Published Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Rory McIlroy celebrates at the Ryder Cup. (© Getty)
Woods claimed his 14th major at the 2008 US Open, whereas Rory has managed two in his short career to date.
The Holywood man scooped the US Open in 2011, and won the US PGA Championship in August this year.
But, crucially, Woods has not won a major since the sex scandal which led to the breakdown of his marriage.
A dip in form in the wake of the controversy has led to many pundits claiming that his chances of overhauling the 18 majors set by Nicklaus are gone.
Norman, speaking on the eve of the Australian PGA Championship at Coolum, said he would like to see McIlroy be the man to surpass Nicklaus instead.
I am a big fan of Rory's, he can be as big as he wants to be.
Greg Norman
"I don't think so, no," Norman said when asked if Woods was capable of winning the five majors he requires to pass Nicklaus.
"Every year that passes by that he hasn't won a major it just gets that much harder to win a major.
"I don't care how many you have won, it just becomes more and more difficult He might win one or two more but I don't think he will win the four or five more that he needs to win to break the record."
"I think if anybody can break Nicklaus' record I think he could, because he is young, he is ahead of the game, he is ahead of the curve on a lot of things and he has a very balanced life across the board," Norman said.
"So I will keep my fingers crossed for him because I would love to see that happen. Somebody will do it one day and it could be Rory."