Tiger won't catch Nicklaus

Peter Alliss is not one of the many who believe that with 10 majors to his credit at the age of 30, Tiger Woods is almost certain to overhaul Jack Nicklaus' long-standing rercord of 18.



Gary Player came close, but was only able to win one US Open

Yet despite these heroics and the great regard Alliss has for Woods, the BBC golf commentator believes that the greater pressure facing the golfers of today will cause the one of the planet's most famous sportsmen of the 21th Century to lose some of his famous focus sooner.

"I still don't think he will pass Jack Nicklaus' 18 major wins," Alliss told BBC Radio Five Live this week.

"There's a long way to go before he catches him.

"It's not an impossibility of course. He may well do it, but I do think there could be some other distractions along the way.

Despite these reservations, Alliss had great praise for the long reigning World No 1

"He's an amazing talent and wonderfully exciting," said Alliss

"Considering all the nonsense he has to put up with - long-lense cameras, people prying into your private life and bounties put up to try and get a juicy snippet of naughtiness you might have done when you were 15 - I think he copes with life amazingly well.

"It's been a privilege for me to watch him play."

From the start there have been great similarities in the careers of the two greatest golfers of the modern era.

Woods won his first major in 1997 at the age of 21, Nicklaus his first in 1962 at the age of 22 after both had come into professional golf as highly aclaimed US Amateur champions

Their private lives were different, however.

Nicklaus was married and had the first of his five children before winning his first major.

Woods, on the other hand, had won eight majors by the time he married his Swedish sweetheart Elin in October 2004 and there is a feeling that children might reduce his drive.

Both became beclamed relatively early in their career's, Tiger's highly-publicised 'rebuilding period' coming between 2002 and 2005, 'The Bear's between 1967, after the death of his father, and 1970 when her won his 2nd Open Championship.

Woods' father has also been ill, but The Tiger currently takes the positive view on his future as he looks forward this year to equalling and perhaps even passing Walter Hagen's mark of 11 majors.

"Normally your golden years are in your 30s," he has said more than once.

"Hopefully that will be the case for me."

Two remarkable Major records compared:

JACK NICKLAUS

Masters: 1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986

US Open: 1962, 1967, 1972, 1980

Open: 1966, 1970, 1978

USPGA: 1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1980

TIGER WOODS:

Masters: 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005

US Open: 2000, 2002

Open: 2000, 2005

USPGA: 1999, 2000
 

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