Tiger Woods passed Arnold Palmer, caught Ben Hogan and took aim at Jack Nicklaus on the career victory list in a recent streak that rekindled comparisons to Byron Nelson.

Virtually every time Woods sticks a tee in the ground, he digs deeper into golf history. Each divot brings him a step closer to the legends and takes him a step further from his peers.

His 64 wins trail only Sam Snead (82) and Nicklaus (73). And he needs just five major titles to reach Nicklaus' record of 18. At 32, Woods is chasing statues.

He begins his annual quest for the Grand Slam on Thursday at Augusta National. This seems his best chance, considering he's won 16 of his last 27 starts, and seven of the last nine.

"I can see Tiger doing it," Palmer said last month at his Bay Hill tournament. "I think it's something that should stimulate the golf world and certainly should stimulate Tiger, because he's the guy that's on the hot spot right now."

Not only is Woods in top form, but the venues set up well for him. He has won four times at Augusta National. He has won six Buick Invitationals at Torrey Pines in San Diego, site of the U.S. Open. And the last time the British Open was at Royal Birkdale in 1998, he finished a stroke out of the playoff.

Oakland Hills, site of the PGA Championship, is the only major course without significant paw prints. Woods tied for 82nd as an amateur at the 1996 U.S. Open, and his U.S. Ryder Cup team suffered a record loss there in 2004. But given his current form, Woods is a favorite on any layout.

"I don't think there's a course that doesn't fit him," Stewart Cink said after losing to Woods in the WGC Match Play final. "He just morphs his game into the course."

Nobody has claimed the modern Grand Slam: winning the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship in the same year. Woods is the only player to hold all four major titles at one time, but not in the same year. He captured the U.S. Open, British Open and PGA in 2000 and the 2001 Masters for the "Tiger Slam."

In 1953, Hogan captured the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open, but he didn't play the PGA because it conflicted with the British. Palmer won the Masters and U.S. Open in 1960, but finished second at the British Open.

Nicklaus came close to his third straight major victory in 1972, but finished one stroke behind Lee Trevino after a dramatic final-round comeback at Muirfield. Thirty years later, Wood's Grand Slam run ended at Muirfield, too. Trailing by two entering the third round, his Slam hopes were swept away in a powerful rainstorm. He shot 81.

Nicklaus said recently that he set the Grand Slam as his goal each season.

Getty Images

Tiger Woods has won seven of his last nine starts.

View largerMore photos Photo store

"I think Tiger looks at it much the same way, probably even more, because he has held all four of them at one time," Nicklaus said. "That's a pretty lofty goal, but for a guy like Tiger, I wouldn't put it past him."

The Grand Slam has been a hot topic since Woods mentioned on his Web site before the season that the Slam was "easily within reach." Then he issued a bolder statement – an eight-shot victory at Torrey Pines.

Last year, Woods' only major victory was the PGA. He finished two behind Zach Johnson at the Masters and one behind Angel Cabrera at the U.S. Open before tying for 12th at the British Open. Since then, he's gone 1-1-T2-1-1-1-1-1-5.

In a sport where two wins in 30 starts constitutes an exceptional season, Woods is 7-2 over the past seven months, a clip that would make the Mavericks and Stars envious.

Hyperbole has accompanied Woods' recent stretch, often turning No. 1 into the only one. Geoff Ogilvy, who ended Woods' streak at the WGC-CA, grew tired of hearing speculation about Woods going undefeated.

"Without a doubt, he is the best golfer in the world at the moment, and he's on the fast track to being the best golfer of all time," Ogilvy said. "But to say he won't be beaten, that's just absurd. It's amazing how out of touch with reality some people are and how they get caught up in it all."

Woods' play from late 1999 through mid-2002 is probably the best in golf history. He won 12 of 20 tournaments worldwide, including the U.S. Open by 15 shots and the British Open by eight in 2000. Comfortable with swing changes he made with Westlake's Hank Haney, Woods says he's even better.

Despite playing just four times, he already has as many 2008 wins as anybody else had all last season. And his 14,775 FedEx Cup points would rank sixth on last year's regular-season list.

"He's just much better," Fred Couples said. "I've been on Tour for 28 years, and I've never seen this stuff."

Tiger Woods' path to the Grand Slam: