Eighteen of the most remarkable Jack Nicklaus statistics

The host of this week’s Memorial Tournament presented by Workday is on a short list of the most decorated athletes in not just golf – but sports history.

Over the course of decades, Jack Nicklaus built an almost unapproachable list of on-course accomplishments, especially in the game’s four major championships.

To help celebrate Memorial week, here are 18 of the most remarkable numbers in the Nicklaus collection:

18. For the entire decade of the 1970s, Nicklaus finished in the top-10 at the majors 35 out of 40 times. During that stretch, he had more wins in majors (eight) than finishes worse than 10th (five).

17. In 1980, at age 40, Nicklaus led the PGA TOUR in total driving, a statistic that combines a player’s ranking in average distance off the tee and percentage of fairways hit. His total driving number that season was 23, a figure no player has matched over the course of an entire season since. To put it in perspective, Jon Rahm led the TOUR in total driving last season with a number of 61. Nicklaus would go on to lead the TOUR in total driving in his age 41 and age 42 seasons, too.

16. Nicklaus finished either first, second or third in the major championships a staggering 46 times – 20 more than any other player in history (Tiger Woods is second, with 26 such finishes). Nicklaus is the only player in men’s golf history to have a first-, second- and third-place finish in each of the four major championships. From 1962 through 1980, Jack finished in the top-three in the majors 41 times – 54 percent of the majors contested in that span.

15. Nicklaus won in each of his first 17 seasons on the PGA TOUR, a mark only equaled all-time by his friend and rival, Arnold Palmer. For a stretch from 1971 to 1973, Nicklaus won 19 of the 52 official PGA TOUR starts he made, a rate of about 37 percent. Only nine times in that span did he finish worse than 10th.

14. Nicklaus didn’t just win the career Grand Slam – he is the only player to win each of the four major championships at least once in two different decades (the 1960s and 1970s). He nearly did it in three different decades: Nicklaus won the 1980 PGA and U.S. Open, as well as the 1986 Masters – but his best finish at The Open Championship after 1979 was a tie for fourth in 1980 at Muirfield.

13. From 1963 to 1979, Nicklaus played the Masters 17 times. He won five green jackets in that span and finished outside the top-10 just twice. Nicklaus was 87 under par at Augusta National in that span, 69 strokes better than any other player. He gained 206 strokes against the field, 75 more than second-best in that stretch (Gary Player, 131 strokes gained). He shot worse than the field average just seven times in 66 rounds.

12. Only eight players have won five or more senior major championships. Nicklaus won five of his first eight starts in senior majors.

11. Nicklaus won his first and 18th professional major championships 24 years apart – his first coming at the 1962 U.S. Open, and his last being the 1986 Masters. He is one of just 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.

10. Jack Nicklaus played 160 U.S. Open rounds in his career – 40 more than any other player. That’s a full decade – making the cut each year – ahead of Hale Irwin, second on the all-time list.

9. From 1963 through 1966, Nicklaus won the Masters three times and finished runner-up the only year he didn’t win. There were a combined 370 other golfers in those four Masters Tournaments – the only player to beat Jack was Palmer in 1964. Nicklaus remains the only player to win the green jacket three times in a four-year span.

8. Nicklaus won the first, third and fifth-ever editions of THE PLAYERS Championship. He is still the only man to win the event three or more times.

7. Nicklaus is not only tied for the most PGA Championship wins, with five, but also finished runner-up four times, most of any player. Jack has more top-five finishes at the PGA (14) than any other player has top-10 finishes (10). His 53 rounds under par at the PGA Championship is seven more than anybody else in history.

6. Nicklaus teed it up in every men’s major championship contested from the 1962 Masters through the 1998 U.S. Open, a record run of 146 played in a row. The longest active streak is held by Adam Scott, at 87 straight. Assuming no majors are canceled between now and then, Scott would have to play in every major through the 2038 PGA Championship to beat Jack’s record streak.

5. From 1966 through 1982, Nicklaus won the U.S. Open four times and finished worse than T-11 just twice. During that stretch, he averaged 3.41 Strokes Gained: Total per round, nearly half-a-stroke more than anyone else with 40 or more rounds played during that time (Tom Watson, 2.95). Nicklaus made the cut at the U.S. Open 40 years apart: in both 1958 and 1998. Nicklaus set the 72-hole U.S. Open scoring record in 1967 (275), a mark that stood until 1980, when he broke his own mark (272).

4. Here are a few of the notable Masters statistics in which Nicklaus is the all-time leader: wins, birdies, eagles, top-five finishes, top-10 finishes, top-25 finishes, times playing all 72 holes of the tournament and cuts made. Nicklaus has also led or co-led a Masters round on 19 occasions, most all-time. He did so 30 years apart (1963-1993).

3. From 1966 through 1980 – a run of 15 years – Nicklaus never finished worse than tied for sixth at The Open Championship. In the 42 years since Jack’s streak ended, no player has done that for more than three Opens in a row.

2. Nicklaus and Woods will be linked in golf history forever for a litany of reasons. This one statistic, though, might be the most surreal. In each of Nicklaus’ last starts in the four majors, Tiger Woods won: the 2000 U.S. Open, 2000 PGA, 2005 Masters and 2005 Open Championship.

1. Of course, Nicklaus has the most wins in men’s professional major golf history, with 18. But he also has 19 runner-up finishes, most all-time.

And the most third-place finishes (9, tied with Gene Sarazen).

And the most fourth place finishes (8, sitting alone in first).

In all, he finished in the top-five in majors 56 times – 23 more than any other player (Woods, 33). For context, the other two members of the ‘Big Three’ – Arnold Palmer and Gary Player – combined for 48 top-five finishes in the majors.