Much has been made about Tiger's record in the majors when leading after 36 & 54 holes ... being undefeated. That got me wondering how Jack did under similar circumstances. I decided to do some research. Nicklaus lost his 1st major after holding the solo lead after 36 or 54 holes at the age of 41 in the '81 Masters. He did lose 2 or 3 when tied after 36, 54 or 72 holes, most notably a couple of Opens... a playoff to Trevino and of course by a shot at Turnburry to Watson in their famous showdown. He also came from behind to win a few times on the weekend. Just an FYI....
Can you post up how many times he held the lead after 36 & 54 holes and went on to win the majors? It would be interesting to see the numbers, to see how both stack up against each other. Thanks.
Just found a site that says Jack's lowest round ever was a 64. It also said Tiger's low was a 65. Can that be right? I thought Tigers been in the very low 60s before.
Can you post up how many times he held the lead after 36 & 54 holes and went on to win the majors? It would be interesting to see the numbers, to see how both stack up against each other. Thanks.
Yes, that would be interesting. They have the 4-round leaderbord for all majors for all years at Golfonline, under Golfstats > Majors. You can search by player, year, major and other different combinations. I just started with the Masters and pulled up the final leaderboard from his 1st until 1981, which was the first one where he lost the solo lead after 36 or 54 holes. I did the same for the other majors. I skipped most of those that he won because that wasn't what I was looking for. It took about a half hour. I think I'll let someone else do the legwork for anything else for now. I'm supposed to be working.
Yes, that would be interesting. They have the 4-round leaderbord for all majors for all years at Golfonline, under Golfstats > Majors. You can search by player, year, major and other different combinations. I just started with the Masters and pulled up the final leaderboard from his 1st until 1981, which was the first one where he lost the solo lead after 36 or 54 holes. I did the same for the other majors. I skipped most of those that he won because that wasn't what I was looking for. It took about a half hour. I think I'll let someone else do the legwork for anything else for now. I'm supposed to be working.
Through 1971 (10 years on tour), Nicklaus had won 38 times and finished second 30 times.
Through the 2006 Open (a month shy of 10 years on tour), Woods has won 49 times and finished second 19 times.
Interesting anomaly that both had been in the top two 68 times, eh.
Oft quoted Tiger stats: 7/7 when leading a major after 36 holes, and 11/11 when leading a major after 54 holes.
Jack's stats: 7/9 when leading a major after 36 holes, and 10/12 when leading a major after 54 holes.
Only losses in the former were Divincenzo at Hoylake in 1967 and to Watson in 1981 at the Masters. Only losses in the latter were to Charles Coody in 1971 at the Masters, and to Watson in 1977 at Turnberry. Finished 2nd all 4 times.
Tiger has never come from behind to win a major. Jack's 8 comebacks:
1986 Masters - started day 4 back of Norman, shot 65 to win by 1
1978 Open - started the day tied with 3 others, 1 back of Oosterhois and Watson, who shot 74 and 76 to finish 6th and T14th. Shot 69 to win by 2 at TOC.
1975 Masters - started 1 back of Weiskopf, shot 68 to win by 1. 4th runner up at the Masters for Tom. Miller shot 66 to tie for 2nd.
1970 Open - started 2 back of Trevino at TOC, who shot 77 and finished T3rd. Shot 73, matched by playing partner Doug Sanders when he missed a 20 inch putt on the 72nd hole. Won in a playoff the next day.
1967 US Open - Marty Fleckman led by 1 but closed with an 80 to finish T18th. Worth noting because it was his low 4th round before the 6th Masters win. Started tied with Caspar and Palmer, shot 65, and won by 4.
1966 Open - started 2 back of Phil Rodgers, who shot a final round 76. Shot 70 to win his first Claret Jug at Muirfield by 1 over Doug Sanders.
1963 PGA - started the day 3 back of Bruce Crampton, shot 68 to win by 2, Bruce shot 74 and finished T3.
1962 US Open - started 2 back of Palmer, shot 69 to tie, won playoff the next day.
Tiger has never come from behind to win a major. Jack's 8 comebacks:
1986 Masters - started day 4 back of Norman, shot 65 to win by 1
1978 Open - started the day tied with 3 others, 1 back of Oosterhois and Watson, who shot 74 and 76 to finish 6th and T14th. Shot 69 to win by 2 at TOC.
1975 Masters - started 1 back of Weiskopf, shot 68 to win by 1. 4th runner up at the Masters for Tom. Miller shot 66 to tie for 2nd.
1970 Open - started 2 back of Trevino at TOC, who shot 77 and finished T3rd. Shot 73, matched by playing partner Doug Sanders when he missed a 20 inch putt on the 72nd hole. Won in a playoff the next day.
1967 US Open - Marty Fleckman led by 1 but closed with an 80 to finish T18th. Worth noting because it was his low 4th round before the 6th Masters win. Started tied with Caspar and Palmer, shot 65, and won by 4.
1966 Open - started 2 back of Phil Rodgers, who shot a final round 76. Shot 70 to win his first Claret Jug at Muirfield by 1 over Doug Sanders.
1963 PGA - started the day 3 back of Bruce Crampton, shot 68 to win by 2, Bruce shot 74 and finished T3.
1962 US Open - started 2 back of Palmer, shot 69 to tie, won playoff the next day.
Nice post overall BPC, but I'll just single out this part since it's the main part I wanna address. Tiger has had some close calls in his attempts to come back and win majors, but he hasn't been able to get the putter to cooperate a few of those times (1999 U.S. Open, 2003 Open Championship, 2005 U.S. Open, 2006 Masters just to name a few). I think (well, mostly just HOPE) that once he finally pulls it off once, the floodgates will finally open and he'll start pulling off the comeback majors more often. He'll never win 8 coming from behind I don't think, but I'd like to see him get 3 or 4 coming from behind by the time he's done. It'd also be great if he finished his major-winning career in a fashion similar to Jack. Their careers have been so similar for the first 10 years, so it'd be great if Tiger could have a magical comeback at an older age, well past his prime in most people's eyes like Jack was in 1986.
In the 1967 Open he was tied with Bruce Devlin after 36 and trailed the eventual winner Devincenzo after 54.
He was tied with Watson in 1977 at Turnburry after all 3 rounds, I still watch that one on TGC every time I come across it.
He was tied with Coody after 54 before losing the 1971 Masters.
and of course he lost to Trevino in the 1971 US Open in a playoff, though he didn't lead after 36 or 54 that year.
So Jack was tied for the lead the times he lost, never in the lead alone after 36 or 54.
Well, didn't Tiger actually fall behind against Bob May? He had to put on one awesome back nine just to keep up with and tie May. And then, Tiger actually "choked" at 17 and 18 of the 2005 Masters to let DiMarco in the playoff (and actually, DiMarco's chip that lipped out at 18 would have won it, so Tiger dodged a huge "choke" bullet there). So the 11/11, while I'm glad it exists, has its shaky spots for sure.
July 27th, 2006, 12:23 PM
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