Monday, June 22, 2009

Tiger Woods Is Still The Greatest Golfer In History

Okay, he did not win the Masters or the U. S. Open this year. But what is the ultimate yardstick for measuring golfers? It is money won. Woods has been the leading money winner on the PGA tour 8 years. The only other golfer to lead for 8 different years was Jack Nicklaus. Woods's 8th year came when he was 31 years old. When Nicklaus did it for the 8th time, he was 36. So Woods beat him by five years. The next two highest totals for years leading the tour in money are Tom Watson and Ben Hogan, both tied at 5. So it really just comes down to Nicklaus and Woods. Nicklaus was the leading winner 8 times from 1964 through 1977 or 8 out of 13 years. Woods led 8 years from 1997-2007 or 8 years out of 11. So with Woods taking fewer years to do it and doing it at a much younger age, it shows he clearly has the edge. Even if he retired now, it would be a no brainer that he is the greatest.

Source: The ESPN Sports Almanac

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The thing about Tiger that is so impressive to me is that even when he scuffles, like at the US Open, he still finishes T6, 4 shots back. When other golfers have a bad day or week they miss the cut or shoot an 80.

Cyril Morong said...

Thanks for dropping by and commenting. I guess Woods's bad days are better than most guys good days. He also does not play in all the events, sometimes several fewer than most guys yet still leads in money.

In 1996, at age 20, he played in only 11 events but finished 24th on the money list. He was 3rd in money per tournament entered.