John Daly responds when asked who the greatest golfer of all time is Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods. The GOAT debate within golf will forever
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John Daly responds when asked who the greatest golfer of all time is Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods. The GOAT debate within golf will forever 
be one of the sport’s hotly contested discourses. Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods, who was better?
Objectively, with Nicklaus three majors clear of Woods, there’s a clear argument to say the Golden Bear is the best golfer to ever live.
Yet, for many, Woods is the man who transcended golf in the early 2000s and became one of the most iconic sportsmen on the planet. Watching Woods bound down a fairway wearing his Sunday red was a sight to behold.
What’s more, the former world number one produced performances unlike anything seen on a course before. Woods’ win at the 2000 US Open displayed a unique dominance that was the first of its kind.
The modern golfer often sides with Woods. Bryson DeChambeau believes Woods is the GOAT, and the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Tony Finau took up the sport because of Tiger.
John Daly discusses Tiger Woods vs Jack Nicklaus debate
Photo by Chris Condon/PGA TOUR Archive via Getty Images
Photo by Chris Condon/PGA TOUR Archive via Getty Images
John Daly, however, was a player already on Tour before Woods broke through. The Wild Thing, speaking in a recent YouTube appearance, attempted to tackle the long-standing Woods-Nicklaus debate.
“I think you choose in generations. I don’t think you can choose one over the other. I think Jack is the greatest of all time player. Because of his record, but I still think Tiger is the greatest player of all time. The reason I say that is no disrespect to these guys who won all these majors back in the day, but look where Tiger is. Every guy [was there] when Tiger came out to win a tournament,” Daly said.
“When Jack played, he was playing against 12 to 15 or 20 guys. I’m not disrespecting it, but it’s just that the record will show. If you look at all the winners back in the day when they were winning. It was Jack, Arnie, Watson, and Nelson.”
Daly added: “You don’t see guys, except for Tiger, having a chance to win four majors. Rory, maybe, Bryson DeChambeau, Scottie, maybe. But nobody is close. That is why these guys won eight majors and 15 majors and whatever Jack won. You’re not going to see that in this day and age because everybody can win when they tee it up now. It’s just incredible how great these kids are coming up.”
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John Daly’s first meeting with Jack Nicklaus
Despite suggesting Woods’ achievements were more impressive, Daly did reveal that he was extremely nervous before meeting Nicklaus for the first time.
“I was so nervous meeting Jack Nicklaus it was unreal,” Daly added.
“Because I idolised him. I learned how to play golf because of him in a Jack Nicklaus golf lesson in a cartoon on Golf Digest back in 1970.
“I looked at the cartoon. I was four years old and was like, okay, he grips it interlocking, take it outside to hit a cut, take it inside and delay your legs, hit a draw. I learned from a cartoon of Jack Nicklaus how to play golf.”
Daly’s first major championship appearance came at the 1986 US Open. Nicklaus, aged 46, bounced back from an opening round 77 to finish in a tie for eighth.
