Tiger will overhaul Jack's total - Padraig
Padraig Harrington believes that Tiger Woods will surpass the record 18 major victories achieved by Jack Nicklaus without ever regaining his dominance of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Woods won the most recent of his 14 major titles at the 2008 US Open before his game went into decline after the 2009 season following assorted leg injuries and the breakdown of his marriage.
However, the American has been in good health since October and he ended a two-year winless streak with victory in December at the limited-field Chevron World Challenge which he hosts in California.
"I've played with him and the way he hits the golf ball, there wouldn't be very many players who wouldn't want to hit the golf ball like him," Irishman Harrington, a triple major champion, told reporters on Wednesday while preparing for this week's Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
"I'd be still backing him to beat Jack's record, absolutely. If he turns up and plays well, he's going to win. He's in the position that he knows his best game is a winning game."
Harrington felt Woods might lose some of his major drive should he move past the Nicklaus total of 18.
"If he gets another five (majors), motivation could hamper it," the Irishman said. "But when he plays well, he'll win majors, no doubt about it. He'll win plenty of tournaments.
"There's no question he will win plenty going forward. There are other guys out there, (but) their best game ain't going to win them. His is still a winning game."
Woods, the greatest player of his generation and arguably of all time, was once renowned for his aura of dominance and his uncanny ability to pull off magical shots or sink crucial putts at the best possible time.
That seemingly permanent aura is now gone forever, according to Harrington.
"Over the years I'm sure he came down the last hole in many tournaments just believing that he was going to birdie it, full stop, because it's happened so many times," the 40-year-old Dubliner said.
"Over the last 18 months it hasn't happened, so that leaves a little bit of doubt the next time he's in that position. He doesn't have the fear factor and the dominance as much to do it every week."
Harrington, who has not won on the PGA Tour since his victory at the 2008 PGA Championship, is making his first appearance of the season on the US circuit this week.