JACK NICKLAUS - THE QUIZ
TOMMY:
Welcome to Tommy Does Golf, the podcast where three old timers give you our opinions on everything golf. I'm Tommy Long, joined by fellow PGA professionals James Morgan and Paul Charman. With over 100 years and counting in the golf industry between us, we are well into our back nines. We'll do our best to stay on topic, but just like our tee shots these days, this podcast could go anywhere.
We're hoping you enjoy the banter, and maybe, just maybe, we'll share a few pearls of wisdom along the way. Let's get into it.
Gents, in this episode, I'll be quizzing you on the Golden Bear, Mr. Jack Nicklaus. Now, you both did really well in the Tiger Woods quiz, so no pressure, but I'm expecting you to do just as well in this one. For anyone who may have missed our quiz on Tiger, it's still available, so have a listen and play along to that one as well. Here's how it works. I'll ask the questions, there'll be a few seconds of thinking time for everyone to come up with their answers before I go to James or Paul for their best attempt.
TOMMY: One thing's for sure, we're going to [00:01:00] be reminded throughout this quiz of just how incredible Jack's career was. So without further ado, let's get stuck into our quiz on Mr. Jack Nicklaus. Fellas, are you ready?
PAUL: As ever, mate. As ever.
JAMES: Bring it on.
TOMMY: Let's open her up. Question one. We're gonna start with some simple ones just to ease you in. Excellent. All right? Like that. So if you go pear shape with these ones- Right ... the rest of the quiz is probably gonna be a dud, but anyway, we'll have a crack.
Question number one: Where was Jack Nicklaus born? Paul?
PAUL: I'll have a stab. Ohio
TOMMY: He was. James, I think, can be more specific than that Yeah.
PAUL: Columbus
TOMMY: Columbus, Ohio. Very good
PAUL: Well done
TOMMY: Okay. All right
PAUL: Simple
TOMMY: Next question. When was Jack Nicklaus born?[00:02:00]
Paul?
PAUL: I'm gonna go 1940.
TOMMY: Okay. Can we be more specific though?
PAUL: No.
JAMES: Yes, January the 21st.
TOMMY: 21st of January, It was. Well done. Great knowledge.
Okay. Next question. Which university did Jack Nicklaus attend?
Who wants to tell me? Paul, come on.
PAUL: I'm gonna go for Ohio State College
TOMMY: Ohio State University.
PAUL: Ohio State College
TOMMY: Ohio State University. I can't give half points out.
PAUL: it’s a school?
TOMMY: An educational facility. Right. I need full answers, Paulie. All right. Full answers. All right, next one. What did Jack Nicklaus initially study at Ohio State?
JAMES: Oh, I don't know. I know he wanted to become a pharmacist like his dad
TOMMY: Yeah, that's good enough. Pre-pharmacy
JAMES: Oh, yeah
TOMMY: Good stab Well done, James Good step. Well done, James. Okay, now we're getting into it. How many US Amateur Championships did Jack Nicklaus win?
Paul?
PAUL: I'm gonna go two
TOMMY: Okay. Can we give the years?
PAUL: All right. I'm gonna go
59 and 1961. '
TOMMY: Correct. 1959 and 1961.
All right. Next question. In what year did Jack Nicklaus turn professional?
JAMES: Anyone? I'm struggling. Okay. Uh, '61?
TOMMY: He did. '61. Late. Yeah, '61. Late in, 'cause obviously he won the US Amateur in ' 61.So yeah, his first full PGA Tour season came in 1962
okay. Now, this question's a great question. I'm pretty sure we're gonna get it right, but this is quite monumental, I think.
What was Jack Nicklaus' first tournament win after turning professional? Paul
PAUL: US Open? In 1962?
TOMMY: Yeah. And he beat- It was the US Open at Oakmont
PAUL: Did he beat Palmer?
TOMMY: He did. He beat Palmer in an 18-hole playoff. That's pretty amazing- I mean, how many players have a major championship as their first win after turning professional? We'd have to Google that.
That's got to be a record in itself. No one else- Yeah ... has done that. Incredible.
Okay. Next question. How many official PGA Tour victories did Jack Nicklaus record?
