Will Tiger Woods Ever Win Another Tournament?

The wait is finally over.

It has been 15 months and two back surgeries since Tiger Woods’ last competitive round.

But on Thursday afternoon, the 40-year-old 14-time major champion will attempt to reclaim at least some semblance of his former glory at the Hero World Challenge.

Woods is scheduled to tee off at noon ET and will be paired with Ryder Cup hero Patrick Reed for comeback number…well, who’s really counting anymore?

Most have already come to the realization that Woods’ game will never again reach a level even remotely close to the dominant form he displayed from 1999–2008.

In the interim we have also concluded that it is unlikely we will ever again see a player dominate the game the way Woods did for much of his career.

And while the thought that Woods may never win another event or may be teetering on the brink of retirement is still fairly speculative, it is certainly a scenario to consider based on the state of Woods’ game and his injury history over the past couple years.

The endless comparisons between Woods and players such as Jack Nicklaus through the years were always quite trivial as we were attempting to compare a work in progress to fully completed bodies of work for players from previous generations. 

There is little doubt that Woods will make every effort to continue rehabilitating both his body and golf game in the coming weeks, months and possibly even years.

But what if that is not enough?

What if age and injuries have degraded his body and golf game to a point where, even though we may continue to see him out on the course competing for years to come, we have already seen the last of his accomplishments?

If that does wind up to be the case, then we already possess all the information needed to at least form an opinion as to how Woods’ accomplishments compare to players from previous generations.

    

Amateur Career

A golfer’s career truly begins long before he steps foot onto a PGA Tour fairway. Golfers initially begin competing against their peers at the amateur level prior to making the transition into the professional game.

And Woods is without question the most accomplished amateur golfer since Bobby Jones. 

Woods’ six consecutive USGA titles between 1991 and 1996 (three U.S. Junior Amateurs and three U.S. Amateurs) is an almost laughable level of domination in the amateur game, and no other golfer in history (not even Jones) has won more than two consecutive U.S. Amateur titles. 

Nicklaus also had a very strong amateur career. He won two U.S. Amateur titles and came very close to winning the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills, but his record still falls vastly short of Woods’ utter and complete domination of the amateur game for a period of six years.  

   

PGA Tour Career

Woods’ 79 PGA Tour wins is second only to Sam Snead and his career 25.2 percent winning percentage is the highest in PGA Tour history.  

However, during Woods’ true prime years (1997–2009), he won a mind-boggling 30 percent of all PGA Tour events he entered.  

Just to put that into perspective, Nicklaus won 20.2 percent of his PGA Tour events during what could be considered his prime years (1962-1978), which is nearly 10 percent lower than Woods.

Arnold Palmer’s winning percentage during his prime years (1956–71) was 15 percent, which is half of Woods’ 30 percent.

Even Snead, who of course showed a great degree of longevity en route to his record 82 PGA Tour victories, had a 23 percent winning percentage during his prime (1937–55), still far below Woods’ rate between 1997 and 2009.

Woods holds the record for the lowest career scoring average in PGA Tour history, as well as the lowest single-season scoring average (67.9 in 2000).

Throughout his entire career, Nicklaus never won the Vardon Trophy, which is awarded by PGA of America to the player with the lowest PGA Tour scoring average. Woods won it eight times between 1999 and 2009, which is four more than any other player in history.

Woods holds the record for the most consecutive PGA Tour cuts made at 142. That is 20 percent more consecutive cuts made than Byron Nelson’s streak of 113 and 26 percent more than Nicklaus’ longest streak of 105.

Whether you focus on just his prime years, or analyze his entire career from start to finish, there is little question that Woods was more dominant, more consistent and significantly more successful than any other player in PGA Tour history.  

    

World Golf Championships

Woods has won an astonishing 18 World Golf Championship events.

These are events held at very difficult venues and attended by only the top players in the world.

The strength of field at any given WGC event is very close to that of a major championship.

For example, the total WGR point rating (which is determined mostly by the strength of the field) for the 2016 Masters was 798. The point rating for the 2016 WGC-Match Play was just slightly behind at 779. This indicates that the strength of field at the 2016 WGC-Match Play Championship was virtually identical to that of the 2016 Masters.

Outside of Woods’ 18 WGC titles, Dustin Johnson and Geoff Ogilvy have the next-most individual WGC titles, with only three apiece.

Phil Mickelson, who is without question the next best player of Woods’ generation, has won only two WGC titles throughout his …

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