Nicklaus, Jack W.
Golf
b. Jan. 21, 1940, Columbus, OH
Very slowly, Nicklaus was accepted as a great golfer. Part of his problem was that he came along when Arnold Palmer was the darling of galleries and sportswriters. The other part was that he was chubby and he dressed colorlessly, which didn't endear him to the new and growing television audience for golf in the early 1960s.
Nicklaus won the Ohio Open when he was sixteen, was the U. S. Amateur champion in 1959 and 1961, and finished second in the U. S. Open as an amateur in 1960, when he was only twenty. He joined the pro tour in 1962, finished in the top ten in sixteen of the twenty-six tournaments he entered, and won $61,868.95, more than any other rookie in history. Among his wins was a victory over Palmer in an 18-hole playoff for the U. S. Open Championship.
From there, Nicklaus just kept winning, especially major tournaments. In 1963, he won the Masters and PGA Championship; in 1965 he shot a 271 to win another Masters, breaking the course record of 274 that had been set in 1953, and led the tour in winnings with $113,284; In 1966 he won his third Masters and first British Open.
Nicklaus also changed his image. He lost at least twenty pounds, let his hair grow and had it done, and began to wear colorful clothes. With the charismatic Palmer fading as a competitor, Nicklaus began to attract his own fans in the late 1960s, though they were never as fervent as "Arnie's Army" had been.
A student of golf history, Nicklaus focused from the beginning on winning major championships and, in particular, on Bobby Jones's record of 13 major championships. He surpassed that by winning 21. In addition to his two U. S. Amateur titles, Nicklaus won a record six Masters, in 1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1973, and 1986; five PGA Championships, in 1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, and 1980; four U. S. Opens, in 1962, 1967, 1972, and 1980; and three British Opens, in 1966, 1970, and 1978.
(Without detracting from Nicklaus's record, it should be noted that "major championship" had been re-defined. In Jones's day, the so-called Grand Slam comprised the U. S. and British Amateur championships and the U. S. and British Opens. As an amateur, Jones never competed in the PGA Championship, and Jones himself helped to create the Masters Tournament after he'd retired from competition.)
Like most golfers, Nicklaus seemed to be in the twilight of his career after he turned forty. But, at forty-six, he came up with what was probably his most amazing victory. Tied for eighth place after three rounds of the 1986 Masters, he shot a 65, with a 35 on the front nine and record-tying 30 on the back nine, to pick up his last victory in a major tournament.
Nicklaus was the PGA's top money winner in 1964, 1965, 1967, from 1971 through 1973, and in 1975 and 1976, and he was named player of the year in 1967, 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1976. He won 70 PGA tournaments, second only to Sam Snead.
Although he didn't seem very enthusiastic at the time, Nicklaus began to play some events on the senior PGA Tour when he turned fifty in 1990. He won 10 of the first 35 seniors tournaments he entered, including eight majors.
Nicklaus won at least one tournament for 17 consecutive years, a record he shared with Arnold Palmer. He was also in the top 10 on the annual winnings list for 17 straight years, also a record.