Tiger Woods looked certain to break Jack Nicklaus’ major record in his prime.

Between 1997 and 2008, he’d won 14 major championships, four short of Nicklaus’ record. The idea that the sport’s most dominant force couldn’t win five more majors was almost unthinkable.

But after off course controversy and a series of on-course injuries, Woods would only win one more major championship, the 2019 Masters, in one of the most incredible comeback stories in sporting history. He’d never catch Nicklaus.

This is something that took Woods years to come to terms with. As he stacked the majors, he did it with the record in mind. His pursuit of Nicklaus was so fierce that one multi-time PGA Tour winner accused him of “cheating”.

Mac O’Grady said Tiger Woods was ‘cheating’ in his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus

While Mac O’Grady won only twice on the PGA Tour, he was known as one of the purest ball-strikers ever. His obsession with the science of the game led him to fiddle with his swing so much that he lost his form, making his story one of unfulfilled potential.

That’s something he has in common with Woods, who was also known to mess with his swing, even when he was at his dominant peak. Despite this similarity, O’Grady still went off on Woods’ ability compared to the greats of the past. 

Speaking to The Detroit News back in 2007, he said, “When Nicklaus and Palmer played, when (Ben) Hogan played and Sam Snead played, on a scale of zero to 10, they were a nine-plus. Tiger Woods is not even a one-plus.

“The reason why (Woods) can hit it on the green is because he has square grooves. He doesn’t have that, he’s dead. He cannot do it — it’s impossible. For him to go after Nicklaus’ records is cheating. This is like steroids.”

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These square grooves became controversial at the time, as many argued they let players generate too much spin. When they were eventually banned, some players, including Phil Mickelson, found a loophole that allowed them to use Ping wedges from the 80s with square grooves.

If Woods was one of the players who exploited this loophole, then O’Grady’s comments might have been fair. But he wasn’t. When Woods used square grooves, so did all of his competitors. It gave him zero advantage.

So the idea that Woods was on “steroids” because of his square grooves is completely ridiculous. Nicklaus had better equipment than Old Tom Morris. Does that take away from his greatness?