Tag: Jack Nicklaus

PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship moving to mountain course near Lake Tahoe

Tournament officials said they will continue to use a Modified Stableford scoring system for the event.

RENO, Nev. – The PGA Tour tournament that’s been held in Reno since 1999 is moving next summer to another mountain course designed by Jack Nicklaus about 30 miles away near Lake Tahoe, tournament officials announced Wednesday.

Barracuda Networks, a San Francisco Bay Area-based tech company, will continue to be the title sponsor of the Barracuda Championship, which is scheduled for July 2-5, 2020, at Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood Golf Course at Truckee, California.

The tournament previously held at the Montreux Golf & Country Club course in Reno – also designed by Nicklaus – was named the Reno-Tahoe Open when it began in 1999 until Barracuda became the title sponsor in 2014.

Montreux members voted earlier this year to no longer host the tournament.

The 18th green at Montreux Country Club in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Marianna Massey/Getty Images)

The 7,518-yard, par-72 Old Greenwood Golf Course opened in 2004 on 600 acres of forest in the Sierra Nevada. It sits at an elevation of about 6,000 feet where the golf ball travels 10 to 15 % farther than at sea level.

Tournament officials said they will continue to use a Modified Stableford scoring system awarding 2 points for birdies, 5 for eagle and 8 for double-eagle, while subtracting 1 point for bogey and 3 points for anything worse.

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Jack Nicklaus’ Rolex sells at auction for $1 million

An 18-karat gold Rolex Day-Date watch worn by Jack Nicklaus for 50 years has sold at auction with proceeds benefiting his foundation.

An 18-karat gold Rolex Day-Date watch that was worn by Jack Nicklaus for 50 years and then as he hoisted 12 of his 18 major championship trophies has sold at auction for $1 million.

Phillips in New York held the auction Tuesday as part of its “Game Changers.” Also up for auction was a Rolex GMT-Master reference 1675, which Phillips says belonged to Marlon Brando and was worn by the actor while filming “Apocalypse Now.”

Bidding on Nicklaus’ watch, lot 18, began at $500,000. Experts on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” had speculated the watch could eclipse the record of $17.8 million that Paul Newman’s Rolex sold for in 2018. Despite the stature of the watch in golf’s history, the final bid didn’t come close to the record.

Nicklaus says he didn’t wear the Rolex while playing tournament rounds, but “it came on as soon as I came off the golf course.” And he’s photographed wearing it while lifting the iconic trophies in the sport throughout his storied career.

The money raised through the auction benefits the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation, created by Jack and his wife Barbara in 2004.

They’ve told the story through the years of how their philanthropy began. Their daughter, Nan, was 11 months old when she began coughing and choking. Jack and Barbara rushed Nan to the hospital, where doctors discovered a crayon was stuck in her windpipe.

Nan contracted pneumonia and was in intensive care for six days before she recovered. The Nicklauses were so moved by the incident that they came to a decision.

“We looked at each other and said if we’re ever in a position to help anyone, we want it to be children,” Barbara told Golfweek. “If we’ve helped one family, we’re happy.”

Barbara was honored with the PGA of America’s Distinguished Service Award last month.

 

PNC Father/Son Challenge: Field list and how to watch

The Father/Son is a feel-good weekend in the middle of the so-called “silly season” of golf.

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All things considered, the PNC Father/Son Challenge field is remarkably strong. For one thing, the qualifications to get in are steep. Only major champions and winners of the Players Championship are eligible, and 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus headlines that category.

The Father/Son is a feel-good weekend in the middle of the so-called “silly season” of golf. This year, it overlaps the final round of the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.

In addition to Nicklaus, the field includes icons Gary Player, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson. Despite the Nov. 27 death of his wife Hilary, who had battled pancreatic cancer, Watson remains in the field for now along with his son Michael.

Twelve of the 20 teams include a World Golf Hall of Famer. Individually, the final field shares more than 700 worldwide titles as well as 192 Champions Tour wins, with the all-time Champions Tour wins leader Hale Irwin, returning to this event after a two-year hiatus.

There are also seven former World No. 1 players in the field. That category includes Annika Sorenstam, who is playing with her father Tom and will become the first female professional to compete in the tournament.

The event will be played Dec. 5-8 at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.

The field

Darren Clarke/Tyrone Clarke (son)

John Daly/Little John Daly (son)

David Duval/Brady Duval (son)

Jim Furyk/Mike Furyk (father)

Retief Goosen/Leo Goosen (son)

Padraig Harrington/Paddy Harrington (son)

Hale Irwin/Steve Irwin (son)

Lee Janzen/Connor Janzen (son)

Tom Kite/David Kite (son)

Bernhard Langer/Jason Donald Langer (son)

Tom Lehman/Thomas A. Lehman (son)

Jack Nicklaus/GT Nicklaus (grandson)

Mark O’Meara/Shaun O’Meara (son)

Jerry Pate/Jenni Pate (daughter)

Gary Player/James Throssell (grandson)

Nick Price/Greg Price (son)

Vijay Singh/Qass Singh (son)

Annika Sorenstam/Tom Sorenstam (father)

Lee Trevino/Daniel Trevino (son)

Tom Watson/Michael Watson (son)

How to watch

All times Eastern

Friday, Dec. 6 

Golf Channel (Pro-Am Special): 5-6 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 7 

Golf Channel: 2-3 p.m.
NBC: 3-6 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 8 

Golf Channel (live): 11 a.m.- Noon
NBC (live): Noon – 3 p.m.

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