Jack nicklaus biography golden bear

Golf — in spite of the jokes to the contrary — is a physically demanding game for tour professionals. Professionals appear on the links for four days straight on weeks of tournaments, playing 18 holes each of those days, as well as practicing before and after each round. And they do this week in and week out, throughout the season, while at the same time dealing with the media and with the other pressures that arise from traveling the country and the globe.

So if a player gets just a bit out of rhythm in his swing, it can throw off the entire game. Nicklaus was unwavering in his focus. He was a powerhouse of a player who drove the ball farther than almost anyone he encountered; he mastered the putter, sinking long putts as if he were tapping the ball in from three feet; and his iron play and his shots from tough situations were as good than any other professionals he encountered.

With his razor-sharp focus, he became very difficult to beat. Yet he also became an ambassador for the game of golf. During the Ryder Cup play at Royal Birkdale, Nicklaus performed one of the true gestures of good faith in the game, conceding a short putt to Britain 's Tony Jacklin, giving him the match, which in turn gave America the victory but allowed England to keep the Ryder Cup trophy one more year.

Many consider it one of the best gestures in the history of sport, and though it was controversial at the time teammate Sam Snead was upset that Nicklaus had conceded , the heart with which Nicklaus made the gesture showed his true colors. Determined to change the way the public perceived him, Nicklaus emerged the next year as a leaner and more fit player.

As the s began, Nicklaus had changed his drab wardrobe for brighter colors and sought to make himself into an all-around player, one worthy of admiration for more than just his stellar play. He soon released books on how to play better golf, collaborating with his mentor Jack Grout as well as with his longtime writing ally Ken Bowden. Nicklaus' body of work itself is a veritable library of golf knowledge.

During the seventies, Nicklaus continued to accumulate tournament victories. He left the 60s with thirty victories, and added 36 more during the seventies, winning his fifth Masters in in thrilling fashion by sinking a forty-foot putt to pull one stroke ahead of Tom Weiskopf. In , however, Nicklaus stumbled. He went winless for the first time, finishing 71st on the money list.

Some felt this was the beginning of his decline. After all, he had been dominating for at least fifteen seasons, and it was time for newcomers like Tom Watson to step up. Palmer's dominance lasted a mere seven seasons, although some argues that it was not even that long. But Nicklaus, like the phoenix from the ashes, came back in the s and helped usher in a new decade, proving that it was his decade as much as any other golfer's.

With new major victories in the U. Open and the PGA Championship early on, many thought that he. Nicklaus had been the youngest winner of the Masters when he first won the tournament in , but he needed to endcap his record.

Jack nicklaus biography golden bear

In he became the oldest player, at 46, to win a Masters green jacket. Address: Home: Old Harbour Rd. Office: U. Highway No. Nicklaus has never really retired from the game of golf — he simply matriculated into the Seniors Tournament, winning several of the Senior majors and many of the lesser tournaments. Nicklaus himself said once that the majors "are the only ones that count.

The business allows him to manage his many businesses, all of which relate to golf or sports in some way. Nicklaus is well known for his golf course design, with over courses worldwide designed and built by Nicklaus' firm. Of the top courses in the country, 12 have been designed and built by Nicklaus. Simon and Schuster, New York : Simon and Schuster, My Story.

Argea, Angelo, and Jolee Edmondson. New York : Atheneum, Creighton, Brian. Los Angeles Times March 24, Verdi, B. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Lagergren, Eric " Nicklaus, Jack. Lagergren, Eric "Nicklaus, Jack. January 8, Open at age 19 in 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. By the end of , 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. 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.

Nicklaus also finished as low individual scorer for that event. Nicklaus's meteoric rise to fame immediately after turning professional enabled opportunities for him to earn significant endorsement income. Golf was growing rapidly in popularity and media coverage during the early s, led by the performances of these three star players. This association was the start of the agency that became known as International Management Group , and IMG, after building a base in golf management, eventually expanded into other sports.

In the early s, McCormack set up a series of televised golf matches around the world among the three stars, known as Big Three Golf. He could be seen on TV saying, "If you play golf, Eastern is your airline. At The Open Championship at St Andrews , Nicklaus set a new record for the lowest score in the final 36 holes with 66—68 in high winds the first time in the championship's history that 70 had been broken in each of the last two rounds.

This was not enough, however, to win the event; Nicklaus placed second to Tony Lema. In 31 official worldwide events in , Nicklaus achieved six victories, seven runners-up, placed in the top five 21 times, the top 21 times, and had only one missed cut. Nicklaus and Palmer also defended their team title at the World Cup in Hawaii, with Nicklaus again finishing as low individual scorer.

When Nicklaus won the Masters Tournament in and , he became the tournament's first back-to-back winner and the youngest two-time and three-time winner. He broke Ben Hogan 's hole scoring record of in when he compiled a new aggregate of in the Masters. This record was tied by Raymond Floyd in and lasted until Tiger Woods shot in , which was a hole record that was subsequently tied by Jordan Spieth in When Woods and Spieth shot , the scores were achieved with significantly improved golf equipment on essentially the same-length golf course over which Nicklaus and Floyd shot During the tournament, Nicklaus hit 62 of 72 greens in regulation and had putts, inclusive of just one three-putt green.

This was good enough to win by nine shots over Arnold Palmer and Gary Player ; this margin of victory was a tournament record that would last for 32 years until Woods won by 12 shots in The week's performance was highlighted by a third-round 64 that consisted of eight birdies and no bogeys. It was of this round that Nicklaus said, "I had never before and have never since played quite as fine a complete round of golf in a major championship as I did in the third round of the Masters.

It was at this time that Bobby Jones stated Nicklaus played a game with which he was unfamiliar; Jones called Nicklaus's result "the greatest performance in all of golfing history". After Nicklaus's record performance at Augusta National in , the course underwent some minor changes to make it tougher. These modifications and the difficult weather in the tournament did not deter Nicklaus.

He successfully defended his title with an even-par aggregate of , 17 shots higher. He won in an hole playoff over Gay Brewer Brewer had three-putted the 18th green to force the playoff but he redeemed himself the following year by winning the tournament and Tommy Jacobs by shooting a two-under-par Nicklaus and Lema formed the U. In all, Nicklaus competed in 28 official worldwide events in , accumulating five victories, seven runners-up, 19 top-5 finishes, 23 top finishes, and zero missed cuts.

In , Nicklaus also won The Open Championship at Muirfield in Scotland under difficult weather conditions; he used his driver just 17 times because of very heavy rough. This was the only major he had failed to win up to that point. This win made him the youngest player, age 26 his fifth year on Tour , and the only one after Gene Sarazen , Ben Hogan , and Gary Player until Tiger Woods at age 24 in , also during his fifth year on Tour to win all four major championships, now known as the Career Grand Slam.

Nicklaus eventually accomplished the double career grand slam in and the triple career grand slam in , winning all four majors two and three times, respectively. Nicklaus was part of another title for the U. Nicklaus concluded playing 22 official worldwide events, with four victories, four runners-up, 14 top-5 finishes, 16 top finishes, and zero missed cuts.

In , Nicklaus won the U. Open for a second time. The tournament was held at Baltusrol , and he broke Hogan's hole record by one shot with a when he birdied the par 5 18th hole. Nicklaus finished this record win with a dramatic yard 1-iron shot, uphill into a breeze and light rain, to the 72nd green an approximate yard equivalent and holing out a foot 6.

Nicklaus and Palmer were the only two players to break par for the week. Sports Illustrated ran a cover photo of Nicklaus throwing his leg high in the air with the headline, "Nicklaus Breaks the Open Record". Nicklaus competed in 24 official worldwide events in , with five victories, four runners-up, 14 top-5 finishes, 16 top finishes, and one missed cut.

