Special Feature by Anand Datla
The great bear has turned 75. On his platinum jubilee birthday, GolfingIndian brings you some of the most special memories that adorn golf history, celebrating one of the greatest sportsmen of all time.
1. Jack Nicklaus began his major march at the US Open in 1962 when he overcame a two shot deficit to outsmart another great golfer Arnold Palmer in a tense playoff. He was just a young man, all of 22, when he laid his hands on his first major trophy. He would only end that glorious ride some 24 years later when he won his final, magical 18th major title at the Augusta Masters in 1986.
2. Did you know that off the 18 majors he won, he only had sole possession of the 54 hole lead in eight of those tournaments. And each time, Nicklaus went on to win in regulation, asserting his ability to dominate fields and reminding us of the near impossible task of catching the bear while he was in front.
3. More impressively, Nicklaus won 8 of his 18 majors while trailing after 54 holes. Now that was mightily brilliant, wasn’t it?
4. Incredibly, Nicklaus finished inside the top 10 an overwhelming 73 times at major championships. That is 25 more than his nearest rival, Sam Snead who had 48 top 10 finishes in the majors
5. He has a unique collection of Green Jackets. Nicklaus has six of them, which is two more than Arnold Palmer or Tiger Woods. When you add up the four other times he was runner-up at the Masters, you realise how close he got to collecting so many more.
6. Now he was a golfer that was knocking on the door of greatness even as he was preparing for his professional career. In his last three outings as an amateur, Nicklaus was in the top ten – second in the 1960 U.S. Open, seventh in the 1961 Masters, and fourth in the 1961 U.S. Open.
7. You might find this one hard to believe. But Nicklaus finished runner-up in majors a massive 19 times. Imagine what he might have in terms of major collection if he could only make the odd birdie or two!!! And then he had 56, yes fifty six, top five finishes in the majors.
8. Nicklaus won two majors in a season five times in his career. What is most intimidating about this fact is that the first of them was in 1963 and the last time came in 1980!!! The other seasons were 1966, 1972 and 1975!!!
9. Nicklaus owns the longest streak at the majors without missing a 36 hole cut – 39 (1969 Masters to 1978 Open Championship)
10. Out of 586 starts in his glorious career, Nicklaus won 73 times including his 18 majors. But he also was second on 58 occasions and third in 36 other events.
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