Know your Jack Nicklaus numbers

The host this week at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday doesn’t need to be introduced. One of the most accomplished athletes across all of sports history, Jack Nicklaus was a beacon of on-course excellence for the entirety of his legendary career.

We all know the numbers synonymous with Nicklaus: 6 (Masters wins), 18 (major championship wins), 73 (PGA TOUR victories). But those don’t fully detail how consistently great Nicklaus was over the course of three decades.

Let’s dive into a few of the numbers that shaped the legend of The Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus.

46

Nicklaus has 46 top-three finishes in major championships, 20 more than any other player in history. Tiger Woods is second, with 26. The players in third and fourth on that list – Phil Mickelson (24) and Sam Snead (22) have the same total combined as Jack does on his own.

87

In 17 Masters starts from 1963 through 1979, Nicklaus won five Green Jackets and finished outside the top-10 only twice. Nicklaus was 87-under-par at Augusta National in that stretch, 69 shots better than any other player. In 66 rounds, he beat the field scoring average 59 times (89.4%). Nicklaus gained 206 strokes against the field in that span, 76 more than anyone else (Gary Player was second, at 130).

15

From 1966 through 1980, Nicklaus never finished worse than sixth at The Open Championship. Since Nicklaus’ streak ended in 1981, there has not been another player to do it more than three consecutive years at The Open. Nicklaus’ streak is nearly twice as long as any other player since World War II – Peter Thomson did it in eight straight Opens from 1951 to 1958.

35

In the entire decade of the 1970s, Nicklaus finished in the top-10 in 35 of 40 major championships. In that span, he had more wins in the majors (8) than finishes outside the top-ten (5).

22

From 1966 through 1982, Nicklaus won four U.S. Open titles and finished T-11 or better 18 times. In that span, he recorded 22 rounds in the 60s at the U.S. Open, eight more than anyone else (Arnold Palmer had the second-most, with 14). He averaged 3.41 Strokes Gained: Total per round in that span, nearly half-a-stroke more than any other player in that span with 40 or more rounds played (Tom Watson, 2.95).

56

Nicklaus has 56 top-five finishes in major championships. No other player has more than 33 (Tiger Woods). From 1960 through 1980 alone, Jack had 51 top-five finishes in majors, more than twice as many as any other player in that span. Palmer had the second-most, with 23.

17

Nicklaus won in each of his first 17 full seasons on the PGA Tour. That streak is tied with Arnold Palmer for the most consecutive seasons with at least one TOUR victory all-time.

24

Nicklaus won his first and 18th professional major championships 24 years apart – his first coming at the 1962 U.S. Open, his last being the 1986 Masters. He is one of two players in men’s golf history to win majors more than 20 years apart. Tiger Woods (1997 Masters – 2019 Masters, 22 years) is the other.

40

In 1980, at age 40, Nicklaus led the PGA TOUR in total driving, a statistic that combines a players’ ranking in average driving distance and fairways hit. His number that season combining those ranks was 23 – a sum no player has bettered in any season since. For comparison’s sake, Jon Rahm led the PGA TOUR last season in total driving with a combined rank number of 80, the only player on TOUR under 100. Nicklaus went on to lead the TOUR in that statistic in his age 41 and age 42 seasons, as well.

18

Nicklaus made the cut at the U.S. Open forty years apart – at age 18 (1958) and age 58 (1998). He won the U.S. Open 18 years apart (1962-1980), the longest gap between victories in that championship’s history.

24

Nicklaus played the Masters in par or better over 72 holes a record 24 times in his career, five more than any other player. His 71 rounds under par are 13 more than any other player in Masters history. He is also the Masters all-time leader in birdies, eagles, top-5s and top-10 finishes.

2000

Nicklaus will be inextricably linked to Tiger Woods in the annals of golf history. One of the most remarkable statistics tying together the two came at the end of Nicklaus’ playing career, and the prime of Woods’. Nicklaus made his final start at both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in 2000. Woods won both of those. Nicklaus’ final starts in the Masters and Open Championship came five years later. The winner of both of those events? Woods.

19

In addition to his 18 major wins, most all-time, Nicklaus has an unreal 19 runner-up finishes in majors. No other player has more than eleven (Phil Mickelson).