For most of his professional career, Nicklaus employed Angelo Argea as his caddie. After Nicklaus won the U. Open in record-breaking fashion, he did not win another major championship until the Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews. Moreover, his highest finish on the Tour money list for the years —70 was second; his lowest was fourth, his worst ranking on the list since turning professional.

However, his fourth-place ranking in would have been elevated to second if The Open Championship winnings were included during that period in the official PGA Tour money list, as they are today. Nicklaus finished runner-up in both the U. Nicklaus made his inaugural appearance in the Ryder Cup at age 29; eligibility rules at the time required a minimum five-year PGA Tour membership before points could be counted for team qualification; rules have been relaxed significantly since.

At the par-5 17th hole with Nicklaus leading by the score of 1 up, Jacklin made a foot 11 m eagle putt to square the match. With the entire competition outcome riding on this match, Nicklaus made a five-foot par putt on the last hole before controversially conceding Jacklin's par putt, ensuring that this game, and the overall match, ended in a tie.

During this period, Nicklaus's physical condition declined somewhat; he put on some excess weight, which affected his stamina. Following the Ryder Cup, he significantly improved his condition in the fall of by losing 25 pounds 11 kg in one month, [ 33 ] and his game started to return to top form. On the 18th hole of the playoff, Nicklaus drove about yards, through the par-4 green with a three-wood, and was forced to pitch back to the hole.

His eagle pitch finished approximately eight feet short of the hole. 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. 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 died 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. In all for the year, Nicklaus competed in 23 official worldwide events, won four, placed in the top-5 10 times, and the top in Although Nicklaus's performance had declined somewhat during this period, he was still ranked as the No.

These rankings, the first attempt to take into account results from professional tours around the world, were not official during that era, but they eventually evolved into the current Official World Golf Ranking , starting in With his victory in the PGA Championship , Nicklaus became the first golfer to win all four majors twice. Nicklaus finished second twice and fifth in the remaining three major championships for the year.

While he finished tied for second in the Masters with Johnny Miller , Nicklaus made a big enough impression on a young Nick Faldo watching on TV in England in order for Faldo to take up the game seriously. Nicklaus also claimed his third World Cup individual title in , with help from a 63 in the third round. He also won the team competition with partner Lee Trevino by 12 shots.

The year brought Nicklaus a victory in the Australian Dunlop International as well, punctuated by a course record 62 his career-low score in competition; one of three in the second round. For the record, Nicklaus played in 23 official worldwide events in , won eight, had 17 top-5 finishes, 20 top finishes, and compiled a 5—1—0 record in that year's Ryder Cup competition.

Nicklaus won the first two major championships of by three shots each in wire-to-wire fashion. He won the Masters and the U. Open , creating talk of a calendar-year Grand Slam. Nicklaus opened with a four-under-par 68 at Augusta National and never looked back. He was the only player under par for the week as he and the field battled difficult scoring conditions.

Open at Pebble Beach again under severe scoring conditions, Nicklaus struck a one-iron on the yard par-three 17th hole during the final round into a stiff, gusty ocean breeze that hit the flagstick and ended up three inches from the cup. 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.

This victory was also Nicklaus's 11th professional major, tying him with Walter Hagen , and made him the first player to win the U. Amateur and U. Open championships on the same golf course. Nicklaus closed out this remarkable year with a second of three consecutive Walt Disney World Golf Classic victories by shooting a under-par to win by nine shots.

He concluded by competing in 20 official worldwide events winning seven, placing second in four, and compiling 15 top finishes. Bobby Jones's record of majors was soon broken when Nicklaus won the PGA Championship in August by four shots over Bruce Crampton for his 12th professional major surpassing Hagen's mark of 11 and 14th overall when using the old-style configuration of Jones's day.

