Jack Nicklaus

In early 1963, he injured his left hip while playing golf.

He was featured on a special commemorative issue of a five-pound note issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland. This made him the first living person to appear on the bank note, beside the Royal Family.

Jack William Nicklaus was born in Columbus, Ohio, in the suburb of Upper Arlington to Charles Nicklaus, a pharmacist, and Helen Nicklaus.

He grew up in the well-to-do suburb of Upper Arlington and attended the Upper Arlington High School. He played basketball, baseball and tennis through high school.

A child prodigy, he started playing golf at ten and by the time he was twelve he had won the Ohio Junior State Championship. At fourteen he had won the Tri-State High School Championship.

In 1961, he graduated from the Ohio State University with a major in ‘Pre-pharmacy,’ and he planned to join his father’s pharmaceutical business after graduation.

While he was studying at the Ohio State University, he actively participated in sports and won the U.S Amateur title twice and also won the NCAA basketball championship.

In 1962, he began his professional career in golf with the PGA Tour and his first win was at the U.S Open, where he defeated Arnold Palmer and became the U.S Open champion.

In 1963, he was the winner of some of the major golf championships in the U.S - The Masters Tournament, Tournament of Champions, the PGA Championship and the World Golf Cup.

In 1964, he won six tournaments, seven runner-up titles and was also featured on the top ten players list five times.

In 1965, he was the winner of The Masters Tournament and set a new record with an aggregate score of 271. The same year, he teamed with Tony Lema and formed the U.S Team for the World Cup and had five victories in all.

In 1966, he was the winner of ‘The Open Championship in Muirfield’, Scotland. He participated in 22 official worldwide events that year and won four major tournaments.

From 1959 to 1961 he was given the title of the ‘world’s top amateur golfer’ by ‘Golf Digest’, a monthly golf magazine.

In 1962, he was featured on the cover of the ‘TIME Magazine’, after he won the U.S Open Tournament.

In 1962, he was conferred the ‘PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award’.

In 1974, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

In 2005, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush.