Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus (/ˈnɪkləsˌ ˈnɪkəl-/; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is a retired American professional golfer and golf course designer.[2] He is widely considered to be either the greatest or one of the greatest golfers of all time.[3][4][5] He won 117 professional tournaments in his career. Over a quarter-century, he won a record 18 major championships, three more than second-placed Tiger Woods.[6] Nicklaus focused on the major championships—the Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship—and played a selective schedule of regular PGA Tour events. He competed in 164 major tournaments, more than any other player, and finished with 73 PGA Tour victories, third behind Sam Snead (82) and Woods (82).
Not to be confused with Jack Nicholas.Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus[1]
The Golden Bear
January 21, 1940
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
5, including Gary
1961
1974 (member page)
1974 (member page)
1975
2000
2008
2015
Nicklaus won the U.S. Amateur in 1959 and 1961 and finished second in the 1960 U.S. Open, two shots behind Arnold Palmer. Nicklaus turned professional at age 21 in 1961. He earned his first professional victory at the 1962 U.S. Open, defeating Palmer by three shots in a next-day 18-hole playoff and launching a rivalry between the golf superstars. In 1966, Nicklaus became the first player to win the Masters Tournament two years running; he also won The Open Championship, becoming at age 26 the youngest player to win all four golf majors.[7] He won another Open Championship in 1970.[7]
Between 1971 and 1980, Nicklaus won nine more major championships, overtook Bobby Jones's record of 13 majors, and became the first player to complete double and triple career grand slams. He won the 1986 Masters, his 18th and final major championship at age 46, the tournament's oldest winner. Nicklaus joined the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the PGA Tour Champions) when he became eligible in January 1990, and by April 1996 had won 10 tournaments, including eight major championships despite playing a very limited schedule. He continued to play at least some of the four regular Tour majors until 2005 when he made his final appearances at the Masters Tournament and The Open Championship.
Today, Nicklaus heads Nicklaus Design, one of the world's largest golf course design and construction companies. Nicklaus runs an event on the PGA Tour, the Memorial Tournament, named after the annual honoring it bestows to individuals associated with the game of golf. Nicklaus's books vary from instructional to autobiographical, with his Golf My Way considered one of the best instructional golf books of all time; the video of the same name is the best-selling golf instructional to date.
PGA Tour career[edit]
Professional breakthrough: 1962–1963[edit]
Nicklaus officially turned professional in late 1961 and began his career on the PGA Tour the following year. He had previously debated the idea of remaining an amateur in order to further emulate his idol, Bobby Jones. However, Nicklaus realized that in order to be regarded as the best, he would have to compete in greater frequency against the best. Shortly after turning professional, Nicklaus's future agent, Mark McCormack, was interviewed by Melbourne Age writer Don Lawrence, who inquired about the American golf scene. When McCormack described Nicklaus, Lawrence referred to the "large, strong, and blond" player as "the Golden Bear", a nickname that would become synonymous with Nicklaus throughout his professional life. However, another possible origination of the name derives from the high school that Nicklaus attended in Upper Arlington, Ohio, which uses the mascot the Golden Bears for its sports teams. As mentioned above, Nicklaus played on several Golden Bears athletic teams, including captaining its 1956 state-champion golf squad, suggesting that McCormack may have adopted the name through Nicklaus's high school affiliation. Regardless, by 1963, the nickname had stuck.
