Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940 in Columbus, Ohio), also known as "The Golden Bear", was a major force in professional golf from the 1960s to the late 1990s, and is regarded by many as the greatest golfer of all time.
Together with Arnold Palmer, he is credited with turning golf into the major spectator sport it has become. While Palmer brought golf into the TV era, it was the developing Nicklaus-Palmer rivalry that drove subsequent interest.
Career Highlights
Nicklaus took up golf at the age of ten, shooting 51 for his first nine holes. He won the first of six Ohio State Junior titles at the age of twelve. While attending Ohio State University he won the U.S. Amateur title twice (1959, 1961) and an NCAA Championship (1961).
Nicklaus began his professional career in 1962 and his record of eighteen wins in major tournaments is as yet unmatched: three Open Championships (1966, 1970 and 1978), four U.S. Opens (1962, 1967, 1972 and 1980), five PGA Championships (1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, and 1980), and six US Masters (1963, 1965-66, 1972, 1975 and 1986). In 1986, he became the oldest player to ever win The Masters. In all, he had forty eight top 3 finishes in majors, including nineteen second places and nine thirds, fifty-six top 5 finished and 73 top 10 finishes. In 1998 at the age of 58 he finished an impressive sixth in the Masters.
Nicklaus also won the prestigious Players Championship three times. Nicklaus won events around the globe, including six Australian Opens (1964, 1968, 1971, 1975, 1976 and 1978).
He is second to Sam Snead on the all-time chart of players with most PGA Tour wins, having accumulated seventy three titles. In seventeen consecutive seasons from 1962 to 1978 he always won at least one PGA Tour title and always finished in the top ten on the money list. He topped the PGA Tour money list eight times: 1964, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976.
In 1996, Nicklaus was the first person in the history of the PGA to win the same Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour) event four times. He is the only person in the history of the PGA to win all of the major championships on both the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour. He never played a full schedule on the Champions Tour, but he won ten Champions Tour events, including eight majors.
In 1978, he received Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award.
In 1980 he was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award.
Jack Nicklaus had an unusual combination of being one of the greatest putters of all time as well as the longest hitter on the tour during his prime. He popularized the "power fade" which was his characteristic ball flight.
Current career
Nicklaus will turn 65 in 2005 which is the last year that he will be joining a PGA tournament as an exempt player. He has announced that he will be retiring from tournament golf in 2005.
He is currently a leading golf course architect, in partnership with his sons and son-in-law through Nicklaus Design, and is personally responsible for well over 200 golf course designs. These include several of the world's leading courses, such as Muirfield Village, Shoal Creek, Castle Pines and the PGA Centenary Course at the Gleneagles Hotel.
He also continues to manage the Memorial Golf Tournament he created in his home state of Ohio, which is played on a course he designed and is one of the more prestigious events on the PGA TOUR. His other interests are varied and many, and include a golf equipment company and golf academies.
PGA Tour wins
- 1962 U.S. Open, Seattle World's Fair Open Invitational, Portland Open Invitational
- 1963 Palm Springs Golf Classic, The Masters, Tournament of Champions, PGA Championship, Sahara Invitational
- 1964 Phoenix Open Invitational, Tournament of Champions, Whitemarsh Open Invitational, Portland Open Invitational
- 1965 The Masters, Memphis Open Invitational, Thunderbird Classic, Philadelphia Golf Classic, Portland Open Invitational
- 1966 The Masters, The Open Championship, Sahara Invitational
- 1967 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, U.S. Open, Western Open, Westchester Classic, Sahara Invitational
- 1968 Western Open, American Golf Classic
- 1969 Andy Williams-San Diego Open, Sahara Invitational, Kaiser International Open Invitational
- 1970 Byron Nelson Golf Classic, The Open Championship, National Four-Ball Championship
- 1971 PGA Championship, Tournament of Champions, Byron Nelson Golf Classic, National Team Championship, Walt Disney World Open Invitational
- 1972 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, Doral-Eastern Open, The Masters, U.S. Open, Westchester Classic, U.S. Professional Match Play Championship, Walt Disney World Open Invitational
- 1973 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, Greater New Orleans Open, Tournament of Champions, Atlanta Classic, PGA Championship, Ohio Kings Island Open, Walt Disney World Golf Classic
- 1974 Hawaiian Open, Tournament Players Championship
- 1975 Doral-Eastern Open, Sea Pines Heritage Classic, The Masters, PGA Championship, World Open Golf Championship
- 1976 Tournament Players Championship, World Series of Golf
- 1977 Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic, MONY Tournament of Champions, The Memorial Tournament
- 1978 Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic, Tournament Players Championship, The Open Championship, IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic
- 1980 U.S. Open, PGA Championship
- 1982 Colonial National Invitation
- 1984 The Memorial Tournament
- 1986 The Masters
Majors are shown in bold.
Senior PGA Tour wins
Senior majors are shown in bold.
Other wins
- 1959 U.S. Amateur Championship
- 1961 U.S. Amateur Championship, NCAA Championship (individual)
- 1962 World Series of Golf (U.S. - not then a PGA Tour event)
- 1963 World Series of Golf (U.S. - not then a PGA Tour event), Canada Cup (team event with Arnold Palmer and individual event)
- 1964 Australian Open, Canada Cup (team event with Arnold Palmer and individual event)
- 1966 PGA Team Championship (with Arnold Palmer), Canada Cup (team only, with Arnold Palmer)
- 1967 World Series of Golf (U.S. - not then a PGA Tour event), World Cup (with Arnold Palmer)
- 1968 Australian Open
- 1970 World Series of Golf (U.S. - not then a PGA Tour event), Piccadilly World Match Play Championship
- 1971 Australian Open, World Cup (team event with Arnold Palmer and individual event)
- 1973 World Cup (with Johnny Miller)
- 1975 Australian Open,
- 1976 Australian Open,
- 1978 Australian Open,
- 1983 Chrysler Team Championship (with Johnny Miller)
- 1991 Senior Skins Game
- 1999 Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge (with Tom Watson and Hale Irwin), Office Depot Father-Son Challenge (with Gary Nicklaus), Diners Club Matches (with Tom Watson)
- 2000 Hyundai Team Matches (with Tom Watson)
See also
External links
