

Tiger Woods vs Jack Nicklaus major record

The key difference between Woods’ and Nicklaus’ major championship records is longevity, albeit both won the Masters Tournament late in their careers.

See, Woods won 13 of his 15 majors within 10 years of his first (1997 Masters) – a level of dominance that professional golf has never seen elsewhere.

By comparison, Nicklaus only had 11 majors one decade after his 1962 US Open victory, but he never went more than six years without winning one between 1962 and 1986.