Jack Nicklaus sent a message about the coronavirus through social media that was part Public Service Announcement and part reassurance.
In the golf world, Jack Nicklaus’ steady perspective has become one that fans trust. In the wake of a coronavirus outbreak that has turned the sports world upside down, Nicklaus sent a message through social media on Sunday that was part Public Service Announcement and part reassurance.
In the video, which lasts just under a minute and a half and was shared on Florida Senator Rick Scott’s social media accounts, Nicklaus sits at a desk and speaks directly to the camera as he addresses a tumultuous few days of cancellations and health concerns.
“The last week or so has been an incredibly confusing time,” he begins after introducing himself.
At 80, Nicklaus is, as he admits, among the at-risk population of seniors. He acknowledges that as he urges listeners to be safe and most of all, be smart.
“Many of you kids, you’re going to a lot of places that may bring that home to a senior citizen. I don’t think that’s what you want to do,” Nicklaus said.
“Let’s all make sure we wash our hands, let’s make sure we’re very smart about where we go and when we go, let’s try to stay away from public places, let’s just be smart. Americans have always been smart and Americans have always gotten through these things and we’ll get through this one.”
My friend @jacknicklaus wanted to share an important message: we need to be smart, be safe, be careful where we go. DON’T TAKE A CHANCE.
The past three days have included multiple sports cancellations, and in the golf world that meant the cancellation of four regular-season PGA Tour events in addition to the postponement of the Masters. After that news broke, Nicklaus was a call-in guest on ESPN’s SportsCenter. He praised Augusta National Golf Club for its decision regarding the tournament.
Nicklaus also said on ESPN that had the Masters gone on as planned next month, he’s not sure he would have attended.
Jack Nicklaus told ESPN that he supported Augusta’s decision to postpone the Masters, but wonders if it will be played at all in 2020.
The global nature of the Masters – for both players and fans – is not lost on six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus. From that standpoint, Augusta National Golf Club’s decision to postpone the tournament was a wise one in Nicklaus’ eyes.
In fact, Nicklaus was one of the people whom Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley spoke to before making the decision, as Nicklaus revealed when he called into ESPN’s SportsCenter on March 13.
“I talked to Fred and he had said that they debated it a long time and they felt it was the right thing to do, and I agree with him,” Nicklaus said. “I think it was the right thing to do.”
Augusta announced on March 13 that it would postpone the Masters indefinitely – along with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals – as the world reacts to a coronavirus outbreak. The Players Championship had also been canceled, mid-tournament, by that time and so had the next four PGA Tour events leading up to the Masters.
“Unfortunately, the ever-increasing risks associated with the widespread Coronavirus COVID-19 have led us to a decision that undoubtedly will be disappointing to many, although I am confident is appropriate under these unique circumstances,” Ridley said in a statement, adding that the club hoped it would be in position to safely host the Masters and its other amateur events “at some later date.”
Had the Masters gone on as planned, Nicklaus isn’t sure he would have gone, as he told ESPN.
The next question is whether or not the Masters can find its way back onto the 2020 calendar. Nicklaus isn’t sure if that will happen, either.
“In all practicality… they’re postponing but I can’t see any way that they would play it at a later date,” he told ESPN. “I think it’s just, how in the world could they work it into the schedule? It wouldn’t be fair to any other tournament that’s later. I think we’re probably going to miss the Masters this year, that’s just my opinion.”
It’s true that the Masters would come up against many other events already scheduled in the golf world.
After the British Open is played July 16-19, the Olympics will take place July 30-Aug. 2. The 2020 schedule ends with the Tour Championship, to be played Aug. 27-30. But this is also a Ryder Cup year, and those matches are scheduled to take place Sept. 22-27 at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin.
The 2020-21 wraparound PGA Tour season remains unofficial, but would likely begin in September with a tournament scheduled every week throughout the fall.
The RBC Heritage and the Memorial are both scheduled to be played after the window of PGA Tour cancellations caused by coronavirus.
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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The RBC Heritage and the Memorial both announced on Friday that there are no planned schedule changes at this time.
On Thursday night, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan announced that all PGA Tour events would be canceled through the Valero Texas Open, April 2-5. On Friday morning, Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Fred Ridley announced that the Masters, which was scheduled to begin on April 9, is postponed until a later date.
“Additional protocols to promote the health and safety of all participants and fans are being regularly reviewed,” the tournament said in a statement. “Since this is a very fluid situation, the Heritage Classic Foundation is continuously monitoring available facts and will provide updates on our social channels and rbcheritage.com as they become available.”
A view of the Hilton Head lighthouse at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. (Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
The Memorial, which is scheduled for June 4-7, also expressed concerns for the health and safety of its patrons, sponsors, volunteers, employees and competitors.
“As of today, guided by the current knowledge and information provided by World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control, local government health agencies and Central Ohio’s leading medical providers, we are proceeding with the planning and execution tied to hosting the 45th Memorial Tournament,” tournament media representative Tom Sprouse said in a release.
