Please stop asking Jack Nicklaus about Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods, as even the most casual fan well knows, has not won a major championship since 2008 and is currently on a self-imposed hiatus from competitive golf because his short game is downright embarrassing.

So, naturally, Tiger’s chances of smashing Jack Nicklaus’ majors mark was a major topic of conversation when the Golden Bear sat down with the boys from Golf Channel’s Morning Drive on Friday. No, really, it was -- even though you could probably count on one hand the number of Woods watchers who still believe the shadow of the guy who’s won 14 grand slam events can capture another PGA Tour contest not to mention five more majors.

Nicklaus, himself, claims to be among the dwindling few who continue to like Woods’ odds.

“I still do [think Tiger will break the record],” Nicklaus said a day after Woods pulled out of this week’s Honda Classic. “Why would I not think that? He’s a talented guy with 10 to 15 years ... to play golf.”

Maybe yes, maybe no, given Woods’ back problems, lack of competitive swings, and, OMG, his short game -- struggles Nicklaus said he had not witnessed first hand but that he believed were more mental than anything else.

“I didn’t watch any of it,” Nicklaus said of Woods’ hideous chipping and pitching in his two abbreviated 2015 PGA Tour starts -- the missed cut at the Phoenix Open after a career-worst 82, and the withdrawal midway through the subsequent Farmers Insurance Open. “All I saw was a few replays, and of course all you did was show the ones he chunked; nobody ever showed the ones that he hit like he used to hit.”

Not quite true, since Woods’ chip-in on No. 11 at Torrey Pines, his second hole of the day, was broadcast, as was the entirety of his 11-plus-hole round and drive to and out of the parking lot.

Woods has not played competitively since his WD from Torrey and said he would miss the Honda because his game was not yet tournament-ready. That means Woods, No. 70 in the world rankings, will not qualify to play Doral, where only the top 50 get in.

Given all that, count NBC’s Johnny Miller and Dan Hicks among those who would be shocked to see Woods overtake Nicklaus.

“I said five years ago ... that Tiger wasn’t going to beat Jack’s record,” lead analyst Miller told SB Nation during a teleconference last week to promote the Woods-less Honda. “I’m pulling for him, but it seems hard for people to start having faith that he’s going to win regular events, let alone majors.”

Hicks, who’s been Miller’s on-air partner for 15 years, reluctantly agreed. Conceding it was tough to watch Woods struggle as he has since returning to competition in December at the chunk-filled Hero World Challenge, Hicks also noted that Tiger had surprised naysayers many times in the past by rebounding from injuries and listless play.

This time, though, things seemed different.

“I have been a believer like Jack, and ... anybody in our business or anybody around the game gets asked this, the most of any question, ever, ‘Is Tiger going to do it?’” Hicks said. “My latest response has been, ‘Of all the years that we’ve been talking about this, I’m of the belief that I just don’t think it’s going to happen.’ I wouldn’t have said this probably before the latest chipping woes and short-game woes.”

Nicklaus’ public statements may be out of sync with the punditry, but he does concur with countless others that whatever ails Woods was less a physical or mechanical issue than a mental one.

“Tiger’s struggling, I don’t think there’s any question about that. We all know that, he knows that,” Nicklaus said. “I think he’s struggling more between his ears than he is any place else.”

Miller voiced his agreement as only Johnny can.

“He must have some demons in his head,” Miller said. “It’s like somebody short-circuited his hand-eye coordination ... I don’t know what’s going on, I really don’t. Only Tiger probably could tell you, and he won’t tell you how it can get that bad when you’re skulling it across the greens and chili-dipping about every other one.”

Miller and David Duval, a former Woods rival who’s a newbie to the TV booth, also called Tiger out for blaming his short-game problems on his full swing change.

“I think it’s crazy,” Miller said about Woods’ “release pattern” excuse. “You know, when you pitch, all you do is just take it back and brush the grass ... It doesn’t take a genius to just make a little arc and brush the grass and put it up there near the hole.”

Duval was similarly unimpressed with Woods’ rationale.

“I think that’s a false statement. I don’t agree with that at all,” Duval said. “I mean, chipping is chipping. To hit a solid contact on a 30-yard pitch, everybody does it the same way. That’s just how you get the ball up; keep it low, get it running, whatever.”

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Without weighing in on that particular argument, Nicklaus contended that every professional golfer eventually deals with such similar adversities. He recalled 1979 as his own worst year on tour, when he won no events, “played terrible,” and after which he bagged his wedge for the following season.

“I was actually putting it around bunkers,” said Nicklaus, who was likely unaware that Woods recently eschewed flop shots in favor of bump-and-runs that were no more successful. “I couldn’t chip. Oh, I was terrible. I was just awful.”

Nicklaus eventually sought help from short-game guru Phil Rodgers, who got him to employ a figure-eight technique, and the rest is golf history.

Woods needs similar magic to regain his confidence, but Nicklaus believes the 14-time major winner has to find that on his own. Tiger changed swing coaches late last year, splitting with Sean Foley in favor of Chris Como.

“I think Tiger will turn it around. I think he’s too dedicated, he works too hard at it, he’s got too much talent [not to],” Nicklaus said. “Personally, I think he needs to figure it out himself ... You’ve got to be able to put that positive thought into your head yourself.”

Nicklaus offered that Woods had time to regain his form but acknowledged it was getting tougher for his closest challenger to stake his claim in the history books.

“He’s got a lot of golf in front of him, but it’s going to be up to him and he’s still got to to do it,” Nicklaus said. “He may, he may not, but obviously chances are harder for him now than they were five years ago. But I still think he has time on his side.”

For sure, the clock is ticking, with Woods on the sidelines for yet another event and with precious few tournaments left for him to get in any competitive reps before the Masters in April -- Tiger’s next chance to put a dent in Jack’s lead. But until Woods wins another regular event -- or better yet, his 15th major -- hasn’t time expired on asking Jack about Tiger’s prospects?