Who is better, Nicklaus or J.Y. Ko?
Jack Nicklaus leads with a GOAT score of 95.0 against 74.5 for Jin Young Ko — a gap of 20.5 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
AthletesTeams
Nicklaus vs J.Y. Ko
Shareable comparison — send this exact matchup to anyone.
Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently ranks Jack Nicklaus above Jin Young Ko: 95.0 vs 74.5. Jack Nicklaus leads on Longevity, Honours, Dominance.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
NicklausWinner
95.0Nicklaus wins: Dominance, Peak, Longevity, Honours, Statistics
J.Y. Ko
74.5J.Y. Ko wins: no category outright
Candidates
Locked to GolfShareable URL · /compare/jack-nicklaus-vs-jin-young-ko
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 5 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Jack Nicklaus
2. Jin Young Ko
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 J.Y. Ko — 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 | NicklausRetired | J.Y. KoActive |
|---|---|---|
| Major championships | 18 | — |
| PGA Tour wins | 73 | — |
| Weeks at world No. 1 | 0 | — |
| Player of the Year awards | 5 | 2 |
| Career prize money (M$) | 5.7 | — |
| Major runner-up finishes | 19 | — |
| Major titles | — | 2 |
| LPGA Tour wins | — | 15 |
| Weeks at No. 1 | — | 163 |
| Vare Trophies | — | 2 |
| Dominance w25% | 94 | 74 |
| Peak w20% | 92 | 84 |
| Longevity w20% | 99 | 64 |
| Honours w20% | 99 | 72 |
| Statistics w15% | 90 | 80 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Nicklaus95.0
J.Y. Ko74.5
FAQ
Where does J.Y. Ko beat Nicklaus?
J.Y. Ko does not lead any of the five categories; Nicklaus is ahead or level on all of them.
How is the Nicklaus vs J.Y. Ko score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Nicklaus: 95.0, J.Y. Ko: 74.5.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Nicklaus vs J.Y. Ko. 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.