Jack Nicklaus
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Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won 117 professional tournaments in his career, including a record 18 major championships. He is an inductee of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Nicklaus won the U.S. Amateur in 1959 and 1961 and finished second in the 1960 U.S. Open, two shots behind Arnold Palmer. Nicklaus turned professional at age 21 in 1961. He earned his first professional victory at the 1962 U.S. Open, defeating Palmer by three shots in an 18-hole playoff and launching a rivalry. Nicklaus was part of "The Big Three" along with Palmer and Gary Player, a name given to the trio due to the growing popularization of golf in the 1960s. In 1966, Nicklaus became the first player to win the Masters Tournament two years running; he also won the 1963 PGA Championship and the 1966 Open Championship, becoming at age 26 the youngest player at the time to complete the career grand slam. By 1980, Nicklaus had won 17 major championships, overtaking Bobby Jones' record of 13 majors, and became the first player to complete double and triple career grand slams. At age 46, he won his final major championship at the 1986 Masters Tournament, which was a record sixth Masters title. Nicklaus joined the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the PGA Tour Champions) when he became eligible in 1990, and by 1996 had won 10 tournaments, including eight senior major championships, despite playing a limited schedule. He continued to play at least some of the four regular majors until making his final appearance at the 2005 Open Championship held at the Old Course at St Andrews. Today, Nicklaus heads Nicklaus Design, one of the world's largest golf course design and construction companies. He runs an event on the PGA Tour, the Memorial Tournament, named after the annual honoring it bestows to individuals associated with the game of golf. Nicklaus's books vary from instructional to autobiographical, with his Golf My Way considered one of the best instructional golf books of all time; the video of the same name is the best-selling golf instructional to date. Nicklaus won the Ryder Cup with the United States five times as a player, he also captained the team in 1983 and 1987. He received the Congressional Gold Medal from President Obama in 2015 in recognition of his service to the nation in promoting excellence and good sportsmanship.