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Notable people · Sports

Jack Nicklaus

Columbus-born golfer who won 18 professional major championships and built Muirfield Village and the Memorial Tournament in Dublin.

Born January 21, 1940, Columbus

Jack Nicklaus
Moody College of Communication from Austin, USA / CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Born
January 21, 1940, Columbus (Franklin County) source
Also known as
Jack Nicklaus, The Golden Bear
Education
Upper Arlington High School, Upper Arlington, OH
Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 1957-1961, left short of a degree; honorary doctorate 1972
Known as
Sports
Organizations
Memorial Tournament, Ohio State University

Jack Nicklaus is living. This page covers their public life only, from published sources. Correct this page · hello@crackedbuckeye.com

Life story

Jack Nicklaus was born in Columbus in 1940 and grew up in Upper Arlington, where his father Charlie was a pharmacist and athlete. He learned golf at Scioto Country Club from Jack Grout and attended Upper Arlington High School and Ohio State (1957-61).

He won the U.S. Amateur in 1959 and 1961 and the NCAA title in 1961. He turned pro and won his first PGA Tour event, the 1962 U.S. Open, in a playoff at Oakmont. He completed the career Grand Slam at age 26 with the 1966 Open Championship and won a sixth Masters at 46 in 1986.

He holds the record for 18 major championships and 117 professional wins by the page's count. He founded Nicklaus Design and the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, and he is the subject of the Jack Nicklaus Museum on the Ohio State campus. He is still living.

Ohio ties

  • Columbus (1940)
    birthplace Franklin County · source
  • Upper Arlington (1940s-1958)
    boyhood home; Upper Arlington High School Franklin County · source
  • Scioto Country Club, Upper Arlington (1950-1950s)
    learned the game under club pro Jack Grout Franklin County · source
  • Ohio State University, Columbus (1957-1961)
    student and golfer; left a few hours short of a degree; honorary doctorate 1972 Franklin County · source
  • Marietta Country Club (1956)
    won the Ohio Open at age 16 Washington County · source
  • Muirfield Village, Dublin (1966-present)
    founded and designed the community and golf club; host of the Memorial Tournament Franklin County · source

Timeline

  1. 1952 Won the first of five straight Ohio State Junior Championships, at age 12. source
  2. 1956 Won the Ohio Open at Marietta Country Club at 16, two strokes ahead of amateur Dan Cawley after a third-round 64. source
  3. 1958 Tied for 12th at the Rubber City Open in Akron. source
  4. 1959 Won the first of two U.S. Amateur titles while at Ohio State. source
  5. 1960 Married Barbara Bash, an Ohio State nursing student, in July. source
  6. 1961 Won the NCAA individual title for Ohio State and his second U.S. Amateur. source
  7. 1966 Acquired the land in Dublin that became Muirfield Village, named for the Scottish course where he won the 1966 Open. source
  8. 1973 Won the Ohio Kings Island Open, the first PGA Tour event he won on a course he designed. source
  9. 1974 Muirfield Village Golf Club opened in May. source
  10. 1976 The first Memorial Tournament was played at Muirfield Village; Roger Maltbie won in a playoff. source
  11. 1977 Won his own Memorial Tournament, finishing on a weather-delayed Monday; he won it again in 1984. source
  12. 2002 The Jack Nicklaus Museum opened on the Ohio State campus on May 21. source
  13. 2006 Dotted the "i" in Script Ohio with the Ohio State Marching Band, the fifth non-band member so honored. source
  14. 2015 Received the Congressional Gold Medal, having received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. source

What Jack is known for

  • 18 professional majors (6 Masters, 5 PGA, 4 US Open, 3 Open Championship), 1962-1986
  • Won 1986 Masters at age 46, the oldest champion
  • Designed Muirfield Village Golf Club and founded the Memorial Tournament
  • Memorial Tournament / Muirfield Village Golf Club
  • Nicklaus Design (course architecture)
  • Golf My Way (book)

Stories

The museum that moved to campus

The Jack Nicklaus Museum was first planned for Muirfield Village in Dublin, but local opposition pushed it elsewhere. Ohio State donated land on a former soccer field area near the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Olentangy River Road. Costs rose to about $11 million by 2001, and after several delays the 24,000-square-foot museum opened on May 21, 2002. It holds more than 2,000 items, including the "White Fang" putter from the 1967 U.S. Open and nearly every club from his major wins, though the club from his 1966 Open win has never been found. A private foundation handed the museum to Ohio State in 2005.

