Jack Nicklaus
| Jack Nicklaus | |
|---|---|
| — Golfer — | |
Nicklaus in September 2006
|
|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Jack William Nicklaus |
| Nickname | The Golden Bear |
| Born |
January 21, 1940 Upper Arlington, Ohio |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Nationality |
 United States
|
| Residence | North Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Spouse | Barbara Bash (m. 1960–present) |
| Children | Jack, Steven, Nancy, Gary, Michael |
| Career | |
| College | Ohio State University |
| Turned professional | 1961 |
| Retired | 2005 |
| Former tour(s) |
PGA Tour Champions Tour |
| Professional wins | 120 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 73 (3rd all time) |
| PGA Tour Champions | 10 |
| Other |
26 (regular) 11 (other) |
| Best results in major championships (wins: 18) |
|
| Masters Tournament | Won: 1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986 |
| U.S. Open | Won: 1962, 1967, 1972, 1980 |
| The Open Championship | Won: 1966, 1970, 1978 |
| PGA Championship | Won: 1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1980 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| World Golf Hall of Fame | 1974 (member page) |
| PGA Tour leading money winner |
1964, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976 |
| PGA Player of the Year | 1967, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976 |
| Bob Jones Award | 1975 |
| Payne Stewart Award | 2000 |
| PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award |
2008 |
| Congressional Gold Medal | 2015 |
| (For a full list of awards, see here) | |
Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer. He is widely regarded as the greatest golfer of all time, winning a total of 18 career major championships, while producing 19 second-place and 9 third-place finishes in them, over a span of 25 years. Nicklaus focused on the major championships (Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, Open Championship, and PGA Championship), and played a selective schedule of regular PGA Tour events, yet still finished with 73 victories, third on the all-time list behind Sam Snead (82) and Tiger Woods (79).
After winning the U.S. Amateur in 1959 and 1961, and challenging for the 1960 U.S. Open as an amateur (he finished in second place, two shots behind winner Arnold Palmer), Nicklaus turned professional at age 21 toward the end of 1961. Nicklaus' first professional win came in a major championship, the 1962 U.S. Open, when he defeated Palmer by three shots in a next day 18-hole playoff. This win over Palmer began the on-course rivalry between the two golf superstars. In 1966, Nicklaus won the Masters Tournament for the second year in a row, becoming the first golfer to achieve this distinction, and also won The Open Championship, completing his career slam of major championships. At age 26, he became the youngest to do so at the time. In 1968 and 1969, Nicklaus did not win a major tournament. He then won another Open Championship in 1970.
Between 1971 and 1980, he won an additional nine major championships, overtook Bobby Jones' record of 13 majors, and became the first player to complete double and triple career slams of golf's four professional major championships. At the age of 46, Nicklaus claimed his 18th and final major championship at the 1986 Masters Tournament, becoming that championship's oldest winner. Nicklaus joined the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the PGA Tour Champions) in January 1990, when he became eligible, and by April 1996 had won 10 of the tour's tournaments, including eight of that tour's 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.
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