Woods
He's 9-1 in PGA Tour playoffs, including 2-0 when they take place in majors.

He’s as close to the sure thing as there is when he has a lead.

Since his first full season on Tour, in 1997, he has ranked outside the Top 20 in final-round scoring average just once, five of his nine years he’s been inside the Top 10 and twice (2002, '05) he’s been best.

OK, maybe if guys get a lead on him they don’t shudder like they did in 1999-2001, but trust me, no one is feeling good about their chances one on one vs. Woods.

He’ll miss six straight fairways, then pour it down the gut when he has to.

He’ll miss four putts inside of 10 feet, then slam-dunk the 20-footer that is most crucial.

He may not be able to spot you a lead and catch you but Woods still thrives under pressure like no one else on the professional sports landscape.

Nicklaus
He was halfway through his rookie season on the PGA Tour when he found himself in a playoff — for the U.S. Open, no less.

Even scarier, it was against Arnold Palmer, then the unquestioned king.

All the 22-year-old Nicklaus did was win the first of his 18 professional majors, doing it all the while against long odds.

You could probably stop there if you were questioning how he handled pressure, only Nicklaus produced other success stories when everything was on the line.

Two other major wins came in playoffs — the 1966 Masters and 1970 British Open — but perhaps more telling is that he won four other majors by just one shot and five others by two.

Consider just how many crucial shots he had to hit to win those nine majors alone and that he rarely could coast to victory.

Click below to see how today's Tiger Woods compares to Jack Nicklaus in his prime Ball-striking Creativity Level of competition Pressure Vote: Rate 'em Course management Driving Popularity Putting

Sure, there were heartaches; there has to be with eight runner-up finishes in the majors alone.

The ’71 U.S. Open playoff loss to Lee Trevino and the 1977 British Open defeat at the hands of Tom Watson are prominent, but look at the caliber of player it took to beat him and consider the epic efforts by Trevino and Watson to do so.

Nicklaus craved the pressure and played his best when it was full throttle.

Vote: Rate Tiger vs. Nicklaus in each category

Part 8: Putting

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