Best Golfers from Every State: Ohio golf and Jack Nicklaus

We continue our best golfers from every state series by taking a look at Ohio golf, and the top golfer from the state, Jack Nicklaus

When someone is, in the mind of many, the greatest golfer of all-time, that makes him or her an easy choice to be the best golfer ever from their state. So is the case with the legendary Jack Nicklaus and Ohio golf.

Nicklaus is Ohio born and bred. He was born in Columbus on January 21, 1940 and attended Ohio State University, where he was a collegiate All-American. In fact, he was the first player to win the NCAA individual championship and the U.S. Amateur in the same season when he did so in 1961.

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Before turning pro, Nicklaus considered remaining an amateur and following in the footsteps of his idol Bobby Jones. However, Nicklaus decided to turn pro and did so near the end of 1961.

In his 17th career start, Nicklaus got his first win, and it was a big one. Nicklaus topped fan favorite Arnold Palmer in an 18-hole playoff to win the 1962 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania.

Nicklaus would win two more times in 1962 and would be named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. In 1963, he established himself as the best player in the world by claiming titles at the Masters and the PGA Championship. He would win five times on tour that season.

He would complete the career grand slam in 1966 by winning the Open Championship at Muirfield Golf Links. At the time, he was the youngest player to ever win the career grand slam (26), a record that has since been passed by Tiger Woods.

Nicklaus would win the career grand slam three times on his way to winning a record 18 major championships. He holds the record for the most victories in the Masters, claiming six green jackets in his illustrious career. Nicklaus and Walter Hagen won the most PGA Championships with five apiece. And Nicklaus is tied with Ben Hogan and Bobby Jones for the most U.S. Open titles, with each player winning four times.

Think about that record for just a second – Nicklaus holds or shares the record for most titles in three of the four majors

The only one where he doesn’t hold the record is the Open Championship, where he “only” won three times.

Nicklaus holds a ton of golf records, including the 18 major championships, which may never be broken. Even more amazingly, Nicklaus was runner up in majors on 19 occasions. Nicklaus won multiple majors in 1963, 1966, 1972, 1975 and 1980. He won at least one major championship every season from 1970-73. Many players hope to win a single major in their career. Nicklaus made it a habit.

Those are just some of the many records that Nicklaus holds or is close to holding. His 73 PGA Tour wins rank third all-time, trailing just Sam Snead and Woods, who each have 82 wins. From 1962 to 1978, Nicklaus won at least twice each year on the PGA Tour. And the list could go on and on for all of the Golden Bear’s accomplishments.

Nicklaus retired from competitive golf in 2005 but his involvement in the game did not stop when he stopped playing. The Golden Bear had become a masterful golf course designer and designed, or helped redesign, a number of courses including the site of this week’s RBC Heritage, Harbour Town Golf Links.

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There really wasn’t a lot of competition in the state of Ohio for Nicklaus, as far as being the best golfer from the Buckeye State. Ironically, the second-best player from the state is probably Tom Weiskopf, who would have won many more tournaments if not for Nicklaus. Weiskopf was runner-up to Nicklaus at the Masters twice (1972 and 1975) and finished third in the 1975 PGA Championship, also won by Nicklaus.

With all of his accomplishments and all that he has given to the game, it’s easy to call Nicklaus the best player ever from the state of Ohio. And perhaps the greatest of all-time.

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