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Happy Birthday to the Golden Bear – Jack Turns 78

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On Sunday, January 21st, perhaps the greatest golfer to ever grace the links celebrated his 78th birthday.  Although it’s been thirty-two years since he last won a major championship (’86 Masters), and thirteen years since bidding a tearful goodbye to the Open Championship at St. Andrews, Jack Nicklaus is no less endeared to the golfing world than during his peak dominance.

Indeed, Nicklaus’ birthday did not go unnoticed, as the golf world was quick to inundate the seventy-three-time PGA TOUR winner with numerous heartfelt tributes.  Among the many thousands of well-wishers was Gary Player—himself a ten-time major champion, and arguably the greatest South African golfer to ever live—who offered his longtime friend sincere homage, saying: “Happy 78th birthday, Jack Nicklaus—not only the greatest golfer of all time, but also the finest gentleman & friend I’ve known in golf.”

Gary Player presents the Green Jacket to Jack Nicklaus at the…

Gary Player presents the Green Jacket to Jack Nicklaus at the Presenataion Ceremony during the 1975 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 13, 1975 in Augusta, Georgia. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Although Nicklaus hasn’t contended competitively since winning on the Champions’ Tour in 1996, the Golden Bear remains a publicly-active paragon of the game that he spent nearly a half-century transforming.  While he annually serves as an honorary starter at The Masters alongside fellow golfing icon Gary Player, Nicklaus also regularly provides his commentary on the game’s latest developments.  After Justin Thomas won the PGA Championship this past August en-route to Player-of-the-Year laurels, Nicklaus publicly noted, “I knew he [Justin] had the ability and the talent, and all he had to do was get the discipline, and believe that he could get it done.  He certainly had the discipline this week. We are very proud of him and happy for him.”  Even as recent as last month, on the forty-second birthday of Tiger Woods—who recently returned to competitive play and still strives to best Jack’s record of eighteen major championships—Nicklaus classily wished his competitor well, saying: “Happy birthday, Tiger Woods!  I’m glad you’re feeling well, and I hope you have a great year.”

Jack Nicklaus of the United States sinks a birdie putt at the 17th…

Jack Nicklaus of the United States sinks a birdie putt at the 17th hole during the US Masters Golf Touranment held at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia on 13th April 1986. Nicklaus won the… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Possessing a record eighteen major championship wins, nineteen runner-up finishes in majors, seventy-three PGA TOUR wins (third most all time), and an unbelievable record seventy-three top ten finishes in major championships (twenty-seven more than his nearest competitor, Sam Snead, and nearly twice as many as Tiger Woods), arguing that Jack Nicklaus is anyone other than the greatest golfer to ever swing a club is an arduous task.  In commemoration of the Golden Bear’s seventy-eighth birthday, here are five of the most memorable moments from his nearly half-century long career.

#5 1975 Masters ~ 16th Hole

Entering the final day of the 1975 Masters Tournament trailing by a shot to 1973 Open Champion Tom Wieskopf, Nicklaus knew that a sublime final round performance would be necessary to claim his fifth green jacket.  Trading birdies all day with Wieskopf, who through sixteen holes had either lead or co-lead nearly the entire afternoon, Nicklaus approached the par-three sixteenth tee trailing by one shot.  Nicklaus’ tee-shot struck a bit softly, leaving him with a daunting and lengthy birdie-putt to tie the tournament lead.  Also playing with Wieskopf—and watching from the 16th teebox as Nicklaus read the undulations complicating his birdie putt—was 1973 US Open Champion Johnny Miller, who was presently five-under on the day, and only a shot off the lead.  Nicklaus, en-route to his fifth green jacket and thirteenth major championship, drained an astonishingly-clutch birdie putt with the tournament leaders only a hole behind him.  Henry Longhurst, who co-anchored BBC’s golf broadcast for nearly a quarter century and observed thousands of players over his career, was famed for saying of Nicklaus’ putt: “My my…. in all my life I have never seen a putt quite like that.”

Jack Nicklaus 16th hole 1975 Masters

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#4 1986 Masters ~ 16th Hole

With twenty-two top ten finishes at Augusta National, and an all-time record six victories among them, Jack Nicklaus has repeatedly produced timeless magic at the Masters Tournament.  Of the course’s eighteen holes, however, nowhere is the Golden Bear’s enchantment more palpable than at the sixteenth hole.  Although the par-three 16th comprises only 170 of the total 7,445 yards that annually stymie the world’s greatest players, Nicklaus has capitalized on the hole’s significance multiple times during his Masters victories.  In 1975, he drained a crucial birdie putt en-route to a one shot victory over Tom Wieskopf—but perhaps Jack’s most memorable shot on the sixteenth occurred in 1986.

Jack Nicklaus is hugged by his son, Jack, Jr., who is also his caddy,…

Jack Nicklaus is hugged by his son, Jack, Jr., who is also his caddy, after Nicklaus finished his final round of the Masters, April 13th. Nicklaus won with a 9-under for a record 6th time. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Trailing the fifty-four hole leader Greg Norman by four shots prior to the final round, Nicklaus wasn’t even considered a dark horse contender.  Between him and the tournament lead were some of the greatest golfers to ever live: Seve Ballesteros (already a five-time major winner), Bernhard Langer, Nick Price, Tom Watson, Tom Kite, and—of course—the leader Greg Norman, still chasing his first major championship.  After playing the front nine at even-par, Nicklaus decimated Augusta National’s back nine, playing seven of the holes under par, including an eagle at the par-five 15th.  In a circumstance eerily resembling his 1975 Masters triumph, Nicklaus approached the par-three sixteenth trailing the tournament leaders by a single shot.  At age forty-six, attempting to become the oldest Masters champion in history, Nicklaus took an easy iron swing, and—knowing that he’d struck the ball flawlessly—barely even glanced at its flight as he approached the green.  The ball nearly rolled into the cup for an ace, and left Jack with an easy tap-in birdie.  Nicklaus would win the tournament by a single shot, shooting 30 on the back nine, and became the oldest Masters champion in history.

The 16th

The single greatest sports moment in history. It’s not just a birdie in it self, it’s a birdie, nearly an ace, at the end of a historic charge that would end in victory for a 46 year old washed up golfer.

#3 1977 Open Championship – 18th Hole

Since that fateful day, the 1977 Open Championship has been dubbed “The Duel in the Sun,” and is considered one of the greatest exhibitions of golf in the game’s history.  Paired together in the penultimate group, fellow Americans Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson rested comfortably three shots ahead of Ben Crenshaw—but after shooting flawless final rounds of 66 and 65 respectively, the pair had elevated themselves to ten shots above the competition.  Trading birdies throughout the afternoon, Tom Watson teed up on the 18th hole leading the tournament by a shot—but Jack Nicklaus, at the time already a fourteen-time major champion, would refuse to lose without offering one final challenge.  After missing the fairway on the last hole, and watching Tom Watson perfectly strike his second shot to four feet for a potential winning birdie, Jack Nicklaus’ hopes of a third claret jug seemed all but decimated.  British commentator Henry Longhurst had already ceded the tournament to Watson, saying “Well, that’s it… another major championship win for Watson.”

British Open, Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus embrace after tournament…

British Open, Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus embrace after tournament on Sunday at Turnberry GC, Ailsa, GBR Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

But Jack Nicklaus, already considered the greatest golfer to ever play the game, offered one final opposition.  With Turnberry Ailsa’s impenetrable gorse obstructing his backswing, Nicklaus struck a pure iron shot to the front of the green.  Needing a lengthy birdie from thirty-five feet to preserve a glimmer of hope for a playoff berth, Nicklaus lined up his putt as the sun dipped below the Scottish horizon.  Taking ample time to ensure the correct read, Nicklaus struck his crucial birdie putt.  As the ball undulated across Turnberry’s eighteenth green and disappeared into the cup, BBC commentator Henry Longhurst breathlessly bellowed: “Well, if there are any knighthoods flying about or honorary degrees—this fellow must be due for one of them!  I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”

Duel in the Sun 1977 #Golden Moment – R&A Archive

Relive the famous ‘Duel in the Sun’, where Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus by one stroke at Turnberry. The duo played together in the final two rounds and had separated themselves from the field under clear skies, leading this Open to be remembered as the ‘Duel in the Sun.

