OPPOSITE: PHOTO COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES/DAVID CANNON; THIS PAGE: USGA PHOTO ARCHIVES
Opposite: In one of the Masters Tournament’s
most memorable moments, in his 1986 back nine
comeback Jack Nicklaus sunk a birdie putt on the
17th hole to help catapult the golfing legend to his
record sixth title. Above: Jack Nicklaus and his wife,
Barbara take in the new room’s digital experience.
On the other end there’s been Tiger
Woods, essentially transcending what Palmer
and Nicklaus created on a global level—
think Michael Jordan after Magic Johnson
and Larry Bird retired. Woods’ insatiable
appetite to put a cleat firmly in the jugular
of Nicklaus’ major wins record had appealed
to a new generation.
It goes without saying everyone loves
a winner. Golf associations do too. But
they love winners-turned-legends-turnedambassadors a bit more. That’s Nicklaus.
It only made sense that the U.S. Golf
Association recently honored Nicklaus with
his own wing in the USGA Museum and
Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History. It
came as little surprise. The USGA knew
it wanted to do something for the Golden
Bear shortly after constructing a considerable
addition in 2008 that grew the museum to
more than 16,000 square feet. (As appreciation
for Palmer’s longtime contributions to the
Members Program, the USGA added his
name to the building).
Myriad internal discussions were had about
Nicklaus. How do you honor perhaps the
greatest golfer of all? To say it was a Herculean
w w w. v s g a . o r g
task would be an understatement. Nicklaus
had been apprised of various dialogues coming
out of Golf House. Or, in other words, it was
intimated to him to be prepared.
After Mike Davis was appointed as the
Association’s seventh executive director in
2011, a decision finally was announced prior
to the 2012 U.S. Open at The Olympic
Club. Nicklaus would be getting his own
wing in the museum. Announcing it in 2012
served as a way to also recognize the 50th
anniversary of his first U.S. Open win at
Oakmont Country Club.
The three-year celebratory kickoff began
with golf’s governing body naming the U.S.
Open champion’s medal after Nicklaus. That
served as the hors d’oeuvre to the main course
that became the grand opening of the Jack
Nicklaus Room this past spring.
“Jack Nicklaus is one of the most compelling sports figures of the last 50 years,” said
past USGA President Glen Nager.
Who could argue? As a caveat, there’s
no arguing Nicklaus’ place at the table of
all-time greats. If golfers are most measured
by majors won, Nicklaus has no equal. Not
Woods, Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, Byron
Nelson, Sam Snead or Ben Hogan. Perhaps
more impressive was how Nicklaus raised his
performance in majors, the grandest stage of
all, posting as runner-up an astounding 19
times and recording 56 top-five finishes. That
alone speaks more to Nicklaus’ brilliance.
So on May 27, Nicklaus joined Hogan,
Jones, Palmer and Mickey Wright as the
only players to have rooms dedicated in
their honor.
On the day of the grand opening, Nicklaus
regaled the 500-plus luminaries in attendance
with stories. He thanked his wife, Barbara,
and family most.
“You don’t have me without them,” he
said. “They’ve been my life. Golf is a game.
Barbara is my family, Barbara is my wife.
I understand golf is a game and I’ve never
treated it as anything else.”
The pages of his life’s book figuratively
flapped backward as he spoke.
A fierce competitor, he demanded excellence of himself. His unfathomable career
started and stopped with the USGA, the last
of his victories being the 1993 U.S. Senior
Open. He won four U.S. Opens in between.
It was in 1953 that a pudgy Nicklaus,
aged 13, played in the first of his 71 USGA
championships, in his first U.S. Junior Amateur
at Southern Hills. Sixty-two years later a
seminal moment from that championship
helped shape what he would become.
In his first match, Nicklaus recalled, “I
was the first off the tee … and I sauntered
up to the tee about thirty seconds before
my starting time. I walked up on the tee
and some guy said, ‘Young man, thirty
seconds later, you’ll be on the second tee
one [down].’”
J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 5 | V I R G I N I A G O L F E R
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