JAMES: 73
TOMMY: It was 73, James. 73. Very good. That puts him third on the all-time PGA Tour victory list behind Sam Snead and?
PAUL: Tiger Woods.
TOMMY: correct. Both tied on 82, those two.
PAUL: Wow.
TOMMY: Okay. Now, here we go. How many times did Jack Nicklaus finish runner-up in a PGA Tour event?
PAUL: Is it in the hundreds?
TOMMY: It's not in the hundreds.
JAMES: Oh.
TOMMY: James?
JAMES: I'm gonna guess 76.
TOMMY: 58 times. 58 times. He was either runner-up or tied second- Wow ... which is pretty amazing. Yeah.
JAMES: Yeah That is amazing.
TOMMY: Here we go. Now we're getting into some stats now. Mm. This is where you kinda go, "Wow, this guy was good."
What was Nicklaus' total number of PGA Tour top 10 finishes?
Best guess. James, have your best guess.
JAMES: Oh, I know he's got 73 top 10s in the majors
TOMMY: it was 286. That's seriously impressive, isn't it?
PAUL: Unbelievable.
TOMMY: Okay, Here's a cracker. All right? And this is pretty impressive when you work out what his top 10 finishes were. We've just said he had 286 top 10 finishes in PGA Tour events, right?
Next question: How many official PGA Tour events did Nicklaus play during his career? Have a guess
PAUL: I don't know, but I'd love to know.
TOMMY: Okay.
JAMES: Oh, let's have a guess at 537.
TOMMY: That's a great guess, mate. You gonna go over or under, Paul?
PAUL: Over.
TOMMY: You're gonna go over. Okay. It's 584.
JAMES: Oh, good call.
TOMMY: So, out of the 584 PGA Tour events that Nicklaus played in, he had 286 top 10 finishes.
JAMES: That's incredible, isn't it?
TOMMY: That's, like, one every two. That's incredible. That's pretty amazing, isn't it?
JAMES: I did read that he only ever used to play two events and then would have a week off as well. Didn't like being away from home.
TOMMY: No, 'cause he's a family man.
JAMES: So that makes it even more
TOMMY: incredible Yeah, it does. It does, doesn't it? That is incredible. It does really.
Okay, next question. How many times did Nicklaus finish as the PGA Tour money leader?
James, let me go to you.
JAMES: Eight times.
TOMMY: It was eight times. Very. all right. Well, I'm gonna follow that one up. How many times did Nicklaus lead the PGA Tour in scoring average?
JAMES: It's the same as the money winner.
TOMMY: It is. Eight times. Eight. Eight times. It's pretty cool though, eh?
PAUL: Yeah, it's
TOMMY: amazing. All right.
Okay. Now, next question. How many times was Jack Nicklaus named PGA Player of the Year? Paul, come on.
PAUL: Five.
TOMMY: It was five. Okay. In 1966, Jack Nicklaus became the first player to achieve what feat at the US Masters?
Paul, give it to me
PAUL: Back-to-backs?
TOMMY: Correct. He became the first player to record back-to-back victories at Augusta, doing so in 1965 and 1966. Since then, only another three players have managed to successfully defend their Masters title.
So Nick Faldo in '89 and '90, Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002, and most recently, of course, Rory McIlroy in 2025 and 2026.
TOMMY: Okay, next question. If you don't get this right, ah, well, if anyone doesn't get this right.
JAMES: Pressure.
TOMMY: how many major championships did Jack Nicklaus win? How many major championships did Jack Nicklaus win?
And I want an all together now answer, boys. All together now. 18.
PAUL: 18.
TOMMY: Well done. Excellent. It was
PAUL: . I was gonna phone a friend.
TOMMY: This is a stat that always gets me. It's just pretty incredible, really.
How many times did Jack Nicklaus finish runner-up in a major championship?
how many times did Jack Nicklaus finish runner-up in a major championship?
JAMES: James? 19
TOMMY: It was. That is also a record.
JAMES: Yep.
TOMMY: So 37 majors, he came either first or second. That's domination- Pretty impressive ... innit? Yes, it is Eh? That's pretty amazing. Okay.
JAMES: Do you know how many thirds he had?
TOMMY: Well, we'll get to that. Oh Don't ruin my questions.
JAMES: Oh sorry.
