Garland:
Nicklaus, I believe, has been quoted as saying that he liked tougher course conditions and set-ups for majors, because he figured his game could handle tough conditions better than his competition.
Jack went plenty low to win several majors, but he also won majors at/near/around par.
(Caveat: there is an argument out there that scoring in majors has generally gotten lower post-oh-1995 or so given advances in technology.)
On Saturday evening, as the storms cleared and the forecast at Augusta called for cooler temps and a very windy day, some commentators suggested the conditions were tailor-made for a Tiger run, because the tougher conditions would be better suited for the best player in the game. I think Tiger even hinted that he was glad to see Sunday's conditions.
It was pretty clear Sunday he didn't have his best game. When he is on in majors (TOC both times, Hoylake, Pebble, Valhalla, Medinah II, Augusta in all of his wins), he is an absolute machine -- better, from what I've seen, than Jack ever was in a major. But with only a few exceptions, notably Bethpage, when he has to plod his way to a win in a major, it usually doesn't happen.