Michael Jordan revealed why he can’t name Tiger Woods as the greatest golfer of all-time

Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are both seen as two of the best in their respective sports.

Michael Jordan has explained he isn’t able to call Tiger Woods the best golfer of all time by making a comparison about his own career.

Arguably the best on the court, the six-time NBA champion is also a golf fanatic who opened up his own exclusive club back in 2019 after being permanently banned from a course for not complying with the dress code.

Grove XXIII, nicknamed ‘Slaughterhouse 23’, is based in Hobe Sound, Florida and is said to have been designed to suit how ‘His Airness’ likes to play.

But while Jordan is a keen golfer and even prone to putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to wagers, he refused to outright name the GOAT of the sport.

Many believe as though fellow American Woods is the best golfer in history, having claimed 15 major championships – including four Masters triumphs.

He is second only to Jack Nicklaus, who is the most successful golfer in history with a further three championships in a 25-year period.

Yet Jordan is not in the business of picking one out of the two icons, highlighting that the pair never crossed paths and played in different times and applying his take to the never-ending NBA GOAT debate which he is part of.

Michael Jordan gives his take on GOAT debate

However, he did praise for Woods for the way in which he was able to evolve the game of golf and take it to new heights.

“You’re never going to [be able to] say who’s the greatest of all time,” Jordan said in an interview with Cigar Aficionado.

“To me, that’s more for PR and selling stories and getting hype. Jack and Tiger never played against each other; they never played in the same tournament, they never played with the same equipment, they never played the same length of golf course. I never played against Wilt Chamberlain and I never played against Jerry West. To now say that one is greater than the other is to be a little bit unfair.

“This is one where you can judge the two: How much impact did each [have]? How did they change or evolve the game? Jack during his time vs. Tiger during his time. Now, obviously, Jack won more during the time that he played, [but] Tiger evolved it to where it crossed a lot of different boundaries, to where it wasn’t just a white-guy’s sport anymore – Black guys, Afro-American and all of the minorities were playing the game. And he played at a level where he generated so much interest financially; he grew the game from a financial standpoint.”

Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are two of the very best in their respective sports. Image: Getty

Though Nicklaus has three more championships, Jordan pointed out that Bill Simmons has five more titles to his name but again said it doesn’t make him “better than me or make me better than him” because of the “different eras”.

He then concluded that goat debates are “unfair” and refused to say that Woods or Nicklaus were superior overall.

“When you try to equate who is the greatest of all-time, it’s an unfair parallel, it’s an unfair choice,” he added.

“Those are the demons that, obviously, Tiger has to live with and he’s going to be challenged and graded upon that. But, for me, I think they’re both great. I would never say that one is greater than the other. That’s me; that’s my opinion.”