Jack Nicklaus

For many the greatest golfer the world has ever seen, Jack Nicklaus epitomizes the best of the game. He is also a great golf-course architect and designer. His course at his home town, named Muirfield Village after the great course on the Firth of Forth, has hosted the Ryder Cup. He was an immensely talented player as a young man and won the US Amateur Championship in 1959 when he was just nineteen. The following year he came second to Arnold Palmer in the US Open. Nicklaus turned professional in 1962 and won the US Open that year, followed by the Masters and USPGA Championship in 1963. He won his first Open in 1966 and then again in 1970 and 1978. In all, Nicklaus has won 18 major titles, the last one being the Masters in 1986 at the age of forty-six. Almost as astonishing as his successes are the number of times he has finished second, and his duel with Tom Watson at Turnberry in 1977 will be remembered as one of the great golf con­tests of all time. At the outset of his career Nicklaus was not a popular figure in the USA because he threatened the reign of the hero, Arnold Palmer. But as the years have passed he has established a strong hold on the affections of the whole golfing world. At his prime, his game was unsurpassed, and was based on intense concentration and great length from the tee. Only Sam Snead has won more tournaments in the USA and Nicklaus has been the leading player on the Seniors Tour now for a number of years.