Big summer for - Backspin Golf Magazine

The debate about who is the
greatest golfer of all time -
Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods
- will continue to stimulate
lively discussion even if Tiger
goes on to surpass the Golden Bear’s
haul of 18 Major Championship
victories.
If you are old school, you might be
inclined to argue that Nicklaus
amassed his cache of Major titles in
more challenging times than the
modern day pretender to his throne.
Nicklaus had to beat Palmer,
Player, Trevino and various other
legends of the game and sustained
his challenge in the Majors for over a
quarter of a century. Bear in mind,
too, he was runner-up in 19 Majors.
It could be argued that Tiger was
virtually in a league of his own for
much of the time between 1997 and
2006, when he swooped for twelve of
his fourteen Major titles.
O’Meara, Els, Singh, Goosen and
Mickelson were all multiple Major
winners during that period, but Tiger
was the dominant force in the game.
No matter where you stand on the
Jack v Tiger debate, there’s little or
no room for discussion on the subject
of Golf’s Big 3....Arnold Palmer, Gary
Player and Jack Nicklaus.
They transformed and popularised
golf during the 1960’s, taking the
game to a whole new level...Palmer
with his wonderful charisma and
cavalier style of play, Player with
his dogged determination and
remarkable strength of character,
and Nicklaus with his raw talent,
tenacity and durability.
Palmer won his seven Majors in a
glittering period between 1958 and
1964. Player’s winning run in the
Majors spanned a 20-year period
from 1959 to 1978, while Nicklaus
announced his arrival on the world
stage with victory in the US Open in
1962 and celebrated his last Major
win twenty-four years later in the
1986 Masters at Augusta National.
Remarkably, Nicklaus finished just
four shots off the pace at Augusta
twelve years later at the age of 58!
Between them Golf’s Big 3 won
34 Major titles.
Their success, charisma and
influence created the template for
modern day golf, and even today -
with Nicklaus the youngest of the
triumvirate at a youthful 72, or level
fours as he might prefer to be
described - they continue to serve as
wonderful ambassadors for golf.
Of course, every period has its
great players. Fast forward from the
Palmer, Player and Nicklaus era
and Johnny Miller, Tom Watson,
Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman
were strong forces for a time. Then
there was the European influence in
the shape of Faldo, Lyle, Langer,
Woosnam and Olazabal.
More recently Els, Woods, Singh,
Mickelson and Harrington have been
outstanding figures in the game -
both in terms of their success and
influence - but, like every new
generation of touring professionals,
they owe a tremendous debt of
gratitude to Golf’s Big 3...trailblazers
Arnold Daniel Palmer, Gary Player
and Jack William Nicklaus.
by BACKSPIN editor Declan O’Donoghue
Arnold Palmer
Date of birth: 10-09-29
Joined Tour: 1955
Masters
1958, 1960, 1962, 1964
US Open
1960
British Open
1961, 1962
Gary Player
Date of birth: 1-11-35
Joined Tour: 1957
Masters
1961, 1974, 1978
US Open
1965
British Open
1959, 1968, 1974
USPGA
1962, 1972
Jack Nicklaus
Date of birth: 21-01-40
Joined Tour: 1962
Masters
1963, 1965, 1966, 1972,
1975, 1986
US Open
1962, 1967, 1972, 1980
British Open
1966, 1970, 1978
USPGA
1963, 1971, 1973,1975, 1980
Left: Tiger Woods in action during
this year’s Masters at Augusta.
Photos taken by
REUTERS / ACTION IMAGES
during this year’s
Masters Tournament
at Augusta National
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