Then, in 1996, a young Tiger Woods took the world by storm as the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year before winning the 1997 Masters. It was the first of 15 major wins for Woods before injuries took their toll, beginning in 2008.

“I think Tiger’s about capable of doing anything he ever wants to do — always has been,” Nicklaus told Golf Channel’s Rich Lerner. I feel bad for him that he can’t walk like he wants to, but I know he’s hitting the ball well and playing well. I know he’s not gonna put himself in a cart, which he probably could do.”

Lerner is one of the people that saw Woods surpassing Nicklaus, saying he once believed Woods would win 25 majors and 100 tournaments. Nicklaus didn’t give any specifics, but he agreed that Woods would’ve surpassed his major record.

“If he remained healthy, I think he would’ve got it, but he didn’t remain healthy,” Nicklaus said. “We all have injuries, we all have different things in our life that change things, and Tiger had his problems, so I feel bad for him about it. But it is what it is.”

The numbers bear out that idea, too. Based on 2015 research by Nate Silver and my colleague Neil Paine, Woods was on track to break Nicklaus’ record throughout his 20s and well into his 30s, if he had followed the typical aging path for men’s major golf champions of the past.

But Woods fell off the pace once he hit age 35, and never was able to close the gap to Nicklaus.

Now, Woods is headed to the PGA Tour policy board, which Nicklaus described as “a great addition.” Woods will proved insight to the Tour regarding the direction of the game as golf continues to evolve.

With Woods’s reign of dominance seemingly finished though, Nicklaus doesn’t think anyone will surpass his record now. He says golf’s pool of talent has gotten extremely deep thanks to the international players on the PGA Tour, pointing to the Ryder and President Cups as examples.

Nicklaus isn’t happy about Woods’s injuries, but he isn’t angry about retaining his record. However, he does want to see Woods dominate the links one more time.

“I think Tiger will play the senior tournament,” Nicklaus said. “He’d be able to get in a cart, and he’ll absolutely kill everybody. He’s a talented guy and a great worker. Great work ethic, loves to play golf.”