R&A Chief Executive Martin Slumbers opens up about who his favorite golfer is, and its not Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods

American professional golfers Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are two of the greatest names to play the sport. While both golfers have dominated the sport in different eras, their contributions are significant, and it leads to them being compared to each other.

While a comparison between the two would be unfair, many fans also have a hard time picking a favorite between them. However, the same was not difficult for R&A Chief Executive Martin Slumbers. During an interview with Golf Digest, Slumbers revealed his favorite golfer, and it's not Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods.

When asked if he was ever in awe after meeting people in his job, Slumbers said:

"I don’t get intimidated easily, but I was the first time I met Jack Nicklaus. I always adored watching Tiger play golf. But for me Jack is the best player the game has ever seen. So I was very nervous meeting him."

However, when Slumbers was asked whether Nicklaus was his favorite, he further answered:

"No. That’s Seve."

Slumbers' pick Seve Ballesteros was a legendary Spanish professional golfer and a former World No. 1. Since turning professional in 1974, Ballesteros competed on the PGA Tour and the European Tour. In total, he registered 90 professional wins, and most of these wins came on the European Tour (50).

A look at the Major championships won by Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods

As mentioned above, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods both had a deep impact on the game of golf. While Nicklaus won 18 Major Championships, Woods won 15 Major titles. Here is a detailed look at every Major championship won by American golfers:

Jack Nicklaus:

Year: 1962
Event: U.S. Open
Score: −1 (72-70-72-69=283)
Year: 1963
Event: Masters Tournament
Score: −2 (74-66-74-72=286)
Year: 1963
Event: PGA Championship
Score: −5 (69-73-69-68=279)
Year: 1965
Event: Masters Tournament (2)
Score: −17 (67-71-64-69=271)
Year: 1966
Event: Masters Tournament (3)
Score: E (68-76-72-72=288)
Year: 1966
Event: The Open Championship
Score: −2 (70-67-75-70=282)
Year: 1967
Event: U.S. Open (2)
Score: −5 (71-67-72-65=275)
Year: 1970
Event: The Open Championship (2)
Score: −5 (68-69-73-73=283)
Year: 1971
Event: PGA Championship (2)
Score: −7 (69-69-70-73=281)
Year: 1972
Event: Masters Tournament (4)
Score: −2 (68-71-73-74=286)
Year: 1972
Event: U.S. Open (3)
Score: +2 (71-73-72-74=290)
Year: 1973
Event: PGA Championship (3)
Score: −7 (72-68-68-69=277)
Year: 1975
Event: Masters Tournament (5)
Score: −12 (68-67-73-68=276)
Year: 1975
Event: PGA Championship (4)
Score: −4 (70-68-67-71=276)
Year: 1978
Event: The Open Championship (3)
Score: −7 (71-72-69-69=281)
Year: 1980
Event: U.S. Open (4)
Score: −8 (63-71-70-68=272)
Year: 1980
Event: PGA Championship (5)
Score: −6 (70-69-66-69=274)
Year: 1986
Event: Masters Tournament (6)
Score: −9 (74-71-69-65=279)

Tiger Woods:

Year: 1997
Event: Masters Tournament
Score: −18 (70-66-65-69=270)
Year: 1999
Event: PGA Championship
Score: −11 (70-67-68-72=277)
Year: 2000
Event: U.S. Open
Score: −12 (65-69-71-67=272)
Year: 2000
Event: The Open Championship
Score: −19 (67-66-67-69=269)
Year: 2000
Event: PGA Championship (2)
Score: −18 (66-67-70-67=270)
Year: 2001
Event: Masters Tournament (2)
Score: −16 (70-66-68-68=272)
Year: 2002
Event: Masters Tournament (3)
Score: −12 (70-69-66-71=276)
Year: 2002
Event: U.S. Open (2)
Score: −3 (67-68-70-72=277)
Year: 2005
Event: Masters Tournament (4)
Score: −12 (74-66-65-71=276)
Year: 2005
Event: The Open Championship(2)
Score: −14 (66-67-71-70=274)
Year: 2006
Event: The Open Championship(3)
Score: −18 (67-65-71-67=270)
Year: 2006
Event: PGA Championship (3)
Score: −18 (69-68-65-68=270)
Year: 2007
Event: PGA Championship (4)
Score: −8 (71-63-69-69=272)
Year: 2008
Event: U.S. Open (3)
Score: −1 (72-68-70-73=283)
Year: 2019
Event: Masters Tournament (5)
Score: −13 (70-68-67-70=275)