“This has been a day and week of incredible concern, confusion and frustration throughout the sporting world, and, more important, our world in general. But as it relates to sport, I applaud the decisions made and the actions taken by all the sporting organizations and ruling bodies, and we hope they produce the intended result, which is simply to keep people safe and not expose them to significant health risks,” Memorial Tournament founder and host Jack Nicklaus said. “As an enormous sports fan myself, I hope the passionate fan bases behind every sport are able to pause, take a step back, and reflect on the importance behind the decisions made. Until this COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic is resolved and until things resume with some normalcy, my friends, please be safe, be smart and stay healthy.”
Yellow ribbons were seen pinned to some players hats at the Honda Classic over the weekend. Here’s what they mean.
Viewers of the Honda Classic might have noticed small, yellow ribbons pinned to the hats of a few players at PGA National over the weekend.
They were for a good cause.
The Honda Classic was the kickoff of the “Play Yellow” campaign, created by Jack and Barbara Nicklaus. “Play Yellow” benefits local children’s hospitals, working to impact the 10 million children treated annually at Florida children’s hospitals.
According to the “Play Yellow” website, donations from the Honda Classic went toward “advancing and enhancing the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of childhood diseases and disorders.”
But why yellow?
Sungjae Im during the final round of the 2020 Honda Classic at PGA National (Champion). (Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports)
Before his retirement in 2005, Jack always wore yellow on Sundays in honor of Craig Smith, a young fan and the son of his former minister in Columbus, Ohio. In 1968 at the age of 11, Smith was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare bone cancer.
The “Play Yellow” website states Craig would predict a victory for Jack if he wore his lucky yellow shirt on Sundays. Smith died at the age of 13 in 1971, but was never forgotten by Jack.
Players like Tommy Fleetwood, Luke Donald and Honda Classic winner Sungjae Im brought awareness to “Play Yellow” Sunday with yellow ribbons on their hats at PGA National. In his first PGA Tour victory, Im won at 6 under, one shot ahead Mackenzie Hughes.
Fans were also encouraged to wear yellow to Sunday’s final round and even purchase merchandise sold at the event.
The Masters Tournament has 52 winners in its history. Some of them have been good enough – and lucky enough – to win multiple titles.
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Victory in the Masters Tournament is one of the most coveted accomplishments in professional golf.
Few, however, have been lucky enough to win the green jacket multiple times. There have been 83 Masters Tournaments since its inaugural event in 1934, and in that time, 52 different men have earned the distinction of becoming a Masters champion.
The golfer with the most Masters titles, Jack Nicklaus, won six times at Augusta National Golf Club from 1963-1986 and reigns supreme, but Tiger Woods is hot on his trail. His next green jacket will tie Jack for most all time.
Scroll through photos of each of the 52 Masters champions below and learn how many titles each earned.
Jack Nicklaus, 6
1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986
Jack Nicklaus after winning his fourth Masters Tournament on April 9, 1972 at the Augusta National Golf Club. (File)
From 1 to 100 million, there is no shortage of numbers to mark the career of Jack Nicklaus, winner of 18 major championships.
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As Jack Nicklaus turns 80 on Jan. 21, 2020, let’s look at his numerical footprint.
From the days he started blasting golf balls into the horizon in central Ohio, the Golden Bear has certainly been the gold standard for professional golf.
And he isn’t into doing hibernation. These days, he’s still leaving a profound mark with his golf course designs, his Memorial Tournament and charitable work.
1
Iron he used on the 17th hole at Pebble Beach in the final round of the 1972 U.S. Open to hit a shot from 219 yards that bounced once, struck the flagstick and settled six inches from the cup for a tap-in birdie that basically wrapped up his third victory in the nation’s championship
1
Plaque in the World Golf Hall of Fame (inducted into the Hall’s first class in 1974 along with Patty Berg, Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, Byron Nelson, Francis Ouimet, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Harry Vardon and Babe Zaharias)
Hall of Fame golfers posing at the World of Golf on March 26, 1997: Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller. (AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union, John Pemberton)
2
U.S. Amateur titles (1959, 1961). He also won the NCAA Championship in 1961.
2
U.S. Senior Open titles (1991, 1993)
3
British Open titles (1966, 1970 and 1978)
Jack Nicklaus hits from the rough at the 10th hole in the second round of the 1966 British Open at Muirfield. (AP Photo/File)
3
Decades in which he won the U.S. Open, the only player to win in three different decades
4
Record-tying U.S. Open titles (1962, 1967, 1972 and 1980). Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones and Ben Hogan also each won four.
4
Consecutive years winning a major championship (1970-73)
5
Children – Jack II, Steve, Nancy, Gary and Michael
5
Record-tying PGA Championship titles (1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1980). Walter Hagen also won five.
5
Years in which he won two major championships (1963, 1966, 1972, 1975, and 1980)
5
Players to win professional career Grand Slams – Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Tiger Woods
Nicklaus playfully peeks out from behind a golf flag made in the image of the five-pound note that the Bank of Scotland issued with Nicklaus’ picture on the back. (Photo by H. Darr Beiser/USA TODAY)
5
Pound note issued July 14, 2005, the first day of the 2005 British Open at St. Andrews in Scotland. It celebrated the career of Nicklaus, who won the Open twice at St. Andrews. It was the first British banknote to feature a living non-royal person.
