Jack Nicklaus believes Tiger Woods was better off when he was a married man.
Golf icon Nicklaus, 84, credits his own career success to wedding his wife of 64 years Barbara, and feels every player benefits from having the right partner in their life.
They met at college before he went on to win a record 18 majors and achieve a total of 73 PGA Tour triumphs. He feels he wouldn't have had such a successful career without her by his side.
"That set the tone of my career," Nicklaus explained in his annual press conference ahead of the 2024 Memorial Tournament. "Not everybody gets the right partner.
"And I had somebody who loved me, cared for me, supported me, and you know, that was really important. So that was a big thing to me. I don't know that anything that was anymore important than that to me.
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"I give her a lot of credit for what I've won because, you know, a golfer goes out on Tour and if you're not married, if you got your family, you get support, your caddie or whoever, whoever it might be, that's very important to you."
Woods was already at the top of his game when he got hitched to Elin Nordegren in 2004. He'd won eight of his 15 majors by that time, which sees him second in the all-time list behind Nicklaus.
He said Tiger Woods would be a better golfer when he got married (Getty Images)
Nicklaus wed other half Barbara back in 1960 before his trophy-laden career (PA)Conversely, his off-the-course issues and eventual divorce from Nordegren six years later coincided with his dip in form come the 2010s. Nicklaus, who passed the torch to Woods when he retired in 2000, recalled his thoughts on the matter.
He continued: "I don't mean this in a nasty way, but I remember when Tiger was single and Tiger, then he got married and they said, 'Well how do you think that will effect Tiger's career?' And I said, 'Well, I think it will only be a plus.'
"I says, he's going to get tired of coming home and telling Butch Harmon, 'Hey, Butch, I won another one.' He had somebody to share it with. You want to share your career and enjoy the fruits of your work."
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