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Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), also known as "The Golden Bear", is one of the most successful professional golfers of all time. Nicklaus currently holds the record for the most victories in major championships. After winning two U.S. Amateur Championships in 1959 and 1961, and challenging for the 1960 U.S. Open, Nicklaus turned professional towards the end of 1961.
The 1962 U.S.
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Quotations
The older you get the stronger the wind gets—and its always in your face.
International Herald Tribune (Paris, February 28, 1990)
It's hard not to play golf that's up to Jack Nicklaus standards when you are Jack Nicklaus.
On winning his 70th PGA tournament, WINS Radio (May 28, 1984)
Encyclopedia
Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), also known as "The Golden Bear", is one of the most successful professional golfers of all time. Nicklaus currently holds the record for the most victories in major championships. After winning two U.S. Amateur Championships in 1959 and 1961, and challenging for the 1960 U.S. Open, Nicklaus turned professional towards the end of 1961.
The 1962 U.S. Open was both Nicklaus's first major championship win, and his first professional win. This win over Arnold Palmer began the on-course rivalry between the two. In 1966, Nicklaus won the Masters Tournament for the second year in a row, becoming the first golfer to achieve this, and also won the Open Championship, completing his career slam of major championships. After failing to win a major for two years, Nicklaus won another Open Championship in 1970.
Between 1971 and 1980, he would win a further nine major championships, as well as overtaking Bobby Jones's record of 13 major championships. At the age of 46, Nicklaus claimed his 18th and last major championship at the 1986 Masters Tournament, becoming the oldest major championship winner. Nicklaus joined the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the Champions Tour) in 1990, when he became eligible, and by 1996 had won ten of the tour's tournaments, including eight of that tour's majors. He continued to play the four PGA Tour majors until 2005, when he made his final appearances at The Open Championship and the Masters Tournament.
Nicklaus has also taken part in many off-course activities, including golf course design, book writing, and running his own tournament on the PGA Tour, the Memorial Tournament. His golf course design company is one of the largest in the world. Nicklaus's book writing varies from instructional to autobiographical, and his book Golf My Way is considered one of the best instructional golf books of all time.
Amateur career
Nicklaus was born in Columbus, Ohio, the son of a pharmacist. He was raised in the suburb of Upper Arlington, and attended Upper Arlington High School. Overcoming a mild case of polio as a child, he took up golf at the age of ten, shooting 51 for his first nine holes. At 13, he broke 70. He won the first of five straight Ohio State Junior titles at the age of twelve. He won the Ohio Open in 1956 at age 16, competing against professionals. While attending Ohio State University, he won the U.S. Amateur title twice (1959, 1961), and an NCAA Championship (1961). At the 1960 U.S. Open, he shot a 282, finishing second by two strokes to Arnold Palmer, who won the tournament with a final round 65. This score remains the lowest ever made by an amateur player in the U.S. Open. He represented the United States, against Great Britain and Ireland, on winning Walker Cup teams in both 1959 and 1961, winning both of his matches in each contest. He was also a member of the victorious 1960 U.S. Eisenhower Trophy team, winning the unofficial individual title with a four-round score of 269, a record which still stands. Nicklaus was named the world's top amateur golfer by Golf Digest magazine for three straight years, 1959-1961. Nicklaus also won two Trans-Mississippi Amateurs in 1958 at Prairie Dunes Country Club and 1959 at Woodhill Country Club.
PGA Tour career
Professional breakthrough
Nicklaus began his professional career in 1962. His first professional win came in the same year, defeating the heavily favored Arnold Palmer in a Monday playoff at Oakmont for the 1962 U.S. Open. This was the beginning of the Nicklaus-Palmer rivalry, which attracted viewers to the new technology of television. By the end of the year Nicklaus had picked up two more wins, those being the Seattle Open and the Portland Open back-to-back. He completed 1962 with over $60,000 prize-money, placed third on the tour money list, and was named Rookie of the Year.
In 1963 Nicklaus won two of the four major championships - the Masters and the PGA Championship. Along with three other wins including the Tournament of Champions, he placed second on the tour money list with just over $100,000. Despite winning no majors in 1964, Nicklaus placed first on the tour money list for the first time in his career with a margin of $81.13 over Palmer. At the British Open at St Andrews, Nicklaus set a new record for the lowest score in the final 36 holes with 66-68. This was not enough, however to win the event; Nicklaus placed second to Tony Lema.
Nicklaus won the Masters in 1965 and 1966, becoming the first consecutive winner of this event. He set a tournament record of 271 in the 1965 Masters, which lasted until Tiger Woods shot 270 in 1997. In 1966, he also won the British Open at Muirfield in Scotland, which was the only major he had failed to win up to this time. This win made him the youngest player, age 26, and the only one after Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, and Gary Player (until Tiger Woods at age 24) to win all four major championships, now known as the Career Slam. Nicklaus eventually accomplished the triple career slam in 1978, winning all four majors three times. In 1967, he won his second U.S. Open title at Baltusrol, breaking Hogan's 72-hole record with a 275.
Career downturn (1968-1970)
After Nicklaus won the 1967 U.S. Open, he did not win another major championship until the 1970 British Open at the Old Course at St Andrews. Moreover, his highest finish on the tour money list for the years 1968-70 was second; his lowest was fourth, his worst ranking on the list since turning professional. During this period, Nicklaus also let his physical condition decline somewhat, putting on excess weight, which affected his stamina. He significantly improved his condition in the fall of 1969, and his game returned to top form. In 1970, Nicklaus's father, Charlie Nicklaus, died. Soon after this Nicklaus won the 1970 British Open, defeating fellow American Doug Sanders in a playoff round in emotional fashion. Nicklaus threw his putter into the air after sinking the winning putt, as he was thrilled to have won the Open at the home of golf, St. Andrews. He describes this period in his life:
"I was playing good golf, but it really wasn't that big a deal to me one way or the other. And then my father passed away and I sort of realized that he had certainly lived his life through my golf game. I really hadn't probably given him the best of that. So I sort of got myself back to work. So '70 was an emotional one for me from that standpoint. ... It was a big boost."
Record setter
With a win at the 1971 PGA Championship in February, Nicklaus became the first golfer to win all four majors twice in a career. By the end of the year he had won four additional tournaments including the Tournament of Champions and the National Team Championship with Arnold Palmer.
Nicklaus won the first two majors of 1972, the Masters and the U.S. Open, creating talk of a Grand Slam. In the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, Nicklaus struck a one-iron on the par-three 17th hole into a stiff, gusty ocean breeze which landed, hit the flagstick and ended up six inches from the cup. The U.S. Open was Nicklaus's 13th career major, and tied him with Bobby Jones for career majors (although a different group of tournaments had been considered majors in Jones's time). He won a total of seven tournaments during the year, and was runner-up in a further three. Nicklaus did not win the Grand Slam in 1972, however, as Lee Trevino repeated as the British Open champion (Nicklaus finished second, one shot behind), and Gary Player prevailed in the PGA Championship.
Jones's record of majors was soon broken when Nicklaus won the PGA Championship in August 1973 for his 14th professional major. In that year he won another six tournaments. The PGA Player of the Year was awarded to Nicklaus for the third time, and the second year in a row. Nicklaus's failure to win a major in 1974 was offset somewhat by his being named one of the 13 original inductees into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Nicklaus says this honor was a "nice memento" after a "disappointing season".
Nicklaus started off well in 1975: he won the Doral-Eastern Open, the Heritage Classic, and the Masters in consecutive starts. His Masters win was his fifth, a record he was to break eleven years later. In this tournament, Nicklaus made a 40-foot putt on the 16th hole to all but secure his victory. He also won the PGA Championship for the fourth time in August. His performance in 1975 resulted in his being named PGA Player of the Year for the fourth time, tying Ben Hogan, and he was also named ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year.
He placed first on the tour money list again in 1976, despite competing in only 16 events, winning only two — neither of them majors — and playing what he called "hang-back-and-hope golf". He also won the PGA Player of the Year award for a record fifth time. Between 1972 and 1976 the only time he failed to win this award was 1974.
The following year, 1977, was also majorless for Nicklaus, but his second-place finish behind Tom Watson at the British Open at Turnberry created headlines around the world. In a one-on-one battle dubbed the "Duel in the Sun," Nicklaus shot 65-66 in the final two rounds, only to be beaten by Watson, who scored 65-65. Nicklaus would later say:
"There are those in golf who would argue into next month that the final two rounds of the 1977 British Open were the greatest head-to-head golf match ever played. Not having been around for the first five hundred or so years of the game, I'm not qualified to speak on such matters. What's for sure, however, is that it was the most thrilling one-on-one battle of my career."