TOMMY: Next question. How many top-five finishes did Nicklaus have in the major championships?
I almost don't wanna go to James because I know he's done some homework, but I will do. James, give it to me.
JAMES: 56.
TOMMY: 56, which is also a record.
JAMES: Yes.
TOMMY: Amazing. Okay. All right. Even more impressive, next question. Pretty obvious where I'm going with this, but how many top 10 finishes did Nicklaus have in the major championships?
And he's sitting there smug again. Right, five seconds for everybody. Let it out, James
JAMES: 73
TOMMY: 73. It was, which is also-
JAMES: A record
PAUL: A record ...
TOMMY: a record.
PAUL: Wow.
TOMMY: Amazing. Wasn't bad, was he? Yeah. Okay. Now, here we go. Which major did Jack Nicklaus win the most times?
Paul?
PAUL: Masters
TOMMY: How many times?
PAUL: Six times.
TOMMY: It was six times. You both can chip in. Do you know the years, lads? Yes. Or you, you close? All right.
PAUL: Paul knows them all. Go on, Paul. I, I, I can give them. Go on, Paul. '63- Yes ... '65, '66, '72, '75, and of course, famously, '86.
TOMMY: Absolutely. Very, very good. All right. Next question then. How many U.S.
Opens did Jack Nicklaus win?James
JAMES: I know he won four, but I'm sure Paul's got the dates.
TOMMY: He did win four. So Paul, come on, chip in. What do you reckon?
PAUL: 62.
TOMMY: Yes, which was his first major.
PAUL: Of course, that was his- First tournament ... first tournament. First tournament win,
TOMMY: yeah.
PAUL: First tournament.
TOMMY:As a pro.
PAUL: Um, 67, 72 and 80.
TOMMY: Yeah. Pretty incredible tally. Yeah. And that, meant he won the US Open in three decades. he also won the US Masters and US PGA in three decades. So three of the majors out of the four. Missed out on winning The Open in the '80s. His last Open win was 1978. You can never say never, but that record will be incredibly hard to equal, let alone beat
JAMES: that's so cool. That is so cool.
TOMMY: Yeah. Now, next question, and you boys will be starting to do the maths now to work things out, so you shouldn't be too far wrong.
How many Open Championships did Jack Nicklaus win? James
JAMES: I'll let Paul do this one
TOMMY: How many do you reckon?
PAUL: Three
TOMMY: It was three. Go on then, Stato, give me the years. Do you know them?
PAUL: '66, great year, 'cause I was
TOMMY: You were born in that year?
PAUL: Yeah yep And of course, England won the World Cup
TOMMY: Yeah, well that’s never happening again. The World Cup,
PAUL: uh-
TOMMY: In fact, I reckon Jack might win the Open again- ... before England win the World cup
PAUL: That's very true .. So yeah, '66, '70, and '78.
TOMMY: Absolutely right. Okay, now doing the maths, how many PGA Championships did Nicklaus win? So how many US PGA Championships did Jack Nicklaus win?
JAMES: I'll let Stetso do this one Go on, Stetso, give it to us
PAUL: Five
TOMMY: He did win five. You're not gonna know the answer to that
PAUL: Of course not but I’ll give it, a go
TOMMY: Give it a stab in the dark Give it a stab, right Go on then, when. Yes
PAUL: So I'll go, I'll go '63-
TOMMY: Yes ... '
PAUL: 71
TOMMY: Yes '
PAUL: 73
TOMMY: Yes '
PAUL: 75
TOMMY: Indeed
PAUL: And then I'll go '80 to round it off
TOMMY: You need to get out more
PAUL: Okay
TOMMY: That's correct
PAUL: Thank you
TOMMY: Brilliant
PAUL: Thank you very much
TOMMY: Okay.Now, if you boys do the maths, you'd probably get this. At what age did Jack Nicklaus win his first major championship?
Paul
PAUL: okay. So- I-
JAMES: Don't put your hand up if you don't know the answer ...
PAUL: no, I, I'm just trying to sort of work this out
TOMMY: Well, he was born in 1940
JAMES: Yeah, and he won it in '62.
TOMMY: So how old? Ooh. It's one, one of two answers, isn't it?
JAMES: .. We know it's 22- 22 ... 'cause he was born in January.
