If Jack was born ’90 instead of ’40

[JohnnyCashForever]

I would guess none...at least by pure circumstance. You could make an argument that Jay Sigel should have turned pro and would have been a great pro. But would he have been an all-time great if he had devoted his life to golf? I don't think so.

 

Talent and temperament to be an all-time great is one thing, but the will-to-win and the fire-in-the-belly that Nicklaus, Tiger, Kobe, and Earnhardt had in their respective sports is another level, times 10. Circumstance would not have held them back, IMO. It just would have been another challenge for them to overcome on their way to greatness.

 

[L29]

I can agree with this. Circumstance may have played a role with HOW Jack or someone like him became successful, but they were gonna make it happen one way or another no matter how many obstacles.

[DFS PFD]

A Jack v Tiger rivalry in both of their primes would be so awesome it would ruin modern golf for us. In all seriousness very grateful to have had them both in their respective era's, definitely have done a lot for the game of golf.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

We only know one thing for sure, that if Jack was born in 1990 he'd be 30 this year.

[bscinstnct]

This being wrx

 

This statement will be disputed ; )

[Brock Savage]

I think you are looking at it backwards. Of course I agree that you can't be a GOAT candidate without amazing talent and drive. If I practiced 12 hours a day, with Butch Harmon teaching me, I might one day be able to shoot low 70's from the tips, but probably not. I simply don't have the talent to be a top amateur, let alone a PGA Tour golfer. Luckily, my manly physique and movie star looks make up for it.

But as vital as talent is, circumstances are just as vital. There must be literally thousands of guys who do have the talent to be a pro golfer, but have never touched a club, especially in countries like China and India. With nearly three billion people between them, there may be guys in China or India right now who could have been the GOAT, but have literally never seen a golf course, even on TV. Hopefully, having golf in the Olympics will help remedy this.

The majority of kids, even in the US, and even kids who love sports, never give golf a serious go, because clubs are expensive, green fees are expensive, and it takes a long time to learn the game well enough to have fun. It's not like soccer, where you don't need any equipment (as long as somebody in the neighborhood has a ball), and you can play almost anywhere, almost any time, and have fun from the first minute you play.

You say circumstance would not have held Tiger back. That may be true, once he started winning on the Junior Amateur circuit. But by then he was on third base. He may have never even tried golf if not for the circumstance that his dad was an avid golfer, and had access to a military golf course by virtue of being in the Army. If Tiger's dad had been an accountant who didn't play golf, Tiger would more likely be an accountant than a golfer today.

It was pure circumstance that Tiger was taught to love golf before he could even talk, had access to free courses and teachers, had a mom who drove him all over the place to complete, AND had great talent. The talent would have meant nothing if he hadn't been able to discover it.

[puttfordoux]

The tour would benefit today from Jack's competitive wisdom. We wouldn't have as many top players playing less tournaments for more money, which has been the unfortunate downside effect of Tiger's domination, in my opinion. Everyone says the tour is deeper now than it has ever been, especially deeper than it was in Jack's day, but I don't think you would see as heavy of a reliance of Jack at the forefront of all the coverage as you do Tiger. There would be more pros picking up the slack. You wouldn't have a Brooks Koepka just gearing up for the majors, you would have more top players giving creedence to lesser tournaments as well. They would see the importance of supporting the PGA Tour as a whole.

[Outlier]

interesting premise,to which I'll add, "Or....what if the caucasion only clause did not limit the competition he played against?" As such I believe all his "records" sould have an asterick next to them. Also interesting to imagaine a golf world since 1990 without Vijay or Tiger.....what would FIGJAM be? (answer: Jack).

[rjp322]

Didnt read the thread but Jack Im sure would still be pretty good in todays era. Would he have 19 majors? Probably not. Would he still probably have a bunch of majors? Sure would. Im in the camp that Tiger is the GOAT but I also believe that golf gets much harder and more competitive as each decade goes on. Nothing against Jack here. He would still be one of the top players of the game today no doubt.

[bscinstnct]

Young Jack be on twitter like,

 

"Great winning my 3rd green jacket! Sorry Brooksie, my drive fly 2far4U? Lulz, better like next time, bruh"

[Steele47]

LOL Millenial Jack! Too funny.