JeffTilley
Hard to say really.
One of the things most commonly overlooked about Tiger's dominance is that he achieved all that he did under an intense microscope of publicity.... all that he accomplished in his amateur career, then having that elevated to the professional level... being an ethnic minority in what had always been predominately a white man's sport, and not only managing to be competitive, but to reach the pinnacle of success as early as he did in his career...
And then carrying that burden of being the first real minority to break into the sport to that level of success, shouldering all of those expectations that the media and the fans placed upon him; and to do so carrying the brand and exposing the brand on a global level? A lot less external pressure has ended many of a promising career in pro golf over the years.
Yet Tiger managed that to such a degree that no one ever could've possibly fathomed.
Jack won his 18th and final major in '86, at the ripe old age of 46. And although that impressive feat certainly elevated him to an untouchable level - I don't think we'd look at his career accomplishments all that different today had he not won that '86 Masters. His 17 major wins under that scenario would still be considered unequaled.
That speaks volumes to how impressive his career was, that we could overlook that last heroic, improbable major championship win and still come away today feeling that he was the greatest of all time. And in due part because of the competitive nature of those who he had to beat back during his prime. Although that number is significantly smaller than the number of players that Tiger had to best week in and week out - we are talking about some of the all-time greats who pushed Nicklaus to the level he achieved. It wasn't as if Jack beat a bunch of nobodies on his way to 18 major championships. Quite the contrary.
But could he have achieved all he did, given the same circumstances that faced Tiger, with all of the distractions, the media, the expectations placed upon him in not only carrying the mantle for minorities, but at the same time creating a worldwide explosion of interest? And be saddled with those burdens not for just a couple of seasons - but essentially for a decade or more? That, to me, is quite astonishing, given the circumstances and the distractions he had to deal with back in his prime.
Jack didn't have to spend 2 hours on a Sunday evening, after coming up short in the final round of a major, in front of 200 sports writers and reporters, with a live tv camera capturing and clinging to every word he said, trying to dispel rumors that perhaps the ride was over and that he no longer had what it took. Back then it was just a small paragraph near the last page of the sports section in the Monday morning paper that very few people read.
But considering that Woods participated in 76 majors total (by my rough math) over his career, and throwing out maybe a handful of those majors he played in by virtue of his amateur status.... he still "only" won majors roughly 12-13 percent of the time. Which mind you is still an astronomical figure considering how difficult it is to do that just once. Yet that still means he was having to deal with answering questions about why he didn't win, or perhaps that his demise was imminent, despite being the overwhelming favorite, 88 percent of the time that he came up short.
We know how Tiger fared. And perhaps Jack would've fared just as well under that intense level of scrutiny. But it's hard to say. It was a totally different era and a totally different game back in Jack's day.