TOMMY: Listeners are falling asleep now. James is correct. He was 22. He was born in January 1940, and he won the 1962 US Open in the June, so 22 years old. Right, moving on. In what year did Jack Nicklaus complete the career Grand Slam?
JAMES: I'm gonna guess '66
TOMMY: correct. Jack became the fourth player to complete the modern career slam, following in the footsteps of Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, and of course Gary Player. Gary Player actually picked him to it. The Black Knight claimed his career slam in 1965. Since then, we've had Tiger Woods, who became the fifth player to join that illustrious list. And then Rory McIlroy, when he finally ticked off the Masters in 2025, became the sixth player in modern day to complete the career slam. Who's gonna be the next one though, boys? Number seven. Scottie Scheffler's got to be the favorite, hasn't he?
PAUL: absolutely,
TOMMY: He only needs the US Open. But then again, let's not forget that Jordan Spieth is still sitting on three. He just needs to win the US PGA. Anyway, Next question. how many major championships did Jack Nicklaus win during the 1970s?
Paul, have a go.
PAUL: No idea.
TOMMY: James? Best guess.
JAMES: Eight.
TOMMY: It was eight. He did. He won eight. Next question out of the 40 major championships contested during the 1970s, how many times did Jack Nicklaus finish inside the top 10? Best guess. Come on Would it be 40? No, but you're close
JAMES: I'm gonna go 36 35 Oh, I was gonna say
TOMMY: 35.
JAMES: Yeah. That's- Wow. That's unbelievable ...
TOMMY: not a bad decade, is it? True I mean...
JAMES: I think those sorts of stats is why the GOAT title sort of shifts his way. Yeah.
TOMMY: Yeah, it's amazing.
JAMES: you know?
TOMMY: it is. Just a little bit of extra knowledge, but 1979, according to Jack, was the worst year of his career. That was the year he didn't qualify for the Ryder Cup
JAMES: he didn't win a tournament that year.
TOMMY: Is that right, James? I didn't know that. So that ended a 17-year run of winning every year. that's crazy. Okay, moving on. Next question. How many consecutive PGA Tour cuts did Nicklaus make from 1970 through 1976? James
JAMES: I didn't look that one up. No.
TOMMY: 105.
JAMES: 105 consecutive?
TOMMY: Yeah, the streak ran from the 1970 Sahara Invitational through until the 1976 World Open. It remains one of his greatest examples of consistency.
JAMES: Wow.
TOMMY: One of many, I would say.
JAMES: Yeah. Wow.
TOMMY: Next question: How many major championships did Jack Nicklaus win in 1972? Anyone? Two? He did win two. Have a stab, which two did he win?
PAUL: Uh, Masters-
TOMMY: Yep ...
PAUL: and US Open.
TOMMY: It was. Well done. Great knowledge. Okay.
JAMES: Stato.
TOMMY: Next question. At which course did Nicklaus win the 1972 US Open? James
JAMES: Pebble Beach
TOMMY: It was Pebble Beach. Very good. Okay, brilliant. Now, here's one that you'll know, but I'm gonna ask it anyway. Who was Nicklaus' famous rival in the 1977 Open Championship at Turnberry?
James?
JAMES: I'm gonna say Tom Watson.
TOMMY: It was
JAMES: that was the Jewel in the Sun?
TOMMY: It did become known as- Yeah ... the Jewel in the Sun. Fantastic. Incredible. Check it out on YouTube. That shot that Nicklaus hit out of the bush on the last, unbelievable.
JAMES: Yeah, I remember that year. Golf courses were so dry.
TOMMY: Okay, here's an easy one. At what age did Jack Nicklaus win his final major championship? Come on, Paul
PAUL: Was he 46?
TOMMY: correct. He was 46 years old when he won that 1986 US Masters. He remains the oldest player to have won at Augusta.
All right, in that 1986 US Masters, what was Jack Nicklaus's winning score? So in that 1986 US Masters, what was Jack Nicklaus's winning score?
TOMMY: James
JAMES: It's either minus nine or minus 10. I'm going with minus nine.
