Tiger Woods is only four major wins away from the all-time record and although he has not taken home one in a number of years, golfing great Jack Nicklaus says he thinks the number two player in the world can break his record.
According to ESPN.com, Nicklaus said that his record was made to be broken and despite Woods' rough go of it at the Honda Classic, he feels that the golfer is within striking distance.
"I still think he'll break my record," Nicklaus said Sunday at the Honda Classic. "Tiger's talent, at 37 ... it's not that old. I won four after that. They were spread out. It wasn't that difficult. I don't think for Tiger to get four or five more -- or six or seven -- is that big a stretch."
Woods has had an up and down start to the season, missing the cut at Abu Dhabi before winning at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. This past weekend he didn't shot better than 3-under par and finished towards the middle of the leaderboard at the Honda Classic.
Woods has not won a major since taking home his 14th win at the U.S. Open in a playoff at Torrey Pines in 2008, going 0-for-14 since then. He had a chance at the 2009 PGA Championship, but he gave up the lead to YE Yang and has yet to get closer since. He had another chance at the 2012 US Open and at the Masters two years ago, but none have been completed since then.
"I still think he can do it," Nicklaus said of Woods' chase for the record. "But that said, he has still got to do it. He hasn't won one in five years. He had better get with it if he's going to."
Nicklaus never went as long as Woods has without winning a championship, but that does not mean he can't break the record. The longest for Nicklaus was the 20 majors between the 1980 PGA Championship at Oak Hill and his 18th and final major at the 1986 Masters.
Woods is set to defend his title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which will be later in March at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando. The Masters is a little over a month away and the way Woods has been playing means he should be in the mix.
"It's not that far off," Woods said when asked to compare his game at the Honda Classic with Torrey Pines. "I feel like I'm probably just not quite driving it as well. My iron game is pretty good and my short game is way better than it was at Torrey. I feel very comfortable with my putting, so I need to obviously get it in play a little bit more and attack from there, because everything else is pretty good."