6
Record Masters titles (1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975 and 1986)
In 2015, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus prepare to take their ceremonial tee shots before the first round of The Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo by Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Sports)
6
Australian Open titles (1963, 1968, 1971, 1975, 1976 and 1978)
7
Record runner-up finishes in the British Open
8
Major championship victories when trailing after 54 holes
8
Major championships on the PGA Tour Champions
8
United States Golf Association championships (only Bob Jones and Tiger Woods won more)
Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus pose with the Memorial Trophy after Woods won the 2009 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. (Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports)
10
Major championship wins out of 12 opportunities when having a share or outright lead after 54 holes
10
Wins on the PGA Tour Champions
11
Record top-5 finishes in the U.S. Open
11
Record consecutive top-5 finishes in the British Open (1970-80)
12
Record top-3 finishes in the PGA Championship
13
Longest streak of top 10s in majors (which started in the 1973 Masters and came to an end when he tied for 11th in the 1976 U.S. Open)
14
Record top-5 finishes in the PGA Championship
15
Age when competing in first U.S. Amateur (1955)
15
Record top-5 finishes in the Masters
15
Record consecutive top-10 finishes in the British Open (1966-80)
In 2005, Jack Nicklaus acknowledges applause as he plays his last round at the British Open.(H. Darr Beiser/USA TODAY)
15
Record top-10 finishes in the PGA Championship
16
Record top-5 finishes in the British Open
17
Consecutive years he won at least two PGA Tour titles (from 1962-78)
17
Age when competing in first U.S. Open (1957)
18
Record major championship titles
American Jack Nicklaus, holding his trophy, hugs his wife Barbara after winning the British Open Championship at St. Andrews, Scotland, on July 7, 1970. Nicklaus beat Doug Sanders of the United States. (AP Photo)
18
Top-10 finishes in the British Open
19
Record runner-up finishes in major championships
22
Grandchildren
Jack Nicklaus helps his grandson, Nick O’Leary, line up a putt on No 9 during the Par 3 Contest before the 2011 Masters. (Photo by Michael Madrid/USA TODAY.)
22
Record top-10 finishes in the Masters
23
Sports Illustrated covers (only Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali have appeared on the cover more times)
24
Record eagles made in the Masters
Mike Weir, who won the 2003 Masters, walks down the 11th fairway with Jack Nicklaus and 1992 champion Fred Couples at the 2005 Masters. (Photo by Jack Gruber/USA TODAY)
24
Record consecutive years in which he had at least one top 10 in a major (from 1960 through 1983)
26
Age he completed the career Grand Slam
27
Record-tying cuts made in the PGA Championship (with Raymond Floyd)
29
Record scores in the 60s in the U.S. Open
30
Back-nine score in Sunday’s final round of the 1986 Masters when Nicklaus came from behind to win his sixth green jacket at 46. In besting Greg Norman and Tom Kite by one and Seve Ballesteros by two, Nicklaus made five birdies, an eagle at 15 and pars on the 14th and 18th to offset a bogey at 12.
33
Record rounds in the 60s in the British Open
33.33
Dollars and cents he made with his first cash as a professional at the 1962 Los Angeles Open, where he finished in a three-way tie for 50th
35
Record cuts made in the U.S. Open
In 2005, Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus walk arm-in-arm as they walk up to the 18th green at St. Andrews. (Photo by H. Darr Beiser/USA TODAY Sports)
37
Record cuts made in the Masters
37
Record sub-par rounds in the U.S. Open
39
Record consecutive cuts made in major championships from the 1969 Masters through the 1978 PGA Championship. During this span, he won eight times, finished runner-up seven times and had 33 top 10s. Tiger Woods also made 39 consecutive cuts in majors.
40
Majors played in the 1970s, missing just one cut. He had 35 top 10s in the decade.
40
States in which he has at least one golf course he designed
Jack Nicklaus shows off the nearly completed product at the Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, New York, where he collaborated with course designer Tom Doak (left) in 2005. (Todd Plitt, Special to USA TODAY)
41
Record rounds in the 60s in the PGA Championships
44
Consecutive record of U.S. Open starts (1957-2000)
Nicklaus raises his arms as a reaction to being cheered by the crowd at the 1994 U. S. Golf Open at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, in 1994. (Eileen Blass, USA TODAY)
45
Countries in which he has at least one golf course he designed
46
Age he became the oldest player to win the Masters in 1986
46
Record top-3 finishes in major championships
56
Record top-5 finishes in major championships (that’s more than any other player has top-10 finishes)
58
Age he shot lowest 72-hole score in the Masters for a player 50 or older with a 5-under-par 283 in 1998
Barbara Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus address the media in a press conference during practice rounds on Tuesday at Chambers Bay before the 2015 U.S. Open. (Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports)
59
Years of marriage to Barbara Bash Nicklaus. They were married July 23, 1960
71.37
Lowest scoring average in the PGA Championship (minimum 75 rounds)
71.98
Lowest scoring average in Masters (minimum 100 rounds)
73
Record top-10 finishes in major championships
117
Holes Nicklaus has designed in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Prior to his first design, the Palmilla Golf Club in 1993, there was one nine-hole course in Cabo.