TOMMY: It was. Fantastic. 279, nine under par. Okay. Who finished tied for second behind Nicklaus at that 1986 US Masters? Give you a clue, two players
JAMES: greg Norman was one of them
TOMMY: He was one of them. And-
JAMES: Who's the guy who had the goggle glasses with the hat? Short guy, American. Tom- Kite. Yes.
TOMMY: It was Tom Kite.
JAMES: Tom Kite.
TOMMY: Well done, boys. Very, very good. Greg Norman and Tom Kite.
Okay, here's quite an impressive one as well. In that final round of the US Masters in 1986, what did Jack Nicklaus shoot? So in the final round of that US Masters in 1986, what [00:21:00] did Jack Nicklaus shoot?
TOMMY: James
JAMES: He shot 65.
TOMMY: He did
JAMES: He came back in 30.
TOMMY: He did. That's amazing that you knew that, yeah. He had birdies at 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, and 17. Incredible. That's amazing, innit?
JAMES: The reason I remember that was after that, I always used to think that 65 became my magic number. If I shot 65 in anything, I was gonna win it.
Well, I used to get to five under par and start, "Oh, I'm getting close to 65." Tensing up. Yeah.
TOMMY: Yeah. Maybe you should have said, "If I get to 63."
JAMES: Shoulda done.
TOMMY: You know? Simple little tip.
JAMES: There's the flaw in my thinking Apart from the fact that I was normally five over is irrelevant.
TOMMY: All right. Well, here we go. Next question,
how many Ryder Cups did Jack Nicklaus play in, and what was his cumulative scoring record for those Ryder Cup appearances? So how many Ryder Cups did Jack Nicklaus play in and what was his cumulative scoring record for those Ryder Cup appearances?
TOMMY: Boys, best guess. How many Ryder Cups did he play?
PAUL: Don't know, I'm gonna go five.
TOMMY: Okay, what are you gonna go ?
JAMES: Oh, I'm gonna go nine or 10.
TOMMY: It's six.
JAMES: Six?
TOMMY: Yeah. Well- So Nicklaus played '69, '71, '73, '75, '77. And then he had his worst year in '79, and he then played again in 1981.
PAUL: Hmm.
TOMMY: Okay, so he's played six Ryder Cups. Boys, come on, how many points did he accumulate?
JAMES: not that many.
TOMMY: 18 and a half points.
JAMES: Oh.
TOMMY: The breakdown, 17 wins, eight losses, and three halves from 28 matches. So pretty good. Pretty good record, that. Yeah. Okay? The interesting thing is, the US won or retained the Ryder Cup in all six Ryder Cups in which Jack Nicklaus played. Hmm.
JAMES: But that was against Great Britain and Ireland. Europe didn't- come in until '79.
TOMMY: you're bang on with that, James. So to be correct, Jack was on the winning team against Great Britain and Ireland four times, '71, '73, '75, and '77. And in 1969, he was on the team that retained the Ryder Cup against Great Britain and Ireland because that match ended up as a tie, 16 points all. But in 1981, when he did actually play against Europe, he was on the winning team. He actually had a perfect record in that Ryder Cup in '81, winning four from four. Anyone know where that was played?
PAUL: Walton Heath.
TOMMY: Great shout, Paul. It was Walton Heath. To this day, it remains the largest defeat Europe have received on home soil. A crushing 18 and a half to nine and a half. Ouch. Quickly moving on then.
TOMMY: I'm pretty sure somebody in this room knows this one. But here we go.
What happened between Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin on the 18th green at the 1969 Ryder Cup?
I'm gonna go to James for this one. James, tell us
JAMES: The concession, the three-foot putt that Nicklaus gave to Tony Jacklin
TOMMY: Absolutely
JAMES: He said, "I, I didn't think for a minute you'd miss it, but I didn't wanna give you the chance to miss it."
TOMMY: Amazing piece of sportsmanship, wasn't it, that?
JAMES: Absolutely,
TOMMY: finished in a tie. 16 points all. All right. Now, here's a question for you boys. . Jack Nicklaus used the same MacGregor 693 3-wood for 37 years.
How many of his 18 major championships did he win using it?
James?
JAMES: All of them.
TOMMY: It was all 18. He carried the same three wood from 1958 to 1995, and he had it re-gripped only once. I saw that. In 1983. I saw that. That club is now displayed in the Jack Nicklaus room at the USGA Museum in Far Hills, New Jersey.
