• Decrease font size
  • Reset font size to default
  • Increase font size

Main Menu

Newsletter


Receive HTML?

Information

Jack Nicklaus PDF Print E-mail
Written by Denise I Smithson   
Jack Nicklaus, also called "The Golden Bear" was a remarkable man even as a child. The son of a Columbus, Ohio pharmacist, Nicklaus beat polio as a child and went on to become of the greatest golfers ever to step onto the green. At the age of ten, Nicklaus began golfing and by the time he was 13, he had already broken 70 playing 18 holes.
by DeniseISmithson


Jack Nicklaus, also called "The Golden Bear" was a remarkable man even as a child. The son of a Columbus, Ohio pharmacist, Nicklaus beat polio as a child and went on to become of the greatest golfers ever to step onto the green. At the age of ten, Nicklaus began golfing and by the time he was 13, he had already broken 70 playing 18 holes.

He won the 1956 Ohio Open while only 16 and the US Amateur twice, in 1959 and 1961 - and in the 1960 open, he came in second only to Arnold Palmer. In the same year, Nicklaus was part of the team which won the Eisenhower Trophy, scoring a still-standing 269 four round score.

Nicklaus was playing on the pro circuit by 1962, when he won his first US Open. Defeating Arnold Palmer in this tournament made him a household name overnight. He would win the Masters twice in the 1960's even though it would be 1970 before he would win his next US Open. He took nine more major titles in the 1970s, breaking the 13 title record held by Bobby Jones. His last major tournament can in 1986, when he was 46; the oldest player to win this tournament.

He joined the Senior PGA Tour in 1990, where he racked up 10 wins by 1996 - eight of which were major tournament wins. His made his last Senior PGA tournament appearances in 2005. However, he has stayed active in the sport, writing on the subject, designing courses and even holding his own PGA tournament, the Memorial tournament. Hi runs one of the world's leading golf course design firms and has written autobiographical titles as well as instructional works on playing the Nicklaus way.

Nicklaus, like Palmer came to fame with the advent of televised golf games. By 1962, he had won an unprecedented $60,000 as a pro golfer, becoming the third-highest paid player in the sport as well as winning the Rookie of the Year award. The following year was one of his best, winning bith the Maters and the PGA championships.

Nicklaus was always known as a record setter, having set a record for lowest score in the last 36 holes during the1964 British Open and a 1965 Masters-winning 271. This record stood until 1997 when it was broken by Tiger Woods.

Interviewed in 1970 after the death of his father, Nicklaus said: "I was playing good golf, but it really wasn't that big a deal to me one way or the other. And then my father passed away and I sort of realized he had certainly lived his life through my golf game. I really hadn't probably given him the best of that. So I sort of got myself back to work. So 1970 was an emotional one for me from that standpoint-it was a big boost." Whatever the reason Nicklaus was certainly a record setter - he was the first player to win all four major tournaments twice in the course of his career.

In 1974, the PGA Player of the Year was given to Nicklaus for the third time and he was among the first to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. In 1975, he won his fifth Masters and his fourth PGA Championship. ABC named him Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. Again, at the top of the money list in 1976, he played what he liked to call, "hang-back-and-hope golf." In 1986, he won his sixth Masters-again and unbelievably was still going strong. His 1978 British Open win gave him a place in golf history where he won each major championship three times-a record finally tied by Tiger Woods in 2008. His Senior Tour wins include The Tradition (four times), the Senior Players Championship, and the US Senior Open. Along with his 100th career win (The Tradition) in 1996, he and his four sons and son-in-law had 299 courses open in 2005, an impressive 1% of all the courses in the world. Jack Nicklaus is The Golden Bear for record breaking, his playing style, and his off-the-course achievements and will remain one of golf's greatest players of all time.

About the Author:

When you want a question answered about sports, be sure to visit http://nothingbutsports.info. Here you will find sports trivia, tips, quotations, and resources about all kinds of sports activities. Visit us today at Nothing But Sports.

Kindly provided by 4Girls.dk You are welcome to use this article on your own website, if you include this link.
 
Members : 2569
Content : 3681
Web Links : 3
Content View Hits : 537513