During 1977, Nicklaus won his 63rd tour event, passing Ben Hogan to take second place on the career wins list, behind only Sam Snead.
Nicklaus won the 1978 British Open to become the only player to have won each major championship three times. This record has since been tied by Tiger Woods, by winning the 2008 U.S. Open. Nicklaus and Woods are the only two to win three "Career Grand Slams." Nicklaus won three other tournaments on the PGA Tour including the Tournament Players Championship, and was named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. After this year he suffered a lapse of form, not winning another tournament until June 1980. The year of 1979 was the first in which he failed to win a tournament; he had only one runner-up finish.
In the offseason, Nicklaus addressed two problems which had hurt his performance. His longtime coach Jack Grout noticed that he had become much too upright with his full swing; this was corrected. Then Nicklaus's short game, never a career strength, was further developed with the help of Phil Rodgers, a 20-year friend and tour rival, who had become a fine coach. Rodgers lived for a time at the Nicklaus home while this work was going on.
In 1980, Nicklaus recorded only three top-ten finishes, but two of these were victories in majors (the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship); the other was a runner-up finish in the Doral-Eastern Open. During the next five years Nicklaus won only twice on the tour, including his own tournament (Memorial Tournament) in 1984.
In 1986, Nicklaus capped his career by recording his sixth Masters victory under incredible circumstances, posting a six-under 30 on the back nine at Augusta for a final round of seven-under 65. At the 17th hole, Nicklaus hit it to within 18 feet and rolled it in for birdie, raising his putter in celebration and completing an eagle-birdie-birdie run. Nicklaus made a victory-sealing par-4 at the 72nd hole, and waited for the succeeding players to falter. At age 46, Nicklaus became the oldest Masters winner in history, a record which still stands. On the feat, sports columnist Thomas Boswell remarked,
"Some things cannot possibly happen, because they are both too improbable and too imperfect. The US hockey team cannot beat the Russians in the 1980 Olympics. Jack Nicklaus cannot shoot 65 to win the Masters at age 46. Nothing else comes immediately to mind."
This victory was his 18th major title as a professional.
Nicklaus won the 1986 Masters using the Response ZT putter. Its manufacturer, MacGregor Golf, received 5,000 orders the next day; it had planned to sell only 6,000 copies of this model for the entire year. Before the tournament, Tom McCollister, writing in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said that Nicklaus was "done, washed up, through," and this spurred him on, as he says:
"I kept thinking all week, 'Through, washed up, huh?' I sizzled for a while. But then I said to myself, 'I'm not going to quit now, playing the way I'm playing. I've played too well, too long to let a shorter period of bad golf be my last."
This victory was to be his last in his long career on the PGA Tour. At the age of 58, Nicklaus made another valiant run at the 1998 Masters, where he tied for sixth.
Champions Tour career
Nicklaus became eligible to join the Senior PGA Tour, now known as the Champions Tour, when he turned 50 in early 1990, at which point he declared, "I'm never satisfied. Trouble is, I want to play like me—and I can't play like me anymore." He then quickly won in his first start on the tour, the Tradition, which was also a Senior Tour major championship. Nicklaus would go on to win another three Traditions, while the most anyone else has won is two. Later in the year, Nicklaus won the Senior Players Championship for his second win of the year, and also his second major of the year. The next year, in 1991, Nicklaus won three of the five events he started in, those being the U.S. Senior Open, the PGA Seniors Championship and the Tradition for the second year straight. These, again, were all majors on the Senior Tour.
Nicklaus has won all the Champions Tour Majors with the exception of the Senior British Open
After a winless year in 1992, Nicklaus came back to win the U.S. Senior Open for the second time in 1993. Also in that year he teamed up with Chi Chi Rodriguez and Raymond Floyd to win the Wendy's Three Tour Challenge for the Senior Tour team. In 1994 he won the Senior Tour's version of the Mercedes Championship for his only win of the year. The Tradition was his again in 1995, in a year where he made the top 10 in all of the seven tournaments he entered in. His 100th career win came the next year, when he won the Tradition for the fourth time, and second time in succession. He made an albatross in the final round. This was to be his last win on the Senior Tour, and the last official win of his career.
