Background and career
Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won 117 professional tournaments in his career, including a record 18 major championships. He is an inductee of the World Golf Hall of Fame. 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 in 1961 at age 21. He won his first professional victory at the 1962 U.S. Open, defeating Palmer by three shots in an 18-hole playoff beginning a long-running rivalry between the two. Nicklaus, Palmer, and Gary Player became known as “The Big Three,” a name given to the trio due to growing popularization of golf in the 1960s. In 1966, Nicklaus became the first player to win the Masters Tournament in back-to-back years; he also won the 1963 PGA Championship and the 1966 Open Championship, becoming at age 26 the youngest player at the time to complete the career grand slam. Named the AP Athlete of the Decade for the 1970s, Nicklaus had won 17 major championships by 1980. He overtook Bobby Jones's record of 13 majors, and became the first player to complete double and triple career grand slams. At age 46, Nicklaus won his final major championship at the 1986 Masters Tournament, which was a record sixth Masters title. He joined the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the PGA Tour Champions) when he became eligible in 1990, and by 1996 had won 10 tournaments, including eight senior major championships, despite playing a limited schedule. He continued to play at least some of the four regular majors until making his final appearance at the 2005 Open Championship held at the Old Course at St Andrews. As of 2026, Nicklaus heads Nicklaus Design, one of the world's largest golf course design and construction companies. He runs an event on the PGA Tour, the Memorial Tournament, which is held at the Nicklaus-designed Muirfield Village Golf Club, and is the subject of the Jack Nicklaus Museum on the campus of his alma mater, Ohio State University. 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. Nicklaus won the Ryder Cup with the United States five times as a player, he also captained the team in 1983 and 1987. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2015.
Nicklaus was born on January 21, 1940, in Columbus, Ohio, and grew up in the suburb of Upper Arlington. He is of German descent, the son of Helen (Schoener) and Charlie Nicklaus, a pharmacist who ran several businesses named Nicklaus Drug Store. Charlie was a skilled all-round athlete who had played football for the Ohio State Buckeyes and had gone on to play semi-professional football under an assumed name for the Portsmouth Spartans (who later became the NFL's Detroit Lions). Charlie had also been a scratch golfer and local tennis champion in his youth. In February 1970, Charlie Nicklaus died of pancreatic cancer at age fifty-six. Nicklaus attended Upper Arlington High School, whose nickname and mascot are coincidentally the Golden Bears. In Nicklaus's senior year, he was an honorable mention All-Ohio selection in basketball as a shooting guard, and he received some recruiting interest from college basketball programs, including Ohio State. During his youth, he also competed successfully in football, baseball, tennis, and track and field. Nicklaus took up golf at the age of 10, scoring a 51 at Scioto Country Club for his first nine holes ever played. Charlie Nicklaus had joined Scioto that same year, returning to golf to help heal a volleyball injury. He was coached at Scioto by club pro Jack Grout, a Texas-developed contemporary of golf greats Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan; Grout had played quite successfully on the PGA Tour and would become Nicklaus's lifelong golf instructor. Nicklaus overcame a mild case of polio as a 13-year-old. Nicklaus won the first of five straight Ohio State Junior titles at the age of 12. At 13, he broke 70 at Scioto Country Club for the first time, and became that year's youngest qualifier into the U.S. Junior Amateur, where he survived three match-play rounds. He had earned a handicap of +3 at age 13, the lowest in the Columbus area. Nicklaus won the Tri-State High School Championship (Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana) at the age of 14 with a round of 68, and also recorded his first hole-in-one in tournament play the same year. At 15, Nicklaus shot a 66 at Scioto Country Club, which was the amateur course record, and qualified for his first U.S. Amateur. He won the Ohio Open in 1956 at age 16, highlighted by a phenomenal third round of 64, competing against professionals. In all, Nicklaus won 27 events in the Ohio area from age 10 to age 17. In 1957, Nicklaus won the International Jaycee Junior Golf Tournament, having lost the previous year in a playoff. Nicklaus also competed in his first of 44 consecutive U.S. Opens that year, but missed the cut. In 1958 at age 18, he competed in his first PGA Tour event, the Rubber City Open, at Akron, Ohio, tying for 12th place after being just one out of the lead at the 36-hole