Source

A Scottish name for a Dublin, Ohio, course

Nicklaus bought the land north of Columbus in 1966, the year he won his first Open Championship at Muirfield in Scotland, and named the project after it. Construction did not start for six years, and the golf club opened in May 1974. The community's master plan was drawn by Bassett Associates of Lima. Since 1976 the course has hosted the Memorial Tournament, and it has also hosted the 1987 Ryder Cup, the 1992 U.S. Amateur, the 1998 Solheim Cup and the 2013 Presidents Cup. A 1999 bronze of Nicklaus coaching a young golfer stands in the median of Muirfield Drive.

Source

Honors and things named for them

  • World Golf Hall of Fame, 1974
  • Bob Jones Award, 1975
  • Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2005
  • Congressional Gold Medal, 2015
  • PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award, 2008
  • Ohio State honorary doctorate, 1972

Named for Jack Nicklaus

Family

  • wife: Barbara Bash
  • son: Gary Nicklaus

Sites to know

Homes, graves, markers, museums and monuments; the numbered ones are on the map.

123

Places in Ohio to see

Ohio places

Where Jack Nicklaus was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Myths and corrections

Things often said about Jack Nicklaus, and what the record shows.

Often said Nicklaus graduated from Ohio State.

The record He attended from 1957 to 1961 but left a few course hours short of a degree. Ohio State gave him an honorary doctorate in 1972. source

Often said The "Golden Bear" nickname comes from the Upper Arlington High School Golden Bears.

The record That is one explanation, but the origin is not settled; it is also credited to sportswriter Don Lawrence. source

Pictures

Free to use with the credit shown. Select a picture for the original and its license.

  • First Lady Melania Trump, joined by Jack and Barbara Nicklaus and hospital staff, visits with 8-month-old patient, Berna
    First Lady Melania Trump, joined by Jack and Barbara Nicklaus and hospital staff, visits with 8-month-old pati...
    Public domain
  • Cover of the January 1964 issue of Golf Magazine featuring Jack Nicklaus
    Cover of the January 1964 issue of Golf Magazine featuring Jack Nicklaus
    Public domain
  • Bronze duplicate. Obverse Designer – Engraver: Don Everhart Reverse Designer – Engraver: Phebe Hemphill
    Bronze duplicate. Obverse Designer – Engraver: Don Everhart Reverse Designer – Engraver: Phebe Hemphill
    Public domain
  • 060927-N-4549D-002 Golfer w:Jack Nicklaus fields questions from Mayport-area sailors who filled the hangar bay of the w:
    060927-N-4549D-002 Golfer w:Jack Nicklaus fields questions from Mayport-area sailors who filled the hangar bay...
    Public domain
  • 060927-N-4549D-002 Golfer w:Jack Nicklaus fields questions from Mayport-area sailors who filled the hangar bay of the w:
    060927-N-4549D-002 Golfer w:Jack Nicklaus fields questions from Mayport-area sailors who filled the hangar bay...
    Public domain
  • President Bush presents PGA champion Jack Nicklaus with the Presidential Medal of Freedom Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005, durin
    President Bush presents PGA champion Jack Nicklaus with the Presidential Medal of Freedom Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2...
    Public domain
  • A view of professional golfer Jack Nicklaus, left, and former United States President Gerald Ford during the pro-am of t
    A view of professional golfer Jack Nicklaus, left, and former United States President Gerald Ford during the p...
    Public domain
  • Jack Nicklaus, 'Campioni Dello Sport' 1973 - 1974, n°375
    Jack Nicklaus, 'Campioni Dello Sport' 1973 - 1974, n°375
    Public domain
  • sig of Jack Nicklaus
    sig of Jack Nicklaus
    Public domain
  • Former Mississippi Congressman and decorated war veteran, G.V. Sonny Montgomery, center, waves as he is introduced, and
    Former Mississippi Congressman and decorated war veteran, G.V. Sonny Montgomery, center, waves as he is introd...
    Public domain
  • Brig. Gen. Matthew S. Woodruff, center, Ohio assistant adjutant general for Army, stands with Jack Nicklaus, left, PGA T
    Brig. Gen. Matthew S. Woodruff, center, Ohio assistant adjutant general for Army, stands with Jack Nicklaus, l...
    Public domain
  • Command Sgt. Maj. Scott M. Barga, center, Ohio National Guard command senior enlisted leader, stands for a photo with Ja
    Command Sgt. Maj. Scott M. Barga, center, Ohio National Guard command senior enlisted leader, stands for a pho...
    Public domain

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.

Every link goes to the original source. Profile researched 2026-10-14.

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