Josh Stanley

The odds of Tiger Woods breaking Jack Nicklaus’ major win record of 18 are slim to none.

After winning 14 majors by the age of 32, Woods was already three years ahead of Nicklaus when he won his 14th and was looking like he was going to shatter the record.

But then injuries and his love life plagued him, and Woods has been in a slide since his last major win in 2008 at the U.S. Open. 

Until his win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Woods had not even won a PGA tour match since September 2009. That was 132 straight weeks without a win, the longest of his career. And his poor finish at this years Masters may be more proof.

 At 36 years old, Woods has plenty of time to break the record, but the question is will his body hold up?

 Ever since his surgery to repair his knee in 2008, Woods has not been the same and everyone on the tour knows it.

 And his confidence must be shattered after going from winning every match to barely making the cut.

 Woods will be lucky if he can even still play at high level once he reaches his 40s. 

With a new injury arising each week and his inconsistent play week in and week out, Woods has probably seen his last major win.

Josh Stanley can be reached at [email protected].

David Somers

While many fans hope Woods will surpass Nicklaus’ mark, at this point it may never happen. 

As it stands, Woods has won 14 majors and only trails Nicklaus by four. Nicklaus won No. 15 when he was 38 years, 5 months and 24 days old. At just older than 36, that gives Woods until the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst – 10 majors in all – to keep pace with his childhood idol.

 But Woods’ body seems unable to carry him over the finish line. And the field is doing everything in its power to win those majors and see that he never gets the opportunity to set trophy No. 19 on his shelf.

 Despite several surgeries, health issues related to his left leg continue to plague him as his withdrawal from last month’s WGC-Cadillac Championship clearly indicated. No pun intended, but this may prove to be the achilles’ heel to his pursuit of the Golden Bear’s lofty mark.

 Add the fact Woods competes in a much deeper field than Nicklaus ever played against, and it can be strongly argued no professional golfer will ever approach 18 majors again. Sure, Nicklaus played against legends like Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan and Gary Player, but Woods is competing against a slew of young, talented PGA professionals and some seasoned greats.

 Still, anything is possible. And those of us who remain his fans will continue to root for Woods to pull it off as long as he continues to be in the field.

David Somers can be reached at [email protected].