“All I ever wanted to do was play competitive golf against the best players in the world.”
Jack Nicklaus achieved that goal, plus much, much more. On January 21st last month, the Golden Bear turned 80 years old. Nicklaus is not only the best golfer to ever come out of the state of Ohio, he is the BEST golfer to ever walk a fairway.
Tiger Woods may one day surpass Jack, but he has a little work left on his plate to truly be considered an equal, or better than Nicklaus.
Over the past few years, both Jack and Barbara have received numerous awards from golf’s governing bodies. When his competitive days were over, Barbara encouraged her husband to use that
same focus and determination to raise funds for their foundations that have generated hundreds of millions of dollars for children’s medical care in both Ohio and Florida.
But for Jack it all began over seventy years ago at Scioto Country Club near his home in Upper Arlington, Ohio. Living just a couple of blocks from the course, he and his father would walk over for a quick nine before dinner. Plus, he developed friendships that would last his lifetime at the club.
We all know the numbers, 73 PGA TOUR wins, 18 major titles including, three OPEN Championships, four PGA’s, five U.S. Open’s and six Masters’ Green Jackets. The last coming in a memorable back nine of six-under par 30 at Augusta National, at the age of 46, with his son Jackie on the bag.
In a 10-year span from 1970 to 1979, Nicklaus entered 40 major championships and only finished outside the top 10 on five occasions. In addition to his 18 major titles, he finished runner-up another 19 times.
In a commitment to his wife and family, he never spent more than three weeks away from home. He worked as hard at maintaining a strong family bond, as he did on his golf game. In fact, he probably would have won more titles, as well as, more majors if he had competed more often.
His golf design business has created some of the best courses in the world. His crowning achievement will always be his masterpiece at Muirfield Village. Since 1976, it has drawn the PGA TOUR’s best to central Ohio for the Memorial Tournament. Jack and the course have also brought the largest events to Ohio. The Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup, the Solheim Cup, the U.S. Junior Amateur, as well as, the U.S. Amateur have all been contested at Muirfield Village.
Jack Nicklaus is the G.O.A.T. Few athletes in any sport can claim the domination and longevity that he was able to sustain on the fairways. Couple that success on the course with he and his wife, Barbara’s philanthropic efforts off the course, no one will ever come close to matching Ohio’s ‘Golden Bear.’
Happy Birthday, Jack!