In that year he won another six tournaments. For the year, Nicklaus competed in 20 official worldwide events and claimed seven victories, 14 top-five finishes, 17 tops, and compiled a 4—1—1 record in that year's Ryder Cup competition. Nicklaus's failure to win a major in was somewhat offset when he won the inaugural Tournament Players Championship and was named one of the 13 original inductees into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

While less than a stellar year, Nicklaus was able to claim two victories and 13 top finishes in 20 official worldwide events. His Masters win was his fifth, a record he was to break eleven years later. In this tournament, Nicklaus's foot 12 m birdie putt on the 16th hole of the final round was a key in his victory over Tom Weiskopf and Johnny Miller in a riveting final-round battle.

Open by two shots and a playoff for Open Championship by one shot. Nicklaus also captured his fourth Australian Open during the year. The year yielded Nicklaus six wins, 12 top-5 finishes, and 16 top finishes in 18 official worldwide events. Nicklaus placed first on the PGA Tour money list again in , despite competing in only 16 events, winning just two Tournament Players Championship and World Series of Golf — neither of them majors — and playing what he called "hang-back-and-hope golf".

Between and the only time he failed to win this award was The year also concluded an official streak of consecutive cuts made on the PGA Tour ending at the World Open , which began for Nicklaus in At the time this streak was second only to Byron Nelson 's record of The following year, , was also majorless for Nicklaus, but he did achieve four top finishes in the four events inclusive of two second and one third-place finish — this being one shot out of the PGA Championship playoff between Lanny Wadkins and Gene Littler.

Despite a brilliant final round 66 at the Masters, he finished second by two shots to Tom Watson. But his subsequent second-place finish behind Watson at the Open Championship 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 This event marked the first time was broken in a major championship, and the third-place finisher Hubert Green scored Nicklaus would later say:.

There are those in golf who would argue into next month that the final two rounds of the 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.

In , Nicklaus won his 63rd tour event, passing Ben Hogan to take second place on the career wins list, behind only Sam Snead subsequently Hogan's official career PGA Tour victory total was put at 64, including his Open Championship which was retroactively deemed an official PGA Tour event. The year also saw Nicklaus win for the first time his own Memorial Tournament , where he described the victory as the most emotional moment of his entire career, and nearly decided to retire from competitive golf.

Nicklaus pitched his ideas, adding: "It is vital to widen the selection procedures if the Ryder Cup is to continue to enjoy its past prestige. The major change was expanding selection procedures to include players from the European Tournament Players' Division, and "that European Members be entitled to play on the team". This meant that professional players on the European Tournament Players' Division, the forerunner to the European Tour we have today, from continental Europe would be eligible to play in the Ryder Cup.

When Nicklaus won the Open Championship at St. Andrews, he became the only player to win each major championship three times. Nicklaus and Woods are the only two players to win three "Career Grand Slams". Nicklaus considered his performance in the Open as the finest four days of tee-to-green golf he had ever produced, and was most proud that the win came at St.

Andrews, his favorite place to play golf. The victory was also his most emotional to date. Nicklaus won three other tournaments on the PGA Tour in One of those wins came in the Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic , where he played the final 36 holes 13 under par and scored five consecutive birdies over the closing holes in the final round.

He was named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. The year also marked Nicklaus's sixth and final Australian Open victory. In , Nicklaus suffered a lapse of form and did not win a tournament. This was the first year in his professional career in which he failed to win a PGA Tour event. He did, however, come close. Playing well ahead of the last group on a windy day in the final round of the Masters he was 8-under through 16 holes but bogeyed 17 and parred 18 to finish 7-under.

The ensuing 3-man playoff between Ed Sneed, Tom Watson and Fuzzy Zoeller who won the playoff took place at 8-under after Sneed bogeyed the last three. He would not win another tournament until June Previously, Nicklaus won at least one PGA Tour tournament per year a record he shares with Arnold Palmer , and a minimum of two tournaments per year for 17 consecutive years, and this is another PGA Tour record.

