Who is better, Irwin or Nicklaus?
Jack Nicklaus leads with a GOAT score of 95.0 against 90.9 for Hale Irwin — a gap of 4.1 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Irwin vs Nicklaus
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently ranks Jack Nicklaus above Hale Irwin: 95.0 vs 90.9. Jack Nicklaus leads on Honours, Dominance, Longevity. Hale Irwin leads on Statistics.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
NicklausWinner
95.0Nicklaus wins: Dominance, Longevity, Honours
Irwin
90.9Irwin wins: Statistics
Candidates
Locked to GolfShareable URL · /compare/hale-irwin-vs-jack-nicklaus
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇺🇸 Jack Nicklaus
95.0
Nicklaus leads in 4 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Jack Nicklaus
2. Hale Irwin
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Through age 22 · Form index per season
1. 🇺🇸 Jack Nicklaus3 wins
1 season by age 22 · 3 per season
Setting the pace at age 22
No verified birth date for Irwin — shown in the pro-debut view instead.
Every career is cut at the season the athlete turned 22, so a rookie today is measured against exactly what a legend had banked by the same birthday.
| Metric | IrwinRetired | NicklausRetired |
|---|---|---|
| US Open titles | 3 | — |
| PGA Tour wins | 20 | 73 |
| Champions Tour wins | 45 | — |
| Senior major titles | 7 | — |
| Ryder Cup appearances | 5 | — |
| Major championships | — | 18 |
| Weeks at world No. 1 | — | 0 |
| Player of the Year awards | — | 5 |
| Career prize money (M$) | — | 5.7 |
| Major runner-up finishes | — | 19 |
| Dominance w25% | 86 | 94 |
| Peak w20% | 92 | 92 |
| Longevity w20% | 96 | 99 |
| Honours w20% | 90 | 99 |
| Statistics w15% | 92 | 90 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Nicklaus95.0
Irwin90.9
FAQ
Where does Irwin beat Nicklaus?
Irwin scores higher on statistics. Nicklaus leads on dominance, honours, longevity.
How is the Irwin vs Nicklaus score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Irwin: 90.9, Nicklaus: 95.0.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Irwin vs Nicklaus. The scoring is published in full — if you can point at the pillar or the weight you disagree with, we read it. Read the methodology paper.