Tiger is simply the G. O . A.T

SHELVE the debate, we have our answer – Tiger is the greatest of all time.

He may be three majors shy of Jack Nicklaus, but Woods is out on his own.

He has won 15 majors to date, is one of five men to achieve the grand slam and is the only star of the modern era to win four straight majors.

And now we can add an historic 82nd PGA title to a remarkable CV.

Tiger’s win at the Zozo Championship in Japan saw him match the record held by Sam Snead who won his 82nd PGA tournament in 1965. The difference, of course, is Snead was 52 when he won his 82nd. Woods is only 43.

It is 23 years ago to the month that Tiger won his first PGA title, beating Davis Love III in a play-off at the Las Vegas Invitational.

Drill further into his stats and you’ll find a golfer who has the highest win percentage in PGA Tour history for players who made 200 or more starts.

His 22.8 per cent success rate outshines Ben Hogan (21.3 per cent) and Byron Nelson (18.1 per cent).

He has made the cut in 91 per cent of his PGA Tour starts and won PGA Tour events in 19 different seasons.

His consistency levels are off the scale.

While Nicklaus’s exalted place in golfing history is secure, Tiger is the sport’s outlier. No one comes close in terms of popularity and charisma. Notoriety too.

At times he’s had fame and infamy in equal measure. His human frailties – well documented marital problems and prescription drug issues – have been laid bare and lived out under the sharpest of spotlights.

Golfers in the past didn’t have to deal with that level of intrusion or scrutiny.

His body has also been tested to the limit. His medical record (five knee ops, four back surgeries) is more like that of a retired NFL linebacker.

The fact he is still winning at the highest level speaks volumes of his character and quality. Let’s not forget that after winning his 15th major in fairytale fashion at this year’s Masters – his first in 11 years – he had fallen off the golfing map.

He hadn’t played since knee surgery in August but there he was in Japan winning wire-to-wire after a nine week break. Superhuman does not cover it.

It was a bonus that local hero Hideki Matsuyama (inset) was in the mix down the straight, but it was the Tiger Show in Narashino.

World No1 Brooks Koepka said last week he sees very few threats to his crown moving forward, but 10 days later he might have to rethink that theory. Tiger is back. And how. Again.