Even the toughest competitors have experienced moments they wish they could revisit. A revered figure from European golf has now opened up about one such decision. Golf legend Sam Torrance admitted that he missed a rare chance to play with the legendary Tiger Woods.

“I was on the putting green just having a few putts, and Stev Williams comes past going to the 10th tee with Tiger, and he said, ‘Come on Sam, you want to join us for the back nine?’ I never backed away from anyone, but I did say no. I said ‘No, I’m playing later. Sorry, I can’t.’ I still regret it, but I was terrified because he was God,” Sam Torrance admitted in a YouTube video uploaded by the DP World Tour.

Torrance was reflecting on what went down at Augusta National during one of the four Masters he played in. During the practice rounds, Tiger Woods’ caddie offered him a rare chance to play with Woods, but he denied. With 21 DP World Tour titles under his belt, the Scottish golfer himself is a legend in the sport. He turned professional at 17 and won the Rookie of the Year award in 1972. His last win came at the 2009 DGM Barbados Open.

But despite being an elite golfer himself, he got intimidated by Tiger Woods’ God-like aura, just like many other golfers who have played alongside the legend. Compared to the 82x PGA Tour winner, the Scotland star’s numbers are modest. Woods shares the record for the most PGA Tour titles with Sam Snead. Apart from that, he has 15 major wins, second only to Jack Nicklaus. Meanwhile, Torrance has not won any major events in his career. Therefore, Torrance knows that there is no comparison even possible between the two.

“You could not even in your wonderful mind, you can’t put me up against Tiger. There’s been nothing like him. There never will be again. I don’t think so,” Torrance said.

The comparison came when the 21x DP World Tour winner was discussing entering the last round as the leader in 20 of the 21 titles he won. At that point, the host couldn’t help but comment that it was “Tiger-esque.” But Torrance was quick to point out that there couldn’t be any comparison.

He went on to say that no one should even compare Scottie Scheffler to Woods. While Scheffler has been a dominant force on the PGA Tour for the last two seasons, Tiger Woods has won twice as many majors and PGA Tour events as Scheffler’s current age.

Although Sam Torrance says that Tiger Woods is the god of golf, there’s one professional golfer who could challenge him- Jack Nicklaus.

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Jack Nicklaus vs Tiger Woods debate

Many professional golfers and caddies have weighed in on the Jack Nicklaus vs Tiger Woods debate. Some say that Nicklaus is golf’s greatest, while others side with Woods.

Gary Player, who has played with Jack Nicklaus for a very long time, says that Nicklaus is undoubtedly better than Woods. He backed his claim by citing record books. Player revealed that Nicklaus has an edge over the 15x major champion in almost everything. He is ahead in major championships (18-15), major runner-ups (19-7), major top 10s (73-41), and the PGA Tour top 10s (286-199). Player also placed himself at the 3rd position after Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods based on the numbers.

Another legend, Lee Trevino, also put Nicklaus ahead of the 82x PGA Tour winner. “I think the top orange, in my opinion, is between three golfers. It’s Nicklaus, Snead, and Bobby Jones,” Trevino said.

However, the legendary caddie Billy Foster believes that Woods could have easily surpassed the 18x major champion. What held him back was his fragile health and one wrong hiring decision.

“You’re looking at a guy that had won 25 to 30 majors,” Billy Foster said when discussing Woods’ decision to part ways with Butch Harmon.

Hal Sutton, who has played with both the legends, stayed neutral but was leaning a little towards Nicklaus. He said that they both played in different eras. However, he pointed out that “Jack’s pitching the ball and chipping the ball weren’t in Tiger’s league.”

Sutton believes that Nicklaus used to play to his strengths and knew his weaknesses very well. Tiger Woods, on the other hand, was fearless.

All these comments reflect the ongoing debate about who, between Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, is the best golfer in the history of the game.