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Greg Norman’s 2012 prediction about Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus has aged perfectly

Originally posted on HITC | By Charlie Walker | Last updated Oct 12, 2025 12:30 PM ET

Tiger Woods is often called the greatest of all time, but even he hasn’t reached the benchmark he set himself in the early 2000s.

He’s a 15-time major winner, but Tiger Woods doesn’t hold the record for the most major championships of all time. That honour belongs to Jack Nicklaus, who has 18.

Back in 2001, Woods said: “Jack’s record is the benchmark. I’m chasing it — absolutely.” Every major win from that point was seen as one step closer to Nicklaus. Even after a nine-year drought in 2017, his focus remained. “Jack’s record… I think it’s unlikely, but I’ll still compete,” Woods remarked.

But after multiple injuries hampered the back end of Woods’ career, he accepted that he wouldn’t achieve his goal. “That ship has probably sailed. But I’m proud of what I’ve done,” he said in 2023.

Although Woods didn’t abandon his target until recently, Greg Norman had voiced doubts about it back in 2012. He said:

Greg Norman said in 2012 that Tiger Woods wouldn’t break Jack Nicklaus’ record

Back in 2012, Woods had 14 major titles under his belt. Four years earlier, after winning the US Open, it looked like only a matter of time before he overtook Nicklaus. But then came a string of knee surgeries, and with them, a long stretch without another major.

Though his form wasn’t great heading into 2012, there were signs late in the year that he was turning things around. He picked up two wins — his first since 2009 — and moved past Nicklaus on the PGA Tour wins list to sit second all-time.

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Even as Woods started looking more like himself again, Norman stood by his prediction that the record would stand. Asked before the Australian PGA Championship if he thought Woods could win five more majors, Norman didn’t hesitate.

He said: “I don’t think so, no. Every year that passes by that he hasn’t won a major, it just gets that much harder to win a major.”

“I don’t care how many you have won; it just becomes more and more difficult. He might win one or two more, but I don’t think he will win the four or five more that he needs to win to break the record.”

The following year began well for Woods as well; three victories early on returned him to world number one status – yet none of those wins came at majors and injuries again kept him from any further success until back surgery forced another layoff later in 2014.

Woods did famously capture another green jacket at Augusta National in 2019 – but even so is still four shy of breaking Nicklaus’ all-time mark.

Greg Norman saw Rory McIlroy as the best bet to catch Jack Nicklaus

Norman didn’t think Woods would get to 19 major wins, but he also didn’t think Nicklaus’ record was totally safe. He thought a young Rory McIlroy, who had won two majors at the time, was capable of taking the record.

He said, “I think if anybody can break Nicklaus’ record, I think [McIlroy] could, because he is young, he is ahead of the game, he is ahead of the curve on a lot of things, and he has a very balanced life across the board.

“So I will keep my fingers crossed for him because I would love to see that happen. Somebody will do it one day, and it could be Rory. I am a big fan of Rory’s, he can be as big as he wants to be.”

Norman called it right on Woods but missed badly with McIlroy. The Northern Irishman did finally add another major title by winning the 2025 Masters – his fifth overall – but still sits 13 shy of Nicklaus’s mark.

If anything stands out from all this talk about chasing down Jack Nicklaus’s total of 18 majors, it’s just how high that bar really is. No one seems particularly close right now.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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