Jack Nicklaus is a pro golfer. He is one of the most famous golfers in the world and is considered partly responsible for helping golf become a popular spectator sport. Jack Nicklaus's career in the pro golf world has spanned four decades. He has often been seen as a rival to other top golfer Arnold Palmer.
Jack Nicklaus was born in Columbus, Ohio in the year 1940. His birthday is the twenty first of January. When he was ten years old, Jack Nicklaus started golfing and showed immediate talent. He played throughout the next few years, winning the Ohio State Junior title when he was twelve years old and going on to win it again for the next four years. When he turned 16 he won the Ohio State Open. In college at Ohio State University, Jack Nicklaus won the NCAA championship and the U.S. Amateur title.
In 1962 Jack Nicklaus turned pro, winning the U.S. Open against Arnold Palmer and becoming the youngest winner of the U.S. Open in history. During the early sixties his career continued to take off, and he won the Masters and the PGA Championship plus the Seattle Open, the Portland Open, the Tournament of Champions and several other victories. Jack Nicklaus also became the first person to carry the Masters Tournament victory in successive years between 1965 and 1966. He became the youngest player in history to win all four major championships in golf when he won the Open Championship in 1966.
After a slump in the late sixties, the death of Jack Nicklaus's father convinced him that he should rededicate himself and he has another career surge during the early seventies. In 1974, Jack Nicklaus was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame as one of the original set of thirteen. Since then he has gone through occasional slumps but has also had exceptional victories, such as when he won the Masters Tournament in 1986 as the oldest player ever to do so.
As of early 2007 Jack Nicklaus has been retired from pro golf for two years and now works on golf course design.