Jack Nicklaus Won 18 Majors and Finished Second in 19 More

Jack Nicklaus won 18 major championships, the most anyone has won, and was runner-up in 19 others. Tiger Woods, the man chasing him, has 15 wins and 7 second places. The gap in near-misses is larger than the gap in wins.

Nicklaus contended at majors from 1962 to 1986, a span of 24 years. He won 73 PGA Tour events from 584 starts and finished in the top ten in majors 73 times. The 19 runner-up finishes are not a consolation statistic, they are the evidence: 37 times he was first or second at a major, which is more chances to win one than most great players get in total.

The endpoints show the range. He won his first major, the 1962 US Open, at 22, beating Arnold Palmer in a playoff in Palmer's own home state. He won his last, the 1986 Masters, at 46, shooting 30 on the back nine at Augusta on Sunday to come from behind, which remains the most celebrated round in the sport.

What makes the record durable is that golf agreed on the measurement before he set it. In a sport with no head-to-head, no standings and no defense, the four majors are the only universally accepted currency, and everyone has always kept the same count. Nicklaus is at the top of the only list that matters and he has been for fifty years.

The case for Woods is peak, and it is overwhelming on its own terms. From 2000 to 2008 he was more dominant relative to his field than Nicklaus ever was, winning the 2000 US Open by 15 shots and holding all four majors at once across 2000 and 2001, a feat Nicklaus never managed. Woods also has 82 PGA Tour wins, nine more than Nicklaus and level with Sam Snead. Injuries, not competition, stopped him.

The honest split is that Woods at his best was the better golfer and Nicklaus had the better career. If the question is who you would want for one season, take Woods. If it is who won the most of the thing golf actually counts, it is not close.

The verdict: Nicklaus for the majors. Tiger for the peak. The best argument in individual sport.