One of the most debated topics in the golf world! and still no concrete answer: Who will win the battle of the goats? Tiger Woods or the Golden Bear? ChatGPT has a clear winner and the answer might not impress Woods admirers, as the AI site crowned Nicklaus as the No. 1 ranked golfer of all time.
Golf Digest prompted Chat GPT for a list containing the top 10 greatest golfers of all time. Jack Nicklaus. took the first position, whereas Woods followed the legend at number two. The number of major wins must have played a crucial role in deciding the rankings. The Golden Bear holds the record for the most major wins in the history of golf, with a total of 18 victories. Tiger Woods is again second on the list, with just three wins behind the 84-year-old golfer with 15 wins.
There were many other legendary pros named too, like Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer, who took the 3rd and 5th ranks, respectively. While LIV Golf’s Phil Mickelson was slated to be the 10th greatest golfer.
Circling back to the Woods vs. Nicklaus debate, many in the golf world did not seem to agree with Woods being second to Nicklaus. Woods fans wasted no time in coming to the 82-time PGA Tour winner’s defense and shared why, according to them, Mr. T is the world’s number one golfer, given his career trajectory and the accolades he has garnered over the years.
The golf world shows utter disagreement over ChatGPT’s rankings
After debuting in 1996, Tiger Woods became a beast of a golfer. In the year following his debut, the 48-year-old became the first player to win a major by 10 or more strokes. He did it first at the 1997 Masters and again at the 2000 US Open. As the records go, this fan recalled the peak years of Woods to say, “No. Tiger in his prime takes Jack to the cleaners…” Another golf enthusiast cited seeing both golfers play in their prime to declare, “Joke list: Tiger is the best. And I’m old enough to have seen Nicklaus in his prime.”
A golf fan took a dig at Jack Nicklaus and his over-par aggregate score in the initial 22 major championships he played. They presented the stats, saying, “Does ChatGPT know that in his first 22 majors, Jack was +81 to par and Tiger in his first 22 was -121 to par? For a difference of 202 strokes?? 😂 Tiger wouldn’t even know Jacks name if they played in the same era.” Notably, Woods had 126 under par in majors from 1997 to 2013 and the second-best score was by Steve Flesch, trailing 251 strokes behind at 125 over par.
Another Woods fan drew a comparison from basketball and then proposed the argument that major championship counts don’t matter as much when stating which player is the greatest. So though Woods has 3 fewer major wins than Nicklaus, he leads in many other lists. Jack Nicklaus has bagged 73 PGA Tour wins during his time on the PGA Tour circuit, whereas Woods has left the veteran far behind in that regard with a total of 82 PGA Tour wins up until now. The fan said, “If we want to just look at “championships” or “majors” then MJ ain’t number 1 in basketball. Shit Robert horry has 7. Tiger is the goat, win percentage, wins in a season, tiger slam, best scoring avg ever…he is the whole top 5, the list goes on. Jack played against easier competition, on conditions that weren’t as penal as they were during tigers era.”
In 2014, Tom Watson revealed a time when Jack Nicklaus agreed that Woods was indeed the best while they were watching play on the TV. This fan recalled shutting down the ChatGPT GOAT list and said, “Jack said that Tiger is the best ever.”
Do you think Tiger Woods will be able to break Jack Nicklaus’s long-standing major record? Or will Woods have to settle for second? Let us know your thoughts as to who is the GOAT in your eyes!