Nicklaus won his first PGA tournament in his 17th start. He and Arnold Palmer were tied for the lead at 1962 U.S. Open at Oakmont after Rounds 3 and 4 were played on Saturday. Nicklaus won the Sunday 18-hole playoff and earned $17,500 ($15,000 plus the $2,500 playoff bonus)—far behind Gary Woodland's $2,250,000 check for the 2019 U.S. Open—for his efforts. The galleries were more vocal in their support for Palmer—who had grown up in nearby Latrobe—but Nicklaus won the playoff by three shots (71 to 74). In 90 holes, Nicklaus had only one three-putt green. The U.S. Open victory made Nicklaus the reigning U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur champion. This major championship win was also his first PGA Tour win. In addition, Nicklaus (22) was the youngest U.S. Open champion since Bobby Jones won at age 21 in 1923, and remained the youngest winner until Jordan Spieth won the 2015 U.S. Open at age 21. (John McDermott is still the youngest winner of the U.S. Open at age 19 in 1911).[26] The U.S. Open win thrust Nicklaus into the national spotlight, and he was featured on the cover of Time magazine. This was also the beginning of the Nicklaus-Palmer rivalry, which attracted viewers to golf on television.[10]
By the end of 1962, Nicklaus had won two more tournaments, which were back-to-back in the Seattle Open and Portland Open. In addition, he tied for third in his first appearance in the PGA Championship. Nicklaus completed the year with over $60,000 (equivalent to $604,356 in 2023) in prize money, made 26 of 26 cuts with 16 top-10 finishes, placed third on the PGA Tour money list, and was named Rookie of the Year. He also won the inaugural staging of the World Series of Golf, a select-field event for the year's major champions, and collected another $50,000 (equivalent to $503,630 in 2023) in unofficial money for that win.[14]
In 1963, Nicklaus won two of the four majors—the Masters and the PGA Championship. These victories made him the then-youngest winner of the Masters and third-youngest winner of the PGA Championship, and each win came in just his second year as a professional. Along with three other wins including the Tournament of Champions, he placed second to Arnold Palmer on the PGA Tour money list with just over $100,000 (equivalent to $995,217 in 2023).[14] He also teamed with Palmer to win the Canada Cup (now the World Cup of Golf) in France, representing the United States (this event was shortened to 63 holes due to heavy fog). Nicklaus also finished as low individual scorer for that event.
Playing style[edit]
During his prime, Nicklaus was consistently among the longest and straightest hitters on the PGA Tour.[77] In 1963, he won the long-drive contest at the PGA Championship with a belt of 341 yards, 17 inches (312 meters), a record that lasted more than 20 years. He preferred the fade (left-to-right shape) for his ball flight, since this allowed the ball to stop quickly on hard and fast greens. His fades could reach long par fours and par fives in two shots.[14] Nicklaus considers his longest drive in competition to be during the final round of the 1964 Masters on the 15th hole, where he had less than 160 yards left to the 500-yard par five. He hit an eight-iron slightly over the green for his second shot.
Nicklaus debuted as a young pro who hit the ball very high. Later, he could also hit lower-trajectory shots as needed. He also developed a right-to-left controlled draw.
In 1968, IBM kept PGA Tour statistics. Nicklaus led two categories for the season: he had an average driving distance of 275 yards, and hit 75 percent of greens in regulation; both marks were significantly ahead of his rivals.[78]
Even though official PGA Tour statistics were not kept until 1980, Nicklaus was consistently the leader in greens hit in regulation through that year, displaying great command of the long and middle irons. Indeed, Nicklaus remained in the top six of this category through 1985 – far past his best playing years. Nicklaus also finished 10th in driving distance and 13th in driving accuracy in 1980 at age 40, which equated to a "Total Driving" composite of 23 – a statistical level not attained since, by a comfortable margin. Nicklaus led this category through 1982. One key to Nicklaus's ball-striking ability and overall power was his exceptional swing tempo. Of this Tom Watson referred to it as Nicklaus's greatest strength in its ability to remain smooth. This proved an asset, especially under pressure, which allowed him to obtain great distance control with his irons.
Nicklaus was also known for his course management skills. He would plan to hit each full shot to the optimal position, to best set up his next shot, usually aiming for level lies and clear approach lines, while favoring his preferred shot shapes. He would often hold back on power to achieve this, but had a power advantage over most rivals through the set, so that he could hit a 3-wood or 1-iron from the tee with increased accuracy to avoid trouble, with sufficient length to keep up with the drivers hit by most rivals. An exceptional example of this came in the final round of the 1966 Open Championship at Muirfield, on the 17th hole, a 530-yard par 5 hole. Nicklaus needed a birdie, but the hole was framed by tall fescue rough, and was playing downwind with very firm turf conditions. He used a 3-iron from the tee and hit the shot 290 yards, then hit a 5-iron 240 yards onto the green, two-putted for birdie, and parred the final hole to win the title.[30]
Nicklaus was the first player to chart and document yardages on the course on a consistent, planned basis. For most of his career, he was not known for his skill on touch shots with the wedges, so he would often play to avoid wedge shots that needed less-than-full swings. Gary Player stated that Nicklaus had "the greatest mind the game has ever known".[79]
Nicklaus was not known for being an outstanding putter, but he was often able to make the important putts when they were needed.[80] Nicklaus's putting was highly regarded by his rivals. He was also known as a conservative player at times; he went for broke only when it was necessary. This was especially apparent on the greens, 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."[30]
