Tiger Woods backed to eclipse Jack Nicklaus Major record after Tour Championship win

Emotional: Tiger Woods said he was 'tearing up' on the 18th hole
USA TODAY Sports
Matt Majendie @mattmajendie24 September 2018

Jack Nicklaus believes Tiger Woods can eclipse his record of 18 Major wins after watching him claim the Tour Championship.

Woods’s victory — his first for five years — and his runners-up spot at this year’s British Open reignited the reality of a first Major triumph since 2008 for the former world No 1.

In the intervening years after securing his 14th Major crown, Woods struggled with personal problems and a serious back injury as he slumped to 1,199 in the world. At the time, it looked like he would never surpass the man known as the Golden Bear.

However, Nicklaus is in no doubt that Woods now has a realistic chance to beat his tally. The 78-year-old said: “Maybe Tiger’s got another 40 majors to play. Out of 40 majors can he win five of them, I don’t know?

“He’s playing well enough. It depends how much he wants to work at it, how interested he is and long he wants to make a commitment to do that.

“But what people say doesn’t mean anything. It’s what you think and what’s important is what Tiger is thinking. I’m proud of him. He’s worked very hard to get his golf game back.”

Woods had teed off yesterday with a three-shot lead and held on to win by two strokes for an 80th PGA Tour title, leaving him two short of Sam Snead’s all-time record of 82.

“To get to the 80 mark is a big number and Sam is still ahead of me,” said Woods, 42. “I’ve still got a chance to play some more golf and maybe I’ll chip away at that number and surpass that. But I don’t know how many years I have of doing this at this level.”

For Woods, yesterday’s win was as special as any that had come before. “It’s certainly up there with all the Majors I’ve won,” he said.

“But this is under different circumstances. It means a lot more to me now in the sense because I didn’t know if I’d ever be out here again playing, doing this again.”

Woods admitted there was an element of surprise he was still able to play golf again in 2018, let alone beat the best in the world at the lucrative end-of-season event, following spinal fusion surgery to correct a long-standing problem.

Winning feeling: Woods made a par on the final hole in front of a huge crowd.
Getty Images

“Just to be able to complete and play this year, that’s a healthy comeback,” he said. “Just to play golf, I’m just enjoying doing this again and being with my kids.”

As the dust settled on his remarkable comeback, Woods also reflected on his fear that he might never be pain free again.

“I was beyond playing,” he said. “I couldn’t sit. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t lay down without feeling the pain in my back and my leg. That was a pretty low point for a very long time.”

In Pictures | Tiger Woods

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Woods’s win also provided a timely boost for the American Ryder Cup team ahead of the event, which begins on Friday. He was named as one of four wildcard picks, having last been involved in 2012.

England’s Justin Rose lost his world No 1 ranking after finishing in a tie for fourth but secured the $10million (7.68m) bonus for winning the FedEx Championship.

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