Two of the greatest golfers of all time— Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus—will forever be connected, though they’ve only crossed paths 22 times. Woods has been chasing Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors for years now, but injuries, including his most recent one, have set him significantly back.
Woods withdrew during the third round of this year’s Masters after he was seen hobbling around the greens in obvious pain. He later announced that he had reaggravated his plantar fasciitis, which is among several injuries that he’s been hobbled by in recent years. Those have primarily stemmed from a serious car accident in early 2021. And Woods recently underwent surgery to address post-traumatic arthritis.
Nicklaus can’t begin to imagine what Woods has been through, at least from an injury standpoint, and recently commented on the 47-year-old golfer during a press conference prior to his appearance at the Greats of Golf exhibition on Saturday.
“I don’t know a whole lot about what he’s been through,” Nicklaus said, via Golf Week.
“He’s showed a lot of guts and courage to play and try to be part of what’s going on with the way he’s been,” he continued. “He’s actually swinging pretty well; he just can’t walk.”
Nicklaus sat next to Woods at the Champions Dinner at Augusta National and revealed what their conversation entailed. Nicklaus said that Woods would not be continuing to go under the knife if he wasn’t interested in wanting to continue to play the game that’s made him sports royalty.
“We talk quite a bit,” Nicklaus said. “He said, ‘I’m really playing well. I’m hitting the ball great. My short game’s great. My putting’s good.’ He said, ‘I just can’t walk.’ And he says, ‘If it helps where I can walk, I’m willing to do it.’ ”
“He’s a very motivated and dedicated young man to continue to play the game of golf,” Nicklaus added.
