Maginnes: In his prime, Palmer had some Tiger-esque runs

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- I wonder if Tiger Woods felt a twinge of guilt when he passed the King on the all-time career wins list with his victory at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship last month.

Palmer tees off during the pro-am on Wednesday. (WireImage)

I seriously doubt it. Like all of us, Tiger reveres golf history and its great players. The relationships he has forged with two living legends of the game, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, are based on a respect that extends far beyond accomplishment -- although, according to Tiger, he still hasn't taught them how to text message.

The way that Tiger has clipped off records, they appear to be little more than mile markers on a highway toward immortality. It would be a shame, though, if we don't stop to appreciate just how impressive Arnie's 62 career victories and Ben Hogan's 64 -- squarely in Tiger's sights this week -- really are.

Compare Arnie's accomplishment to other great players of any era, and it becomes apparent that the stately gentleman with the easy smile was once as fierce and commanding as Tiger is today.

Phil Mickelson is 13th on the career victories list with an impressive 33 wins, but that is only slightly more than half of Arnie's total. When you consider some of the other legends of the game like Gary Player, who has 24 wins, and later Raymond Floyd, with 22, you get a better perspective on Arnold's career.

The year after Arnie won the 1954 U.S. Amateur title, he notched PGA TOUR victory No. 1 at the 1955 Canadian Open. It was from 1960-63 that the King became golf royalty. He had eight victories in 1960 and another six in 1961. Arnie added eight more in 1962 and seven in 1963.

Does this run sound like anyone you know? Well, actually, not who you are thinking. Arnie's 29 victories in a four-year stretch is the best stretch of the last 50 years. Not even you-know-who has duplicated it.

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Video: Arnie talks about changes to Bay Hill

Before you go searching the Internet, Tiger's most prolific four-year stretch included a mere 27 victories from 1999 to 2002. It is not unreasonable to think that Tiger could get to 29 wins in his current four-year run. He will need seven more wins in 2008 to get there and I don't think the King himself would bet against Tiger.

Obviously, Tiger's merciless assault on all the important records in the game seems only as limited as his and our imaginations. After Hogan, only two greats will have more victories than Tiger.

Nicklaus, who has 73 wins, and Sam Snead's 82 will soon be on Tiger's radar. As Tiger reaches these mileposts, we should take the opportunity to remember those great players as we do this week with Mr. Palmer. Each of these milestones tells the story of a man who for a time was considered the best of all time.

Whether or not Tiger catches Hogan at Arnie's playground remains to be seen this week. He is certainly the prohibitive favorite every week he tees it up. But don't let Tiger's accomplishments diminish those of these former greats who paved the way for his current glory in the same way that he is laying the groundwork for some other young man who dares to dream bigger dreams than any one who came before.

Ten years ago we would have never considered the idea that someone could win more majors than Jack or more tournaments than Snead.

Someday, many generations from now, there will be someone who uses Tiger's records as a stepping stone of his own. And when that time comes, Tiger will be remembered the same way.

Oh, and that kid probably won't feel guilty either.