Close of playing career
Nicklaus's final U.S. Open was held at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2000, where he shot 73-82 to miss the cut. Later in the year, he was paired with Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh in his final PGA Championship, where he also missed the cut.
Nicklaus played without much preparation in the 2005 Masters, a month after the drowning death of his 17-month-old grandson Jake (child of his son, Steve) on March 1, 2005. He and Steve played golf as therapy for their grief following the death. After days of playing, it was Steve who suggested his dad return to The Masters. He made that his last appearance in the tournament. Later in 2005 Nicklaus finished his professional career, at the The Open Championship played at St. Andrews on July 15, 2005. Nicklaus turned 65 in January that year, which was the last year he could enter The Open Championship as an exempt player. He played with Luke Donald and Tom Watson in his final round. After hitting his tee shot off the 18th tee in the second round, Nicklaus received a ten-minute standing ovation from the crowd. Soon afterwards, Nicklaus ended his career with a fitting birdie, holing a fifteen-foot birdie putt on the 18th green. Nicklaus missed the 36-hole cut with a score of +3 (147).
The last competitive tournament in which Nicklaus played in the United States was the Champions Tour's Bayer Advantage Classic in Overland Park, Kansas on June 13, 2005.
Off-the-course career
Golf course design
Nicklaus devotes much of his time to golf course design and operates one of the largest golf design practices in the world. His first design, Harbour Town Golf Links, was opened for play in 1969. For the first few years, all of his projects were co-designs with either Pete Dye or Desmond Muirhead, who were two of the leading golf course architects of that era. His first solo design, Glen Abbey Golf Course in Oakville, Ontario, opened for play in 1976. This course served as the host site for the Canadian Open for many years, the first being in 1977. He is now in partnership with his four sons and his son-in-law through Nicklaus Design. The company had 299 courses open for play at the end of 2005, which was nearly 1% of all the courses in the world (In 2005 Golf Digest calculated that there were nearly 32,000 golf courses in the world, approximately half of them in the United States.). Nicklaus designed golf courses include Muirfield Village, Shoal Creek, and the PGA Centenary Course at the Gleneagles Hotel.
Writings and media
Nicklaus has written several golf instructional books, an autobiography (My Story), a book on his golf course design methods and philosophy, and has produced several golf videos. The writer Ken Bowden often assisted him with this work. His book Golf My Way is one of the all-time classics of golf instruction, and has been reissued several times. Nicklaus has also written golf instructional columns for GOLF magazine and for Golf Digest magazine, with which he is currently associated. He also appeared as a television analyst and commentator with ABC Sports on golf broadcasts. Several of the books have been reissued, sometimes under different titles, and "My Story" as a limited edition. A selection of his major works follows.
- The Greatest Game of All, by Jack Nicklaus, 1969.
- Golf My Way, by Jack Nicklaus, with Ken Bowden, 1974, 1998, 2005.
- On and Off the Fairway, by Jack Nicklaus, with Ken Bowden, 1978.
- Play Better Golf: The Short Game and Scoring, by Jack Nicklaus, with Ken Bowden, 1987.
- Play Better Golf: Short Cuts to Lower Scores, by Jack Nicklaus, with Ken Bowden, 1990.
- Jack Nicklaus: My Story, by Jack Nicklaus, with Ken Bowden, 1997 (plus a limited edition of 225 to honor Nicklaus at the 2000 Memorial Tournament).
- Jack Nicklaus' Lesson Tee, by Jack Nicklaus, with Ken Bowden, 1998.
- Nicklaus by Design: Golf Course Strategy and Architecture, by Jack Nicklaus and Chris Millard, 2002.
- Jack Nicklaus: Memories and Mementos from Golf's Golden Bear, by Jack Nicklaus, 2007.
- Golf and Life, by Jack Nicklaus and Dr. John Tickell, 2007.
Other interests
Nicklaus continues to manage the Memorial Tournament he created in his home state of Ohio, which is played at Muirfield Village, a course which he designed. The forerunner to this tournament, the Columbus Pro-Am, had its final year in 1975, and the inaugural Memorial Tournament was held the following year. The tournament is one of the more prestigious events on the PGA Tour. Nicklaus owns Nicklaus Golf Equipment, founded in 1992. Nicklaus Golf Equipment manufactures golf equipment in three brands: Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus Signature and Nicklaus Premium. These three brands are designed to target golfers at different stages of golfing ability.
