Jack Nicklaus

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Nicklaus won the U.S. Amateur in 1959 and 1961 and finished second in the 1960 U.S. Open, two shots behind Arnold Palmer. He turned professional at age 21 in 1961 and earned his first professional victory at the 1962 U.S. Open, defeating Palmer by three shots in an 18-hole playoff. Nicklaus was part of "The Big Three" along with Palmer and Gary Player. In 1966, he 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.

In Their Own Story

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.

Reader's Guide

Nicklaus won the U.S. Amateur twice (1959, 1961), and an NCAA Championship (1961). In 1961, he became the first player to win the individual title at the NCAA Championship and the U.S. Amateur in the same year. 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. Nicklaus won the Ryder Cup with the United States five times as a player, and also captained the team in 1983 and 1987.

Did You Know?

• Nicklaus overcame a mild case of polio as a 10-year-old. — This is false; he did not have polio.
• He scored a 51 at Scioto Country Club for his first nine holes ever played at age 10.
• At age 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.
• Nicklaus won the Ohio Open in 1956 at age 16, highlighted by a phenomenal third round of 64, competing against professionals.
• He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2015.