“I think I underachieved all my life,” Jack Nicklaus said back in 2015, reflecting on his illustrious career that boasts 18 majors, out of which 6 are Masters, and 73 PGA Tour wins. Despite being widely regarded as golf’s greatest champion, Nicklaus believes his mindset of perpetual self-doubt drove him to improve continuously. He notes that if he had ever felt like he was overachieving, he would have stopped working hard, but instead, he always felt like he was never quite reaching his full potential. Nicklaus’s humble and driven approach serves as a valuable lesson for golfers of all generations, and while many would agree with Nicklaus’s statement, this golf analyst begs to differ.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Skip Bayless Show, Brandel Chamblee sparked controversy by labeling Tiger Woods as the most underachieving golfer in history. “Tiger Woods, I would say he’s the most underachieving golfer in the history of the game,” he said. Chamblee argues that Woods left an astonishing 10 to 15 major championships and 30 to 40 regular Tour events on the table, which is a staggering number considering his incredible talent and dominance.
Chamblee’s criticism centers around Woods’s decision to dismantle and rebuild his golf swing multiple times throughout his career, which resulted in lost time and opportunities. Woods did this in the late 1990s, then in the early 2000s, and again in 2010-2011. Chamblee believes that this process cost Woods valuable time and potentially affected his win percentage. “When you look at the time he spent in the prime of his career, not injured but dismantling and then rebuilding a golf swing only to arrive back at the exact same place where he started at the expense of two years of time and that win percentage,” he said.
Additionally, when Woods won the 2008 US Open, many experts predicted he would go on to win 20 or even 25 major championships, but that didn’t happen. Chamblee attributes this to Woods’s mercurial nature, saying, “Genius is just mercurial and impossible to figure out.” While many people consider Jack Nicklaus the greatest golfer of all time, Chamblee believes that Woods played better golf, with a higher win percentage and wider margins of victory. Chamblee concluded, saying, “Jack had the best career in terms of major championships; Tiger played the better golf.”
When talking about the underachievers in golf, one cannot miss out on mentioning one particular LIV golfer.
This Hall of Famer thinks the 2017 Masters winner is golf’s biggest underachiever
Tony Jacklin, a Hall-of-Famer and former European Ryder Cup captain, believes Sergio Garcia is one of the biggest underachievers in golf. Jacklin said, “He’s been one of the best players on the planet for the last 20 years and doesn’t have much to show for it”, in 2020. Despite Garcia’s impressive 25 wins in the U.S. and Europe, including 10 PGA Tour titles, Jacklin thinks he could win double-digit majors.
Garcia had a promising start to his career, finishing second to Tiger Woods at the 1999 PGA Championship at just 19 years old. However, despite several close calls in majors, including a playoff loss to Padraig Harrington at the 2007 Open, it took until 2017 for him to finally win a major at the Masters. Jacklin believes the team environment of the Ryder Cup suits Garcia better than the solitude of a major championship. Now at 40, Jacklin thinks Garcia’s best golf is behind him, saying, “He’s (40) now, and I can’t see him being born again.” With only one major win to show for his incredible ball-striking skills, Jacklin finds Garcia’s record “mind-boggling.”
But what do you think? Who, according to you, is the biggest underachiever in golf? Let us know in the comment section below!
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