154
Record consecutive starts in majors he was eligible to play, starting with the 1957 U.S. Open and ending at the 1998 U.S. Open
164
Record starts in major championships
Nicklaus shakes hands with Ben Crenshaw on the fourth green during the Par 3 Contest prior to the 2015 Masters. (Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports)
167
Top-3 finishes in PGA Tour starts – 73 wins, 58 second-place finishes and 36 third-place finishes
218
Top-5 finishes on the PGA Tour
268
Solo golf course designs around the world
310
Top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour
506
Record birdies made in the Masters
1,358
Pounds of the Black Marlin he caught just days after winning the 1978 Australian Open. Nicklaus battled the 15-foot, 6-inch marlin for more than six hours without relief.
1966
Year he became first player to successfully defend his title at the Masters
1976
Year of The Memorial Tournament’s debut in Dublin, Ohio. Nicklaus founded the tournament and has hosted every year since. He won in 1977 and 1984.
2005
Year he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., House Speaker John Boehner, R- Ohio, and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., applaud Jack Nicklaus at a ceremony where he was presented the Congressional Gold Medal. (H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY)
2015
Year he received the Congressional Gold Medal
1,220,000
Dollars his 18-karat gold, 1803 Day-Date Rolex watch brought at auction. He wore the watch for 50 years. Proceeds of the sale went to the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation.
2,650,000
Charitable dollars raised from the 44th playing of the Memorial Tournament in 2019. Since the tournament’s debut in 1976, more than $35 million has been raised for charity.
100,000,000
Dollars Nicklaus and Barbara hope to raise for children’s hospitals by end of 2024 in a campaign involving the global community called Play Yellow, which comes from the yellow golf shirts Nicklaus often wore in the final round of tournaments to honor Craig Smith, the son of a close family friend who was battling a rare bone cancer. Smith died in 1971 at the age of 13.
Jack Nicklaus’ eponymous design firm has laid out more than 425 courses in 45 countries and 40 states.
Jack Nicklaus has done a lot more than win championships in his 80 years.
His eponymous design firm has laid out more than 425 courses in 45 countries and 40 states. Many of those tracks have garnered great acclaim, earning spots on the various Golfweek’s Best lists for course rankings.
Jack Nicklaus and Jack Vickers during planning at Castle Pines in Colorado. (Photo courtesy of Castle Pines)
Following are the 10 highest-rated courses Nicklaus has built, with seven of these on the Golfweek’s Best Modern list for courses built in or after 1960, and three appearing on Golfweek’s Best list for courses in the Caribbean and Mexico.
Golfweek’s Best course ratings are determined by an extensive group of players who judge each course on 10 criteria then provide their total rating from one to 10. Those ratings are then averaged for a final rating, shown with each course listed.
Four Seasons Punta Mita’ Pacifico course (Photo courtesy of Four Seasons)
10. Four Seasons Punta Mita (Pacifico)
Golfweek’s Best average rating: 7.09
Where: Punta Mita, Mexico
Year built: 1999
Status: Resort course
Golfweek’s Best: No. 10 on the list for best courses in the Caribbean and Mexico
There are many numbers that show how lasting the legacy of Jack Nicklaus will be, but none more so than 5 and 22. Here’s why.
For years, numbers have always shadowed Jack Nicklaus and provided quick reminders to his greatness between the gallery ropes.
Six green jackets, 18 major championships, 19 runner-up finishes in the game’s four most prestigious events. Those digits are all records, monumental punctuation marks to a career well played.
They are benchmarks for those who try to follow in his footsteps, for the Golden Bear has been the gold standard in golf’s record books for decades. Along with the 18 utopian major titles he’s been tracking for years, one other number always jumped out for Tiger Woods – Nicklaus’ record 73 top-10 finishes in majors. Tom Watson and Sam Snead are next with 46, the same number of top-3 finishes Nicklaus accumulated in majors. Also, 73 is the number of PGA Tour titles Nicklaus amassed, third all-time.
But for Nicklaus, who turns 80 on Jan. 21, two numbers rank ahead of all others, the ones that stand atop his numerical mountain. Those would be 5 and 22 – the number of his children and grandchildren.
Gary Nicklaus with his father Jack Nicklaus at the 101st U.S. Open in 2001 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Jack Gruber/USA Today)
Along with Barbara, his wife of 59 years, Nicklaus counts Jack II, Steve, Nancy, Gary and Michael, and their double-digits of children, his greatest triumphs. Majors are great, but family has always been the most important club in his bag.
They’ve been his voice, his guiding light, his inspiration, his source to move forward and continue to accumulate more numbers.
Add wingman to that list. Who can forget Jack II carrying the clubs when Nicklaus bagged his sixth green jacket in 1986 at age 46, the two hugging just off the 18th green, the perfect cap to the Golden Bear’s back-nine blitz of par?