Although Jack would finish the tournament a single shot shy of his longtime rival and dear friend, it was the characteristic unwillingness to give up—and the unwavering perseverance in the face of obstacles that typified Nicklaus for his entire career—which made this shot so memorable.

#2 1970 Open Championship ~ 18th Hole

Nicklaus’ victory in the 1970 Open is made special for multiple reasons: first, it was hosted at St. Andrews, the Home of Golf.  Nearly all of the greatest champions to grace the game have claimed an Open Championship victory on The Old Course—among them Bobby Jones in 1927, Sam Snead in 1946, Peter Thomson in 1955—and it seemed appropriate for Nicklaus to earn his second claret jug there (he would win his third and final Open Championship at The Old Course again in 1978).

Additionally, this was Nicklaus’ first time returning to the British Isles for the Open Championship since losing his father, Charlie, the prior February.  “I recovered the will to do everything in my power to live up to his dream,” Nicklaus later reflected.  Matching fellow American Doug Sanders after seventy-two holes and forcing a playoff, Nicklaus returned for one final eighteen-hole duel the following Monday, and appeared well-poised to achieve that dream.  After losing three shots of a four-stroke lead between the thirteenth and seventeenth holes, Nicklaus maintained a slim one-stroke lead entering the final hole.  Crushing his drive nearly 360 yards to the back of the green, Nicklaus watched as Doug Sanders chipped his second shot adjacent to the hole for a safe birdie.  After chipping to eight feet, Nicklaus needed the birdie putt to claim his second Open Championship win.  Swinging gently, Nicklaus watched the ball disappear into the cup and emotionally flung his putter into the air.

No Title

Relive Jack Nicklaus winning his second Open in St.Andrews, after an 18-hole playoff over Doug Sanders, as he throws his club in the air in this #GoldenMoment.

“They’ve all been for Dad in a way,” Nicklaus said tearfully after the victory. “But never quite like this one.”

#1 2005 Open Championship ~ 18th Hole

It wasn’t a tournament that the Golden Bear won.  Indeed, it wasn’t even a tournament in which he made the weekend.  But, at age 65, after winning more major championships than anyone in history, and forty-three years after his first US Open victory at Oakmont over the great Arnold Palmer, it was time for Jack Nicklaus to conclude his career.  And, after a half-century of competitive play, what better place to end a career than The Old Course at St. Andrews?

Jack Nicklaus of the USA waves to the crowd as he walks up the 18th…

Jack Nicklaus of the USA waves to the crowd as he walks up the 18th fairway at what could be his last British Open during the second round of the 134th Open Championship at Old Course, St. Andrews… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Carding a three-over par 75 on the first day, and playing the second round even par, the greatest player to ever grace the links would miss the cut—only his seventh time doing so in thirty-eight Open Championship appearances—but that didn’t sully the moment.  Nicklaus’ playing partner and longtime friend, Tom Watson, shed a tear as the Golden Bear crossed the famous Swilcan Bridge on the eighteenth hole.  For nearly ten minutes, Nicklaus stood atop the centuries old structure as thousands of fans offered a standing ovation—a final parting gift after decades of memories.  A few moments later, as Nicklaus concluded his Open Championship legacy with a birdie-putt for an even-par round of seventy-two, BBC’s Peter Aliss said: “Thank you, ever so much.  A perfect ending to a remarkable career.”

Jack Nicklaus 2005 #GoldenMoment

Golfing legend Jack Nicklaus waves to the crowd on the second hole of the 2005 #TheOpen at the famous Old Course in St.Andrews.

Indeed.  Thank you, Jack.  Happy birthday to the Golden Bear, the greatest player to ever live.

USA’s Jack Nicklaus stands on the Swilcan Bridge on the eighteenth…

USA’s Jack Nicklaus stands on the Swilcan Bridge on the eighteenth fairway. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images


Cover Image via WikiCommons

Joshua Briggs is a 2017 graduate of Hope College in Michigan, USA. Having played golf for all his life, he enjoys writing articles that chronicle the memorable and exciting stories of the game he loves. His favorite golfer (all-time) is Ben Crenshaw, and his favorite golf movie is The Greatest Game Ever Played.

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