Tiger Woods has taken us on quite a journey during the past 10-plus years. The entire time, his North Star has been Jack Nicklaus' mark of 18 major victories.
At first, the record seemed impossible to break. Then it seemed like a foregone conclusion. Now, with 14 majors, he has passed a crucial marker, one at which the climb gets much steeper for most golfers.
It has been 12 years since Tiger's first major victory at the 1997 Masters, and despite golfers' reputations for longevity (see Tom Watson's performance at the British Open), it has proven to be very difficult for most players to win majors consistently after passing the 12-year anniversary of their first major win.
The fact is, as in other sports, golfers have fairly short windows of greatness. Arnold Palmer won his seven majors in a six-year span. Ben Hogan won his majors in seven years, and Byron Nelson and Tom Watson won their majors over eight years. Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo both had their peaks in less than a decade. Even the paragon of longevity, Sam Snead, won his last major 12 years after winning his first.
Only seven players have won multiple majors after crossing the 12-year threshold, which is exactly where Tiger stands now. The outlier is Nicklaus, who won six majors after his 12th year and had the longest span (24 years) between his first and last major wins. (See the list below for more.)
