Tiger Woods has been labelled the “most underachieving golfer in history” despite his overwhelming success in the sport. Since turning pro in 1996, Woods has secured 15 major titles and a record-tying 82 PGA Tour victories.
However, he has only won one major in the past 17 years – a fact that hasn’t gone unnoticed by commentator Brandel Chamblee. Woods will not be attending Augusta National for this week’s Masters as he continues to rehabilitate for an Achilles injury he suffered in March.
The 49-year-old remained the central topic of discussion on a recent episode of The Skip Bayless Show. And according to Chamblee, it’s no surprise Woods remains the biggest draw in golf.
“What he did, nobody had ever seen anything like it,” he said. “He was so far superior to any of his peers, far, far more superior to his peers than [Bobby] Jones was, than [Ben] Hogan was, than [Jack] Nicklaus was.”
Chamblee clarified his belief that Woods is indeed the greatest golfer of all time. But both he and host Bayless concurred that injuries have hindered him from realising his full potential.
“It just tears me up to think about how some of his injuries were self-inflicted after he dominated this game the way nobody has,” said Bayless, referencing a passage from the 2012 book, ‘The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods,’ which claimed Woods tore his ACL during a 2007 training session with Navy SEALs.
Chamblee then made a bold judgement as he continued: “I would say he’s the most underachieving golfer in the history of the game. And the way I get there is, I can think of no other golfer who left 10 to 15 major championships on the table.
“Who left 30 to 40 regular tour events on the table. Of course, he’s the greatest player of all time, but he’s also at the same time the most underachieving. Nobody guessed beneath 20 majors at the end of his career. It was 20 to 25 majors. . .and over 100 tour events.”
Nicklaus, 85, is the other name that regularly pops up as the one golfer who could challenge for Woods’ throne. ‘The Golden Bear’ won the Masters on six occasions, with his first and last green jackets earned 23 years apart.
His fellow Hall of Famer also topped the PGA Tour money list on eight occasions and was named PGA Players of the Year five times. However, Chamblee stuck to his assertion that Woods deserves the title of GOAT.
“Look, it’s still a debate,” he concluded. “A lot of people still think Jack Nicklaus is the greatest player of all time. I say it this way: Jack had the best career, in terms of major championships. Tiger played the better golf.
“Which would you rather have? Jack’s record is ungodly, 18 majors, 19 second-place finishes. But Tiger had a higher win percentage and won by wider margins.”
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