‘I Can Kick His A**’: Despite Holding Immense Respect For Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods Once Refused to Accept Him as the Greatest of All Time

Anyone who is even minimally aware of golf will definitely agree to the impact Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus have had on the game. Currently, there is no one who is even relatively close to the monstrous records the two hold. In fact, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that the PGA Tour might not be where it is today without these two legends.

Their eminent careers have also congregated massive popularity and respect for the two professionals. Not just in the eyes of the golf audience, but they have secured mammoth admiration in the eyes of each other. Despite this mutual regard, there was a time when Woods repudiated to acknowledge Nicklaus as the greatest golfer to ever live. Let us dive in to find out the details about what exactly did the 82-time PGA Tour winner say!

Tiger Woods’ once declined to crown Jack Nicklaus as the greatest golfer of all time

During one of the interviews with CBS Mornings, a few years ago, Tiger Woods was asked to comment on Jack Nicklaus; particularly, if he believed that the 73-time PGA Tour winner to be the greatest golfer ever to live? In the video, it can be witnessed that Woods did not think twice before answering. The golfer said, “You know, I think I am pretty good too.”

However, the answer just piqued the curiosity of the interviewer. He prompted Woods with another question and asked if he believed he was better than Nicklaus. To this Woods confidently replied that he believed the two would have a hell of a duel if they had met in the same golfing era.

The response still wasn’t something that satisfied the reporter. Thus, he informed the 15-time major winner that Nicklaus has 18 majors to his name while Woods only had 14 at that time. This drew up an honest confession from Tiger. He said, “I think, I can kick his a**” which astonished the media personnel even more. He couldn’t help but ask, “Do you really? Right now?” As it appears Woods had a witty reply ready.

He chuckled and reminded the reporter of the big age difference between the two golfers. This answer dragged out a laugh even from the interviewer who acknowledged that a 40-something-year-old would beat a 70-something-year-old. Irrespective of the light-hearted conclusion that followed Woods’ refusal of accepting Nicklaus as the greatest of all time, the golf star displayed immense regard for the other icon.

Despite side-stepping the question, Woods acknowledged his admiration for Nicklaus

After having a laugh about his comment on the age difference, he sobered up to make a hearty confession. Undoubtedly, Nicklaus has achieved and contributed a lot to the game of golf. Hence, it wasn’t surprising at all when the golf legend said, “I think that Jack has always been one of my heroes.”

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He strengthened his statement by adding how he looked up to the golfer, and the records that he holds. This remark is utterly true because the 2019 Masters winner has time and again accepted how he looks up to the 83-year-old as a competitor. Moreover, in the clip Woods can be seen proclaiming how he aims to break Nicklaus’ record of 18 major wins.

Unfortunately, lately, the golf star hasn’t been able to take on the greens due to his injury concerns. This has hindered his target of achieving that glorious 18 major victories. Nonetheless, like Woods said in the video: if he is not able to win more than 18 major championships, he will simply say, “I didn’t get there.”

The last statement from the 15 times major winner reflects how confident yet realistic he was about his game. Qualities that aren’t easy to imbibe especially when one reaches a stardom like that of Woods.

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What do you think of Tiger Woods’ confession in this resurfaced video? Who do you think is the greatest of the two players? Let us know in the comments below.