It's small consolation for his shot at the Grand Slam slipping away. But Woods has now put together his own "Nicklaus Slam," having won every major from which Jack officially retired. And his long-range goal -- surpassing the record 18 professional majors Nicklaus owns -- is closer now that the halfway point is in Woods' rearview mirror.
"You know that it's going to take an entire career," he said. "It's not going to happen overnight. Jack took 25 years, I believe it was, to win all of his."
Twenty-four years, actually, but Woods might need the extra time.
History likely will show that the four other great golfers who spanned Nicklaus' era were tougher and a lot more accomplished than the quartet currently arrayed against Woods. Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player formed the original "Big Three," but Jack squared off against Tom Watson and Lee Trevino in their primes, too. But the fields Woods faces most weeks are deeper, and the pool of talent includes players from the farthest-flung corners of the world.
"The drive is always to get better," Woods said, a statement he's made so often it could serve as his mantra. "You can always get better, no matter what."
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