Jack Nickalus had made plans to be an amateur golfer and an insurance seller at the same time but fate had other plans for the university student. During his time at Ohio State University, he won the U.S Amateur Championship in
1959 and 1961. He also won the NCAA Championship in 1961. In 1959, at the U.S Amateur Championship, Nicklaus defeated Charles Coe by posting a birdie in the final hole. With his victory in 1959, he became the youngest player after Robert A. Gardiner to have
won the Championship. In 1961, he became the first player to win the individual title at the NCAA Championship and a championship in the same year. After Jack, Phil Mickelson achieved this in 1990, Tiger Woods in 1996 and Ryan Moore in 2004.
Jack also won the NCAA Big Ten Conference Championship that year with an average of 283. In his second and last Amateur in 1962, Nicklaus was 20 strikes which were due to 34 birdies and the two eagles he posted.
As an amateur, he also competed in the 1960 U.S Open. He posted a two-under 282 and finished as a runner up. He lost by two strokes to Arnold Palmer. The score made by Jack was the lowest ever made by an amateur. In the final 36
holes, Jake played with Ben Hogan who later said this kid should have won by ten shots. During that tournament, he didn’t shoot any round over par and was the only player to achieve that. In 1960, he also tied for 13th place at the Masters Tournament
and then tied for fourth place at the 1961 U.S Open. At the Open, he was just three shots behind the leader, Gene Littler.
In all three Championships he played in, he was considered the lowest amateur in the tournament. Nicklaus also represented the United States against Britain and Ireland in the victorious Walker Cup teams in both 1959 and 1961.
Also, he was part of the winning U.S Eisenhower Trophy team in 1961. During that tournament, he won the unofficial individual title by thirteen shots over team member Deane Beman. Jack was named World’s Top Amateur Golfer by Golf digest magazine for three
consecutive years, 1959-1961.
Meeting Barbara Bash, the couple decided to get married in July 1960. Barbara and Jack had their first son in September of 1961. It was then that Nicklaus decided on turning professional so he could support his family better. Ohio
State granted Nicklaus with an honorary doctorate in 1972.
It was in 1962 that Jack started his professional career. He really had a tough time deciding whether to turn professional or not. Nickalus wanted to be more like idol Bobby Jones and win more amateur titles before turning professional.
It was a known fact that in order to make his mark as a professional player, he would have to win against more talented players and this too with a higher frequency. Not a while after he turned pro, his future agent in an interview
described Nicklaus as large, strong and blond, thus the ‘Golden Bear’.
The ‘Golden Bear’s’ first win was the 1962 U.S Open when he defeated the course favourite Arnold Palmer. He beat Palmer during a playoff on a Sunday at Oakmont. This triumph hence made Jack the reigning U.S Open and U.S Amateur
Champion. This win also placed him on the cover of Time magazine.
Not only did it signal a start of a whole new way of life for Jack, it was the beginning of the Nicklaus-Palmer rivalry that attracted a lot of people towards golf.
By the end of 1963, he had taken two more titles. He won the Seattle Open and the Portland Open. Also he tied for third place at this first try at the PGA Championship. In his first year as a PGA player, he had over $60,000 in
prize money. That was just the beginning and Nicklaus had an amazing career ahead of him.
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