mark, and made the cut in the U.S. Open, tying for 41st place. Nicklaus also won two Trans-Mississippi Amateurs – in 1958 at Prairie Dunes Country Club and 1959 at Woodhill Country Club, with final match victories of 9 & 8 and 3 & 2, respectively. Also in 1959, Nicklaus won the North and South Amateur at Pinehurst, North Carolina and competed in three additional PGA Tour events, with his best finish being another 12th place showing at the Buick Open. While attending Ohio State, he won the U.S. Amateur twice (1959, 1961), and an NCAA Championship (1961). In the 1959 U.S. Amateur, Nicklaus defeated two-time winner and defending champion Charles Coe 1-up in the final 36-hole match when he birdied the 18th hole. This was significant not only because of Coe's proven ability as a player, but also because Nicklaus became the then-youngest champion in the modern era, second only to Robert A. Gardner, who won in 1909. In 1961, Nicklaus became the first player to win the individual title at the NCAA Championship and the U.S. Amateur in the same year. He was followed by Phil Mickelson (1990), Tiger Woods (1996), Ryan Moore (2004), and Bryson DeChambeau (2015). Nicklaus also won the NCAA Big Ten Conference Championship that year with a 72-hole aggregate of 283, while earlier claiming the Western Amateur in New Orleans. In his second and last U.S. Amateur win in 1961, Nicklaus convincingly defeated Dudley Wysong 8 & 6 at Pebble Beach in the 36-hole championship match. For the week, Nicklaus was 20 strokes under par, including 34 birdies and two eagles. At the 1960 U.S. Open, twenty-year-old Nicklaus shot a two-under-par 282, finishing in second place two strokes behind winner Arnold Palmer. This score remained the lowest ever by an amateur in the U.S. Open, until Viktor Hovland beat the record in 2019. Nicklaus played the final 36 holes with Ben Hogan, who later remarked that he had just played 36 holes with a kid who should have won by 10 shots. During the final 36 holes, Nicklaus was two-under-par; he had shot every round of the tournament at or below par and was the only entrant to do so. Nicklaus had led by two shots with six holes to play. In 1960, Nicklaus also tied for 13th in the Masters Tournament. He tied for fourth in the 1961 U.S. Open, three shots behind champion Gene Littler, having played the final 54 holes one under par. Each of these three major championship finishes designated Nicklaus as low amateur. However, Nicklaus's one-under-par 287 tied for seventh in the 1961 Masters Tournament, and was second that year only to Charles Coe's low amateur placing, who tied for second with Arnold Palmer at seven-under-par 281, one shot behind champion Gary Player. Nicklaus represented the United States against Great Britain and Ireland on winning Walker Cup teams in both 1959 and 1961, decisively winning both of his matches in each contest. On the 1959 trip to Britain, he also made his only attempt at the British Amateur, the world's oldest international amateur event, at Royal St George's Golf Club, losing 4 & 3 in the quarterfinal round to fellow-American, Bill Hyndman. He was also a member of the victorious U.S. team in the 1960 Eisenhower Trophy, where he won the unofficial individual title by 13 shots over teammate Deane Beman with a four-round score of 269 at Merion Golf Club. This record of 269 stood until Jon Rahm totaled 263 at the 2014 Eisenhower Trophy. For three straight years (1959–1961), Nicklaus was named the world's top amateur golfer by Golf Digest magazine.
Nicklaus attended Ohio State University from 1957 to 1961. He majored in pre-pharmacy and had good grades in his first three years; he intended to follow his father into pharmacy after graduation. As his amateur golf achievements mounted, Nicklaus changed his mind on his career path; he switched programs to study insurance. At that stage, he planned to remain an amateur golfer and earn his living by selling insurance. For a time, he worked in the insurance field while he also attended college. He married Barbara Bash (b. 1940), who was a nursing student at Ohio State, in July 1960, and their first of five children, Jack Jr., was born in September 1961. The following month, Nicklaus was intent on becoming the first amateur to win the Masters. In early November, he changed his mind and announced that he was turning professional in order to support his family. He wound up a few course hours short of graduating from college. In a goodwill gesture, Ohio State granted him an honorary doctorate in 1972.
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 more frequently 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). 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. 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 $638,614 in 2025) 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 $532,178 in 2025) in unofficial money for that win. 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 $1,051,630 in 2025). 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.