Thirteen years earlier, a similar portrait emerged when Gary, then 4, raced onto the 18th green at the end of the second round of the 1973 PGA Championship at Canterbury CC in Cleveland. Nicklaus scooped up his toddler and walked off the green with his putter in his left hand and Gary in his right arm, the image captured forever by a nearby photographer.
“It’s my favorite picture ever,” said Nicklaus, who won his 12th major that week.
Thankfully, there are no pictures of Nicklaus when his children were born, for he fainted at each of their births, one time needing more time in the recovery room than his wife, which she jokes about to this day.
And out of the mouths of babes came good sense as his children gave their dad a wakeup call when he was 35. Nicklaus took up skiing that year and was thinking it was about time to quit playing golf.
Barbara Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus at Chambers Bay leading up to the 2015 U.S. Open. (Michael Madrid/USA TODAY Sports)
“We were out there skiing and I was talking about not playing much golf the next year and all the kids said, ‘What are you doing? You can still beat everybody out there. You need to keep playing. You’ll love it,’” Nicklaus said in a call with reporters the week before his 80th. “I said, ‘Yeah, I do, but I want to be a part of your life and grow up with you and watch what you do. I’m not too concerned about myself.’ They talked me into going back and playing. So I won four more majors and a few more tournaments and had a great time.”
Good thing he listened. And anyway, Nicklaus did grow up with his children and was a part of their lives. Despite the travel demands of the professional game and his business interests, Nicklaus made it a point to never be away from the family more than two weeks at a time. His family was more important than his golf, he has said many times, and that in turn, made him a better golfer.
Now Nicklaus’ travels include his grandchildren’s events, including frequent visits to watch his grandson, NFL tight end Nick O’Leary, play.
As years passed, Nicklaus came to adopt other kids. Call many of them his Bear’s Club Boys, the 30 or so pros who live at or near his gem of a club in Florida who seek his wisdom and company.
Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy among them. Others have scheduled visits, including Dustin Johnson. On the other end of his phone have been Patrick Cantlay, Trevor Immelman, Charl Schwartzel. And so many others. Nicklaus is always on call, ready to dispense his valuable info and share a few laughs.
“I don’t go out and seek this. But I’m always available,” he said. “I’ve always felt like, if I have some knowledge, or you might call it wisdom, I don’t know if it is or not, to depart to the kids, I’m delighted to do it.
“It’s very flattering to me. And I enjoy it.”
Other kids mean just as much. The ones battling cancer and other threatening diseases attacking their bodies. While he continues to build golf courses, host his Memorial Tournament and play golf from time to time, he’s now his wife’s wingman in raising money for those in need.
The two established the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation in 2004, which has raised more than $100 million and established 14 Nicklaus Children’s Outpatient Centers. His Memorial Tournament has raised more than $35 million of additional money for charity, the lion’s share going to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital. His presence in hundreds of other charitable tournaments has helped raise millions more.
“Helping a little kid is far more important than a 4-foot putt,” Nicklaus said when he and Barbara announced their latest involvement in a charitable drive in 2019 that will involve the global golf community. Called Play Yellow, the campaign hopes to raise $100 million for children’s hospitals. Play Yellow comes from the yellow golf shirts Nicklaus often wore in the final round of tournaments to honor Craig Smith, the son of a close family friend who was battling a rare bone cancer. Smith died in 1971 at the age of 13.
“We’re just getting started,” Nicklaus said. “Barbara has been so great at what she’s done at the foundation. It’s changed my life. I said many times, ‘You supported me for 50 years, now it’s time for me to support you.’ And that’s what I’ve been doing. I enjoy it. It’s been a blast.”
Yes, Nicklaus played golf for himself and busted his butt to win. But true to his heart, others have always meant the most to him.
GT Nicklaus, the grandson of Jack Nicklaus, holds up the ball after making a hole-in-one on the 9th hole during the Par 3 Contest before the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo by Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Sports)
Which was evident April 4, 2018. He was playing the Par-3 contest at the Masters. Alongside fellow green jacket winners Tom Watson and Gary Player, Nicklaus was strolling around the short course with GT, one of his 22 grandchildren who was 15 and wearing the white caddie overalls and the green cap.
They arrived at the eighth tee, 112 yards in front of them to the hole. And then GT took a swing. And then the ball disappeared into the hole.
Nicklaus was 75 before making an ace at Augusta National. His grandson needed one swing. With tears streaming down his face, Nicklaus left the tee box.
“I didn’t want to be disrespectful because six green jackets is pretty good,” Nicklaus said the next day after participating in the ceremonial tee shots. “But that’s about yourself. When something happens with your children or your grandchildren, that’s far more special to you. And so yesterday, I said, was the greatest day I’ve had at Augusta National.”
Nicklaus remains active at designing golf courses, hosting PGA Tour events, passing on his wisdom to PGA Tour pro and philanthropic work.
