Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940 in Columbus, Ohio), also known as "The Golden Bear", was a major force in professional golf from the 1960s to the late 1990s. He is currently a leading golf course architect with his company Golden Bear International.
In 1996, Nicklaus was the first person in the history of the PGA to win the same Senior Tour (now the Champions Tour) event four times. He is the only person in the history of the PGA to win all of the major championships on the PGA TOUR and Senior Tour.
Nicklaus began his professional career in 1961 and his winning performance in major tournaments is as yet unmatched: three Players Championships, three Open Championships (1966, 1970 and 1978), four U.S. Opens (1962, 1967, 1972 and 1980), six Australian Opens (1964, 1968, 1971, 1975, 1976 and 1978), five PGA Championships (1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, and 1980), and six US Masters (1963, 1965-66, 1972, 1975 and 1986). In 1986, he became the oldest player to ever win The Masters.
In 1978, he received Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award.
In 1980 Jack was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award.
Jack Nicklaus had an unusual combination of being one of the greatest putters of all time as well as the longest hitter on the tour during his prime. He popularized the "power fade" which was his characteristic ball flight.
Jack will turn 65 in 2005 which is the last year that he will be joining a PGA tournament as an exempt player. He has announced that he will be retiring from golf in 2005.
