Jack Nicklaus makes point about Tiger Woods as he explains why majors were easier to win than PGA Tour events

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Jack Nicklaus has suggested why he found the majors easier to win than regular events on the PGA Tour, with Tiger Woods also possessing the same skill.

Of course, Nicklaus is the most successful male golfer of all-time. The Golden Bear won 18 majors during his incredible career, more than any other player.

In fact, Nicklaus has exactly double the number of major wins as the players in fourth on the all-time list.

Why Jack Nicklaus found winning the majors much easier than regular events

Obviously, talent was a key reason for his success. But Nicklaus also seemed to have such a strong mental game, going all the way back to his first major victory – which came after a playoff with Arnold Palmer at the 1962 US Open in Palmer’s backyard at Oakmont.

The fans were certainly not on Nicklaus’ side that week.

Interestingly, Nicklaus received a boost from knowing just how nervous players were about the prospect of winning a major.

Speaking on Winners of the Wanamaker, Nicklaus explained to Rich Beem how important his mentality was to helping him win the four biggest events of the season.

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“I geared my whole year around the four major championships. And the PGA when we played was always the fourth one, except for ’71. When you get to the last one, that’s your last shot of the year, so you want to give it your best shot. The way I looked at it, when I played in a golf tournament, I wanted to put myself in a position to be able to win,” he said.

“If I happened to win it, great, but I didn’t want to lose it through stupidity or through doing something. I wanted somebody to have to beat me to win. And I got beat a few times. But after the first couple of years, I gave the thing away at Lytham, at the British Open, I didn’t give many tournaments away.