Playing style
Nicklaus was consistently among the longest and straightest hitters on the tour during his prime. He preferred the fade for his ball flight, since it allowed the ball to stop quickly on fast greens. Another factor in this decision was his distance capabilities, which were developed enough to allow him to play a fade and still reach long par fours and par fives. Nicklaus was known for his course management skills. He would plan to hit each shot on the most convenient side of the fairway to aid his next shot. Gary Player states that Nicklaus's golfing mind was "the greatest mind the game has ever known". While not a great putter, he was able to make the important putts when he needed them. He was also known as a conservative player at times, going for broke only when he needed to. This was especially apparent on the green, where he would often choose to be less aggressive and make sure of an easy two-putt. Nicklaus spoke about this in his autobiography. "I was a fine two-putter, but sometimes too defensive—too concerned about three-putting—to go for putts that I probably should have gone for."
Awards and recognition
After his first year on the PGA Tour in 1962, Nicklaus received the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award. As well as receiving the PGA Tour Player of the Year five times and topping the PGA Tour money list eight times, he has also attained the Bob Jones Award and the Payne Stewart Award, among others. He has also been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. His likeness was featured on a special commemorative issue five-pound note issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland, making him the first living person outside the Royal Family to appear on a British banknote. There is a Jack Nicklaus Museum on the campus of The Ohio State University in his home town of Columbus, Ohio. He had the unique privilege of dotting the "i" of "Script Ohio" (specifically the "i" in "Ohio"), the signature formation of the Ohio State University Marching Band, at the Ohio State homecoming game on October 28, 2006 when the Buckeyes played Minnesota; this is considered the greatest honor that can be bestowed on a non-band member. While at Ohio State University, Nicklaus became a member of the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta.
Career achievements
During his career on the PGA Tour, Nicklaus accumulated 18 major championships which is a record, and 73 PGA Tour victories, second only to Sam Snead. He also holds the record for the most wins at The Masters, with 6. He played on 6 Ryder Cup teams, as well as captaining the team twice, and topped the PGA Tour money list 8 times.
Major Championships (18)
1 Defeated Arnold Palmer in 18-hole playoff - Nicklaus (71), Palmer (74)
2 Defeated Tommy Jacobs & Gay Brewer in 18-hole playoff - Nicklaus (70), Jacobs (72), Brewer (78)
3 Defeated Doug Sanders in 18-hole playoff - Nicklaus (72), Sanders (73)
Results timeline
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|
| The Masters | T13 LA | T7 | T15 | 1 | T2 | 1 | 1 | CUT | T5 | T24 | | U.S. Open | 2 LA | T4 LA | 1 | CUT | T23 | T31 | 3 | 1 | 2 | T25 | | British Open | DNP | DNP | T32 | 3 | 2 | T12 | 1 | 2 | T2 | T6 | | PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | T3 | 1 | T2 | T2 | T22 | T3 | CUT | T11 |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|
| The Masters | T33 | T2 | T15 | WD | T18 | T6 | 1 | T7 | T21 | 18 | | U.S. Open | 1 | T6 | 2 | T43 | T21 | CUT | T8 | T46 | CUT | T43 | | British Open | T4 | T23 | T10 | T29 | T31 | CUT | T46 | T72 | T25 | T30 | | PGA Championship | 1 | T4 | T16 | 2 | T25 | T32 | T16 | T24 | CUT | T27 |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|
| The Masters | 6 | T35 | T42 | T27 | CUT | T35 | T41 | T39 | T6 | DNP | | U.S. Open | T33 | T46 | CUT | T72 | T28 | CUT | T27 | T52 | T43 | CUT | | British Open | T63 | T44 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T79 | T45 | 60 | DNP | DNP | | PGA Championship | CUT | T23 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T67 | CUT | CUT | DNP | DNP |
LA = Low Amateur
DNP = did not play
WD = withdrew due to injury
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Summary of major championship performances
- Starts - 163
- Wins - 18
- 2nd place finishes - 19
- Top 3 finishes - 46
- Top 5 finishes - 57
- Top 10 finishes - 73
- Longest streak of top-10s in majors - 13
See also
External links
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- All Jack Nicklaus Sports Illustrated Covers
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- Profile, trivia, quotes and other resources from About.com.
- (PDF file).
- Profile at Golf Legends
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