Nicklaus's meteoric rise to fame immediately after turning professional enabled opportunities for him to earn significant endorsement income. These business opportunities were facilitated by Mark McCormack, who also managed Palmer and Gary Player. Golf was growing rapidly in popularity and media coverage during the early 1960s, 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. The Palmer-Nicklaus-Player rivalry developed into the so-called "Big Three" of Golf. In the early 1960s, McCormack set up a series of televised golf matches around the world among the three stars, known as Big Three Golf. In the early 1970s, Nicklaus left IMG to set up his own management agency, Golden Bear Inc. Nicklaus also signed a contract with Eastern Airlines. He could be seen on TV saying, "If you play golf, Eastern is your airline."
Despite winning no majors in 1964 (he had three runner-up finishes), Nicklaus led the PGA Tour money list for the first time in his career by a slim margin of $81.13 over Palmer. 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. Nicklaus also set a record for the lowest final-round score in the PGA Championship with a 64 (since broken by Brad Faxon in 1995 with a 63), but fell three shots short of champion Bobby Nichols and his record-setting score of 271. In 31 official worldwide events in 1964, Nicklaus achieved six victories, seven runners-up, placed in the top five 21 times, the top-10 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 1965 and 1966, he became the tournament's first back-to-back winner and the youngest two-time and three-time winner. He broke Ben Hogan's 72-hole scoring record of 274 in 1953 when he compiled a new aggregate of 271 in the 1965 Masters. This record was tied by Raymond Floyd in 1976 and lasted until Tiger Woods shot 270 in 1997, which was a 72-hole record that was subsequently tied by Jordan Spieth in 2015. When Woods and Spieth shot 270, the scores were achieved with significantly improved golf equipment on essentially the same-length golf course over which Nicklaus and Floyd shot 271. During the 1965 tournament, Nicklaus hit 62 of 72 greens in regulation and had 123 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 1997. 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 1965 Masters." This round tied Lloyd Mangrum's record set at Augusta National in 1940 and remained in place until Nick Price shot 63 during the third round in 1986. 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 1965, the course underwent some minor changes to make it tougher. These modifications and the difficult weather in the 1966 tournament did not deter Nicklaus. He successfully defended his title with an even-par aggregate of 288, 17 shots higher. He won in an 18-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 70. Nicklaus led the PGA Tour money list again in 1965 by a healthy margin over Tony Lema. Nicklaus and Lema formed the U.S. team for the World Cup, held in Madrid, Spain, but could not defend the title, as South Africa won. In all, Nicklaus competed in 28 official worldwide events in 1965, accumulating five victories, seven runners-up, 19 top-5 finishes, 23 top-10 finishes, and zero missed cuts. In 1966, 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 2000, also during his fifth year on Tour, and Rory McIlroy in 2025), to win all four major championships, now known as the Career Grand Slam. Nicklaus eventually accomplished the double career grand slam in 1971 and the triple career grand slam in 1978, winning all four majors two and three times, respectively. Nicklaus was part of another title for the U.S. in the World Cup in Japan. Nicklaus concluded 1966 playing 22 official worldwide events, with four victories, four runners-up, 14 top-5 finishes, 16 top-10 finishes, and zero missed cuts. In 1967, Nicklaus won the U.S. Open for a second time. The tournament was held at Baltusrol, and he broke Hogan's 72-hole record by one shot with a 275 when he birdied the par 5 18th hole. During the four rounds, Nicklaus hit 61 of 72 greens in regulation. Nicklaus finished this record win with a dramatic 238-yard 1-iron shot, uphill into a breeze and light rain, to the 72nd green (an approximate 260-yard equivalent) and holing out a 22-foot (6.7 m) birdie putt to close out a final nine of 30 and final round of 65 to shoot 275, four shots better than runner-up Arnold Palmer. 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". He also finished runner up in The Open Championship and third in the PGA Championship, one shot out of a playoff between Don January and Don Massengale. In 1967, Nicklaus led the PGA Tour money list for the third time. Later that year, Nicklaus and Palmer teamed up for a 13-shot wire-to-wire World Cup victory in Mexico City. Nicklaus competed in 24 official worldwide events in 1967, with five victories, four runners-up, 14 top-5 finishes, 16 top-10 finishes, and one missed cut. For most of his professional career, Nicklaus employed Angelo Argea as his caddie.