PAUL: That's incredible.
Yeah.
TOMMY: Okay. All right, now here we go. The final question, boys How many consecutive professional major championships did Jack Nicklaus play in?
James?
JAMES: 146
TOMMY: 146. Yeah. From the 1962 US Masters through the 1998 US Open - I mean, that's what, 36? It's over 36 years straight.
JAMES: Unbelievable.
TOMMY: Absolutely mind-blowing. And I have to add that he actually played a total of 156 majors as a professional. Surely that's a record that's never gonna be beaten. So that's the end of the quiz. Before James enlightens us with a few extra nuggets on the Golden Bear, I just have to say that was equally as impressive as Tiger Woods.
I mean, we've had the discussion before, fellas, but very, very difficult to split them. Different eras. You can only be the best of your time, right? But Jack, it's just amazing what he actually did. Those stats and facts, and the answers to those questions, just incredible. Okay, James, educate us, tell us why he's called the Golden Bear
JAMES: well, that's a funny thing, because there's actually two theories out there for that.
TOMMY: Okay.
JAMES: First of all, he was originally called Fat Jack because everyone was Arnold Palmer so they didn't like him. But, Don Lawrence Australian sports writer, noticed his blonde hair and his powerful build, so he called him the Golden Bear.
But then you do a little bit more digging and his, college, their nickname was the Golden Bears-
TOMMY: Hmm ...
JAMES: from Ohio. Ok, now this will send a lot of people off to sleep, but he used to carry three pennies in his pocket when he played.
TOMMY: Okay.
JAMES: One was for him, for a marker, one for his partner if they didn't have a ball marker, and one in case he lost it. So he always carried three pennies in his pocket. And another one, he was the first person not from the royal family to be on the £5 note
TOMMY: I have one. I have one in the office, and it is signed by Jack.
JAMES: You've got one?
TOMMY: Yes. Oh. I got given one.
JAMES: So who’s that the first person not from the Royal family.
TOMMY: And it's a really good reminder for me, because I got through to finals that year, but I didn't get through. But I've still got the £5 note, and when Jack came here to Open Kinloch, I asked him if he'd sign it. And when Jack signed the signature on the back of my £5 note-
PAUL: Mm ...
TOMMY: it was bang on.
JAMES: Really?
TOMMY: It was perfect. Wow. Absolutely perfect. So that's the one thing I remember about him, is that every signature he did, that I saw him give that day, it wasn't a scribble.
It was just perfect. He was a perfectionist. Yeah. He was a perfectionist. Yeah. One very quick story that I must tell you okay. I remember on that day, he was hitting some balls on the range. It was a hot day. I was actually caddying for Jackie, his son, and my mate was caddying for Jack.
And Jack took his jersey off, and I thought he was gonna throw it at Mark, for Mark to put in the golf bag. The jersey came off. Jack knelt down. I mean, he was 70 at the time, I think, maybe, f- around then. He knelt down on the ground. He folded this jersey up, and I kid you not, you could've put it straight onto a pro shop shelf the way he folded it.
And he put it in the bag, didn't stuff it in. And at that point, the penny dropped to me that this guy was a perfectionist.
JAMES: Nice
TOMMY: And it was just, one of those moments where you just thought, "Ah, yeah, that's, that's, that's why. That's one of the reasons why."
JAMES: You love it when you hear stories like that, don't you?
PAUL: Yeah
TOMMY: But boys, I've really enjoyed that. Hopefully everybody at home enjoyed that, too, or everybody listening along enjoyed that, too. If you did, and you haven't listened to our Tiger Woods quiz, it's been published. It's up there. Have a look, and send us in who you want us to do a quiz on next, 'cause we will happily oblige.
The boys have been great. They've played along. That's it, boys. Over and out. That's a wrap.
PAUL: Cheers, mate.
JAMES: That was Great fun
TOMMY: Yeah, it was. Thanks, fellas.
TOMMY: If you've made it this far, we hope it's because you've enjoyed listening to Tommy Does Golf. To make sure you never miss our podcast, please hit follow. For more of our content or to get in touch, head to tommydoesgolf.com. So until next time, no matter how you're playing, smile, laugh, and most important of all, enjoy the walk