In December, when Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus played with their grandsons in the PNC Bank Father-Son Challenge in Orlando, the 5-foot, 6-inch, 150-pound Player launched a drive at 18 that trickled past Big Jack, who in his prime would often blow tee shots half a football field past his longtime foe. This didn’t sit well with the Olden Bear.
“He said, ‘Will you stop out-driving me already?’ ” Player recalls. “I said, ‘You out-drove me for the first 40 years. Let me have the last decade.’ I never thought I’d out-drive Jack and I never thought I’d be taller than him either.”
Nicklaus may have shrunk in stature, but he remains a giant in the game as he celebrates his 80th birthday today. Whether it is designing golf courses, passing on his wisdom to the current crop of PGA Tour stars, hosting PGA Tour events or his philanthropic work, Nicklaus is as relevant in the game as ever.
Take the kids, as he calls them, including Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, and just last week Patrick Rodgers, who have come to The Bears Club, the club Nicklaus founded in Jupiter, Florida, in 1999, for lunch with the 18-time major champion or to his house to drink from his fountain of knowledge as if it were ambrosia. Charl Schwartzel and Trevor Immelman both parlayed advice before the Masters into being fitted for green jackets, and Patrick Cantlay asked for some tips on how to play Muirfield Village Golf Club before winning The Memorial at Jack’s Place in June.
“How many 22-year-olds come to an 80-year-old for advice? Not many. I say, ‘You never listened to your dad so why would you listen to your great grandfather?’ They happen to listen to me,” Nicklaus says. “I impart my experience that you have to play within yourself. The whole idea is don’t beat yourself.”
Jack Nicklaus presents the trophy to Patrick Cantlay after winning the 2019 Memorial at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Photo by Joe Maiorana/USA TODAY Sports
“He has been the best at giving advice on how to play golf. Not how to swing, but how to play the game. He’s talked to me about his strategy and how to play the golf course and how to play the game and what he thought,” says Rory McIlroy, who more than nine years ago was winless on the PGA Tour when he listened to Nicklaus preach patience. Soon after, McIlroy shot a final-round 62 at the Quail Hollow Championship to earn his first Tour title.
“The common denominator for him and Tiger is they are the best thinkers in the game. Just to pick Jack’s brain about that, and about preparation, and how he got himself around a golf course, that’s the best advice you can get. He was a master at playing the game.”
Most people retire so they can play golf; Nicklaus retired as a competitor in 2005 and then ramped up his work building golf courses around the globe. Nicklaus is the first to concede that without his playing career, none of his design business happens.
“Nobody would have listened to me. Golf has allowed me to actually discover something I didn’t even know I had. It’s allowed me to leave something beyond my game and my life,” he says. “Fifty years from now, no one’s going to see me play golf. But they’ll see several hundred golf courses, and they’ll understand that they were expressions of how I felt.”
Age has also mellowed Nicklaus the designer, who used to be criticized for making courses that only he could play.
“As you get older and don’t play as much, you realize what a humbling game it is,” Nicklaus says. “I design a lot more for the members’ tee. People of all walks of life and all skill levels want to play, and as an architect, you want them to enjoy it.”
Nicklaus says he has nine or 10 golf courses he’s working on right now in some stage of development. Chris Cochran, one of Nicklaus Design’s longtime associates, tells a story of a course in Greece that is on the drawing board that shows Nicklaus’ passion for design is alive and well. Unhappy with the routing and with a sudden burst of inspiration, Nicklaus pushed away his dinner plate, had flood lights turned on, and toured the site again in a golf cart until he arrived at a solution.
“It was driving him crazy,” Cochran says.
You might have figured that Nicklaus was slowing down when he announced in February 2018 that he was stepping away from day-to-day operations of his companies. You’d have thought wrong. To hear Nicklaus tell it, he basically got rid of all the parts of the job he was tired of doing and maintained the public speaking engagements, occasional golf exhibitions, course design work and fundraising he enjoys.
“I think everybody would like to do that,” he muses.
Indeed, his calendar sure doesn’t look like that of a man who’s taking it easy. Nicklaus struck the opening tee shot at the Masters in April and teamed with Player in the Legends of Golf; hosted the PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament the month after that; and opened more golf courses, including one in Russia and his first in Latvia. He has attached his name to products ranging from golf balls, wine, beverages and restaurants to lifestyle items such as apparel and footwear.
Player calls retirement a death warrant, and Nicklaus still only operates at two speeds, says his longtime PR man Scott Tolley: “go and giddy-up.”
“I certainly don’t have any reason to want to go curl up in a corner someplace,” Nicklaus says.
Most of his efforts are geared to raising money with wife, Barbara, chair and co-founder of the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation, which was established in 2004 to support numerous pediatric healthcare services in South Florida and across the U.S.
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“We’re just getting started,” Nicklaus says. “She’s supported me for 50 years; now it’s my turn and that’s what I’m doing and frankly I really enjoy it and it’s been eye opening to me. We’re getting ready to start a legacy fund – something that will last well beyond Barbara and I are gone.”
