This gesture of sportsmanship by Nicklaus caused controversy on the American side, some of whom would have preferred to force Jacklin to attempt the putt for the small chance that he might miss, which miss would have given the United States team an outright win.

* British Open-Jack Nicklaus becomes the fourth player to win all four major professional championships.

* Masters Tournament-Jack Nicklaus shoots a Masters record 271 ( 17 under par ) to win by nine strokes.

He is one of five golfers ( along with Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods ) to win all the current major championships in his career, the Career Grand Slam:

The 1962 U. S. Open was both Nicklaus ' first major championship victory and his first professional win.

In 1968 and 1969, Nicklaus did not win a major tournament.

In 1961, Nicklaus became the first player to win the individual title at the NCAA Championship and the U. S. Amateur in the same year.

In his second and last U. S. Amateur win in 1961, Nicklaus convincingly defeated Dudley Wysong 8 & 6 at Pebble Beach in the 36-hole championship match.

The U. S. Open win placed Nicklaus on the cover of Time magazine.

This was not enough, however, to win the event ; Nicklaus placed second to Tony Lema.

Nicklaus finished this record win with a dramatic 238-yard 1-iron shot, uphill into a breeze and light rain, to the 72nd green ( an approximate 260-yard equivalent ) and holing a birdie putt to close out a final nine of 30 and final round of 65 to beat Arnold Palmer by four shots.

After Nicklaus won the 1967 U. S. Open, he did not win another major championship until the 1970 Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews.

Nicklaus also went on to capture the Piccadilly World Match Play Championship in 1970 with a 2 & 1 win over Lee Trevino in the championship match.

With a two-shot win at the 1971 PGA Championship in February over Billy Casper, Nicklaus became the first golfer to win all four majors twice in a career.

This victory was also Nicklaus ' 11th professional major, tying him with Walter Hagen, and made him the first player to win the U. S. Amateur and U. S. Open championships on the same golf course.

Nicklaus did not win the Grand Slam in 1972, however, as Lee Trevino repeated as the Open Championship winner ( Nicklaus finished second, one shot behind ), and Gary Player prevailed in the PGA Championship.

Nicklaus was also the first player to win over $ 300, 000. 00 in official money for a single season in 1972 at $ 320, 542 ; he eclipsed that threshold again the following year with $ 308, 362.

Nicklaus ' failure to win a major in 1974 was offset somewhat by winning the inaugural Tournament Players Championship and being named one of the 13 original inductees into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

The 1976 Tournament Players Championship saw Nicklaus set a championship record of 19-under par 269 for his second win in this event which remained in place until Greg Norman's 24-under-par 264 assault in 1994.

The year also saw Nicklaus win for the first time his own Memorial Tournament, where he described the victory as the most emotional moment of his entire career, and nearly decided to retire from competitive golf.

Nicklaus and Woods are the only two players to win three " Career Grand Slams ".

Nicklaus considered his performance in the 1978 Open as the finest four days of tee-to-green golf he had ever produced, and was most proud that the win came at St. Andrews, his favorite place to play golf.

In 2000, he was ranked the third greatest golfer of all time, in Golf Digest magazine's rankings, behind only Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan.

In a poll of sports fans conducted by ABC Sports, Thorpe was voted the Greatest Athlete of the Twentieth Century out of 15 other athletes including Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth, Jesse Owens, Wayne Gretzky, Jack Nicklaus, and Michael Jordan.

In 2010, longtime friend and competitor Jack Nicklaus was appointed by Augusta National to join Palmer.

The change to include continental Europeans arose from discussion in 1977 between Jack Nicklaus and the Earl of Derby, who was serving as the President of the Professional Golfers ' Association ; it was suggested by Nicklaus as a means to make the matches more competitive, since the Americans almost always won, often by lopsided margins.

Jacklin made a 35-foot eagle putt and when Nicklaus missed his own eagle try from 12-feet, the match was all square.

By playing behind the leaders, Norman was able to rejoin the pack and eventually tie for the lead with Jack Nicklaus by birdieing the 17th.

This was at the beginning of the " Big Three " era in professional golf, the three players in question being Player, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.

There was a dramatic moment at St Andrews in 2000, as the ageing Jack Nicklaus waved farewell to the crowds, while the young challenger to his crown watched from a nearby tee ; Nicklaus afterward decided to play in the 2005 Open when the R & A announced St Andrews as the venue, giving his final farewell to the fans at the Home of Golf.

Jack Nicklaus was hired to redesign the course and to appear in the tournament.

Nicklaus was born in the Columbus, Ohio suburb of Upper Arlington, Ohio and is of German descent, the son of pharmacist Charlie Nicklaus ( who ran several sites named Nicklaus Drug Store ) and his wife Helen.

At 15, Nicklaus shot a 66 at Scioto Country Club, which was the amateur course record, and qualified for his first U. S. Amateur.

This was significant not only because of Coe's proven ability as a player, but also because Nicklaus became the then-youngest champion in the modern era, second only to Robert A. Gardner, who won in 1909.

For the week, Nicklaus was 20 strokes under par, including 34 birdies and two eagles.

During the final 36 holes, Nicklaus was two-under-par, and never shot a single round above par during the entire tournament, the only entrant to do so.

However, Nicklaus ' one-under-par 287 tied for seventh in the 1961 Masters Tournament, and was second that year only to Charles Coe's low amateur placing, when he tied for second with Arnold Palmer at seven-under par 281, one shot behind champion Gary Player.

Nicklaus was named the world's top amateur golfer by Golf Digest magazine for three straight years, 1959 – 1961.

Shortly after turning professional, Nicklaus ' future agent, Mark McCormack was interviewed by Melbourne Age writer, Don Lawrence who inquired about the American golf scene.

In addition, at age 22, Nicklaus was the youngest U. S. Open champion since Bobby Jones won at age 21 in 1923, and he has remained the youngest winner since.

Nicklaus also captured his fourth Australian Open during the year.

In 1980, Nicklaus recorded only four top-10 finishes in 14 events, but two of these were record-setting victories in majors ( the U. S. Open and the PGA Championship ); the other two were a tie for fourth in The Open Championship and a runner-up finish in the Doral-Eastern Open to Raymond Floyd via his chip-in birdie on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff.

Several of the golf courses he designed were incorporated into the fourth incarnation of the game Jack Nicklaus 4 published in 1997.

On this list, Jack Nicklaus was first, Nelson's longtime rivals Ben Hogan and Sam Snead were second and third respectively, and Bobby Jones was fourth.

In the 2009 Bob Hope Classic, Stricker shot third and fourth round scores of 61 and 62, at the PGA West Palmer and Nicklaus courses, to set the 36-hole scoring record on the PGA Tour at 123, beating a record that Pat Perez had held for only two days.

Jack Nicklaus wins his first British Open championship, to become the fourth player to complete a career " Grand Slam ", just a year after Gary Player became the third.