If Tiger Woods Retired Today, Would He Be the Greatest Golfer Ever?

If Tiger Woods were to organize another Tiger and Pony show at PGA Tour headquarters next week, appear from behind the blue, Saturday Night Live-esque curtain and tell the world that he is retiring from professional golf, how would he be remembered?

Would he be considered the greatest golfer of all time?

Would he be considered the most dominant golfer of all time?

Would he be known for the most epic collapse in sports history?  

Or would it be a combination of the three?

It all comes down to a single question: How do we measure the greatest golfer of all time?

In terms of sheer dominance over a period of time, you’d have to look at guys like Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Young Tom Morris, and Woods.

Jones won 13 majors over the span of just eight years, including four majors in a single season.

Hogan won six out of nine majors between 1950 and 1953 and didn’t finish outside the top-10 in the other three.

Young Tom Morris won four consecutive Open Championships between 1868 and 1872 (there was no Open Championship held in 1871). Had he not passed away in 1875 at the age of 24, he might very well have gone on to win eight, nine, or 10 Open Championships, which at the time was the only major being played.

Woods has won 14 majors (including four majors in a row), 71 PGA Tour events, and a total of 97 worldwide events over the past 13 years.  In terms of total wins, Woods is only two PGA Tour wins behind Jack Nicklaus in half the time it took Nicklaus to win 73 events.

In terms of career longevity, there is one man that clearly rises above the rest—Jack Nicklaus.

Nicklaus won his first major in 1962 at the age of 22, and his last in 1986 at the age of 46. Over the course of 25 years, Nicklaus won 73 PGA Tour events and 115 worldwide events.  

Although he might not have dominated the game as profoundly as guys like Woods, Hogan and Jones did over a period of time, Nicklaus was the best player in the game for at least 18 years, which is quite an accomplishment when considering that, Nicklaus and Woods aside, virtually every other great player the game has ever seen won all of their majors over a span of five to eight years. 

So, what is more impressive—winning 18 majors in 25 years, or feats such as winning 13 majors in eight years (Jones), 14 majors and 71 PGA Tour events in 12 years (Woods), or winning six out of nine majors (Hogan)?

Based on pure talent and their ability to completely dominate the game, Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez might be the top two greatest hitters of all time.

However, both players are still fairly young and have yet to break any of the most prominent offensive records in the sport.

So, if they were each to walk away from the game today, would they be considered the greatest hitters of all time?

Or would we continue to look at guys like Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Barry Bonds (“alleged” PED usage aside), Ty Cobb, and Ted Williams as the greatest hitters of all-time based on their achievements over a longer period of time?

This may be the easy or politically correct answer, but in my mind, if Woods were to walk away from the today, there is no clear-cut greatest golfer of all time.

Why?

Because there are two completely separate ways of evaluating the greatest golfer of all time—most dominant and greatest overall career.

Nicklaus clearly had the greatest overall career.

In terms of most dominant over a period of time, you’re looking at Woods, Hogan, Jones, Morris, etc.

Woods was and still might be (the guy is only 34 years old and his “walking away from the game” idea is purely hypothetical) on pace to be the only man to transcend both categories used to measure the greatest golfers of all time.

Over the past 13 years, Woods has dominated the game like few, if any, ever have before, and he was also on pace to break virtually every career record as well.

If Woods winds up winning 20 majors and 100 PGA Tour events, combined with a stretch of the most dominant golf in history, well, then it’s clear who the greatest golfer of all time is.

If Woods does not win another major or PGA Tour event, well, we probably have several greatest of all times, because there has not been a single player in history that has transcended both categories—dominance and longevity.

In the end, it’s a matter of personal opinion.

What is more impressive to you?

Complete dominance over the period of five to ten years, or a span of winning major championships that stretches 25 years?

That is a question only you can answer.

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