Nicklaus lives in North Palm Beach, Florida, these days, but his signature tournament has another central purpose, and that is to enrich the community of his youth. The Memorial has generated more than $36 million for central Ohio charities since 1976, with more than $20 million given to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
“It’s the greatest second act maybe in terms of a meaningfulness, what you do with your life to affect others,” says CBS Sports commentator Jim Nantz. “What Jack has done after arguably the greatest golf career of all time to now go to a stage in life, thanks to Barbara’s leadership, all these children they are helping, all these hospitals that have popped up; it’s an amazing thing. I’m in awe of them.”
Nicklaus may be officially an octogenarian, but he won’t let a bad back and a bum shoulder from tennis slow him down. He’s far from done with his second act. Giddy-up.
See what PGA Tour stars past and present say about Jack Nicklaus as a friend, a mentor, a father figure and a sportsman.
As Jack Nicklaus turns 80, we asked some of those who know him well to give us a sense of what The Golden Bear has meant to them. Here are the responses of PGA Tour stars past and present who view Jack as a friend, a mentor, a father figure and a sportsman.
Greg Norman, Under Jack’s wing
Two-time major champion
“Jack’s books, Golf My Way and My 55 Ways to Lower Your Golf Score, were my instruction bibles. Without those books I’d probably be flying a jet somewhere. I’d have been a fighter pilot for the Royal Australian Air Force and then gone into commercial and private flying. Instead, I learned from his techniques and went from a 27 handicap to scratch and won my first professional tournament within five years of taking up the game.
I still remember the first time we met like it was yesterday. It was the Australian Open in 1976 and I’d just won my very first golf tournament the week before in Adelaide. Lo and behold I got paired with Jack and I was as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof. I cold-topped my first tee shot. I’d never done that before. I’ll never forget he came up to me in the locker room afterwards and put his hand on my left knee and said I had the game to play in America.
Greg Norman and Jack Nicklaus at the 2001 Masters (Eileen Blass, USA TODAY)
From there, I kind of invited myself under his wing. He’s a humble man. He set the standard for all of us on how to be a professional and to never put yourself ahead of the game. Originally, I was living in Orlando, but I grew up near the ocean and missed the water and moved down by Jack and Barbara to Jupiter Island in 1988. One day, Jack called me up and said his friend was putting his home on the Intercoastal on the market and that I should take a look at it. I went and checked it out, bought it and I still live there today. So, it wouldn’t be an understatement to say that Jack’s been one of the most influential people in my life.”
Justin Thomas: ‘Almost like he’s a father to you’
12-time PGA Tour winner, including 2017 PGA Championship
“The first time I met him was in 2000 at the PGA Championship. I was 7 years old. I remember he did a clinic. I was fortunate to go to the clinic because my dad was working for the PGA of America. I remember (Nicklaus) was talking to someone and I was standing there listening to him talk and I held my hat up. And I remember Mr. Nicklaus signed my hat and I was bragging in school the next day how I got the greatest golfer of all time’s signature. And everyone was like, ‘Oh, you got Tiger Woods?’ And I was like, ‘No, Mr. Nicklaus.’ Of course, no kid in my class knew who the hell Jack Nicklaus was and Tiger was the best at that time. I’ll always remember that.
“And now I have a relationship with him. It almost doesn’t make sense, almost doesn’t seem real. First off, he doesn’t need to take time to sit down with me or answer a phone call. But he genuinely wants to and it’s really cool. I reached out to him a lot more my first couple of years on Tour, when I was searching a little bit more and trying to figure out my way around. And I have a lot better feel about what’s going on now because of a lot of talks we’ve had. It’s almost like he’s a father to you. When I see him, the first thing he always says is he’s happy for me. And like my grandpa, he always goes, ‘Hey, great playing in Hawaii,’ or wherever, and then he’ll go, ‘Boy, you tried to give it away, but you really got it done.’ He always keep me humble, which I like.”
Rory McIlroy, The best thinker
Four-time major champion
“I always remember the first time I met Jack was in the Gardens Mall parking lot (in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida). It was 2009, I had just been put out of the match play by Geoff Ogilvy, and my dad and I flew to Florida early for the Honda Classic the next week. And we were in the parking lot and a gold Lexus pulls up beside us, and Jack gets out of the car and I obviously I recognize him and I introduce myself. ‘Hello, Mr. Nicklaus,’ and my dad calls him Jack. And I’m thinking, dad, this is Mr. Nicklaus. Not Jack.
“Jack has meant so much to me. That week we had lunch at the Bear’s Club and he gave me some advice then. Over the years, I live at his golf course, I practice at the Bear’s Club, I’ve lived there for nine years, and I see him a lot. And I’ve met Barbara and his children, as well. They are such a nice family. I think more so than anything else, they’ve kept who Jack Nicklaus is and all the stuff he’s done on the golf course and they’ve kept this normalcy about them. It’s endearing. They take an interest in other people, they do so much for charity, they are the epitome of being a class act and how you want to be. Jack and Barbara are great role models for me and Erica (McIlroy’s wife) in what they do for the community and charity. They are such a wonderful family.
“He has been the best at giving advice on how to play golf. Not how to swing, but how to play the game. He’s talked to me about his strategy and how to play the golf course and how to play the game and what he thought. The common denominator for him and Tiger is they are the best thinkers in the game. Just to pick Jack’s brain about that, and about preparation, and how he got himself around a golf course, that’s the best advice you can get. He was a master at playing the game.”
Annika Sorenstam, ‘Just normal and cool’
10-time major champion
Jack and Barbara both mean a lot to our family. They have been so generous and supportive to us. They have become genuine friends rather than just professional acquaintances. You can just feel the love they share and they always make us feel so welcome. One fond memory was when they had us to their house and the kids swam with Mike while I played tennis with Jack and his friends. I love how active he stays and his quick wit. He’s just normal and cool.
Paul Azinger, A great sportsman
Won 1993 Memorial Tournament
“Jack’s impact on the game of golf will live forever. He set many records we wanted to achieve. He has shown us all how we should behave. He’s shown the world what sportsmanship looks like many times over. Happy birthday to the Golden Daddy.”
Curtis Strange: A legacy for the ages
Won the 1988 Memorial Tournament
“All of us who followed Jack, both amateurs and professionals, have been inspired and motivated by the golfer and the man. His legacy will last for generations to come. Happy B’Day, Jack.”
Matt Kuchar: The intimidation factor
Won the 2013 Memorial Tournament
“I was hugely intimidated by Jack in my younger days. Took me a while to get comfortable around him. Great memory is having won the tournament and watching the replay and watching my kids high-fiving Mr. and Mrs. Nicklaus. Something I’ll have forever. To look back and see my kids at such young ages jumping up and giving Jack and Barbara high-fives. But he was one that I was nervous around. I mean, to the point he was the greatest ever, and what can I say to this guy that he’s not already done, accomplished? If you caught a fish this big, felt like he caught bigger fish. I was nervous around him. Fortunately have spent enough time, and Barbara is so great, so easy to be around, that our relationship has become one that’s much more comfortable from my standpoint.”
Rickie Fowler, The start of a friendship
Five-time PGA Tour winner
“I had seen Jack and been around him a handful of times, but I think the real start to the friendship, roughly eight or nine years ago, was when Barbara reached out to me about playing The Jake, which they host every year for the foundation. So Barbara had called and left me a message and I know exactly where I was when I called her back. I was playing in the Match Play when we used to play it at Dove Mountain and I was on the putting green and Jack answered the phone. So I said hi. We chatted briefly but kind of kept it short. And that was our first real conversation. I was like, sorry, Jack, I need to speak with Barbara. It’s a funny way to tell him that Barbara is the boss. She runs the show. Jack would say he wouldn’t be where he is without her. It’s an amazing thing to have a relationship with both of them. It’s pretty special.
“To be able to sit down and have lunch and give each other a hard time, to talk to him as a friend, is pretty cool. We all watched the highlights of him playing his best golf. You pinch yourself every once in a while, knowing you can talk to him about all things golf and so many other things.”
Gary Player: The greatest gentleman
Nine-time major champion
“He’s my best friend in the game. We played together probably as much if not more than anybody and all around the world. We competed fiercely not only in America but Great Britain, in Australia, South Africa and Japan. Everyone talks about what a great player he was, we all concede that, but I’d have to say Jack Nicklaus is the greatest gentleman I’ve ever played against. The way he accepted defeat was absolutely incredible. His father taught him a lot while he was growing up, including that he had to be a gentleman in defeat too. And he was a very good father. He’d go to watch them compete the day ahead of a tournament. I cherish the times that I have spent with him. Barbara has been an absolute angel, supporting to the hilt. Our wives made our lives.”
Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus walk to the first tee during the first round of the 2019 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. (Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)
David Graham, A friend for life
Two-time major champion
“One of the unknown things about Nicklaus is how much travel around the world he did. I first met him at the Australian Open, which he won six times. I remember sitting on the end of his golf bag and watching him hit golf balls. I remember distinctly getting a phone call from him later that day asking me to get dinner with him and that was the start of a beautiful friendship.
“He had a set of clubs that were made for him by Slazenger that were a duplicate of his MacGregor set because he had an overseas contract with Slazenger. He wasn’t going to take them back to America. I asked if I could try them. He said, ‘Yeah, have them, please.’ Later on, Jack hired me as his chief designer at MacGregor. We co-designed the VIP irons, which I used in winning the 1979 PGA Championship and also created the Jack Nicklaus Limited Edition irons, which Jack won the 1980 U.S. Open and PGA with prototypes and I used to win the 1981 U.S. Open.
He was extremely instrumental in convincing me to play in America, and a big help to me once I moved here from my native Australia. As a matter of fact, he had a share in a golf course facility in Delray Beach, Florida, called The Hamlet, and he persuaded the owner of the facility to build (my wife) Maureen and me a house. I represented that particular club for a couple of years. We’d have dinner with Jack and Barbara at Lost Tree Village all the time. He and Barbara enrolled our children into school. That’s the type of friend he’s always been to me.”
Contributing: Steve DiMeglio, Adam Schupak, Beth Ann Nichols,