During the offseason, Nicklaus addressed two problems that had hurt his performance. His lifelong teacher Jack Grout noticed that he had become much too upright with his full swing, which caused a steep, oblique approach into the ball, compared with a more direct hit; this was corrected by slightly flattening his backswing. Then Nicklaus's short game, never a career strength, was further developed with the help of Phil Rodgers , a friend for more than 20 years, and earlier PGA Tour rival, who had become a fine coach.

Rodgers lived for a time at the Nicklaus home while this work was going on. In , Nicklaus recorded only four top finishes in 14 events, but two of these were record-setting victories in majors the U. Open and the PGA Championship ; the other two were a tie for fourth in The Open Championship and a runner-up finish in the Doral-Eastern Open to Raymond Floyd via his chip-in birdie on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff.

Nicklaus set a new scoring record for the U. Open with an aggregate of , eclipsing his earlier record of from over the same golf course. That record, while since having been tied by three other players, stood until Rory McIlroy's in winning the U. This was Nicklaus's second major win at Baltusrol Golf Club. Nicklaus opened with a record-tying 63 in round one and fought off his playing partner of all four rounds, Colgate World Match Play Championship winner, Isao Aoki.

Entering the final round, Aoki had caught Nicklaus after three consecutive rounds of 68, but over the course of the last day, Nicklaus pulled away by two shots. Each player birdied the final two holes for a dramatic finish. Aoki's aggregate of was the lowest score for a U. Open runner-up. Nicklaus's win was his fourth and final victory in the championship, tying him with Willie Anderson , Bobby Jones , and Ben Hogan.

Nicklaus referred to this win as "by far the most emotional and warmest reaction to any of my wins in my own country". Nicklaus shot an even-par 70 in the first round. This was followed by three successive rounds in the 60s over the difficult course, and he was the only player to break par for 72 holes. For the week, the field averaged This was Nicklaus's fifth and final victory in the PGA Championship, which elevated him to record-holder for the most wins in the stroke-play era, and which tied him with Walter Hagen for the most wins overall, since Hagen's victories were all during the match-play era.

Nicklaus's seven-shot winning margin remained the largest for the stroke-play version of the championship until Rory McIlroy's victory. Between and , Nicklaus accumulated seven more top placements in major championships, including three runner-up performances. He won only twice on the PGA Tour during this period, the Colonial National Invitation in and his own Memorial Tournament in for the second time, defeating Andy Bean in a sudden-death playoff to become the tournament's first two-time champion.

In , Nicklaus closed out the PGA Championship and World Series of Golf with brilliant final rounds in the mids, and passed many players to move into contention, but finished runner-up in each to Player of the Year Hal Sutton and Nick Price , respectively, who dominated the tournaments from start to finish. In , Nicklaus finished second to Curtis Strange in the Canadian Open , which marked his seventh and final second-place finish in that tournament; this is a record for that event.

These seven runner-up finishes came over the course of 21 events—or one second-place finish for every three tournaments played—and does not include a third-place finish in , one shot out of the playoff between John Cook and Johnny Miller. During the five-year period between and , the Ryder Cup matches provided Nicklaus with two bright spots.

In , Nicklaus capped his victories in major championships by winning his sixth Masters title under challenging circumstances; he posted a six-under-par 30 on the back nine for a final round of seven-under-par Following in his father's footsteps, Jack excelled in football, tennis, and track and field during his school years. At the age of 10, he discovered his passion for golf and quickly demonstrated his talent by scoring 51 points on the Scioto Club golf course.

Initially, Jack served as a caddy for his father, who had returned to golf to recover from a volleyball injury. However, it wasn't long before Jack started mastering the game himself. By the age of 12, he won the Ohio State Junior competition, and at 13, he became the youngest player to qualify for the U. Junior Amateur. At 15, Nicklaus earned the right to play in the prestigious U.

Amateur championship. Nicklaus continues to serve as an ambassador of the sport that made him one of the world's most famous and beloved athletes. He enjoyed a memorable trip to the pre-Masters Par 3 Contest in , when his year-old grandson Gary stepped into the competition and drilled the first ace of his young career. We strive for accuracy and fairness.

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