Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer. He is widely regarded as the greatest golfer of all time, winning a record 18 career major championships, while producing 19 second-place and 9 third-place finishes, over a span of 25 years. Nicklaus focused on the major championships—Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship—and played a selective schedule of regular PGA Tour events, yet still finished with 73 victories, third on the all-time list behind Sam Snead (82) and Woods (79).
Nicklaus won the U.S. Amateur in 1959 and 1961 and challenged for the 1960 U.S. Open, where he finished in second place, two shots behind Arnold Palmer. Nicklaus turned professional at age 21 toward the end of 1961. He earned his first professional win in a major championship, the 1962 U.S. Open, when he defeated Palmer by three shots in a next day 18-hole playoff. This win over Palmer began the on-course rivalry between the two golf superstars. In 1966, Nicklaus won the Masters Tournament for the second year in a row, becoming the first golfer to achieve this distinction, and also won The Open Championship, completing his career slam of major championships. At age 26, he became the youngest to do so at the time. In 1968 and 1969, Nicklaus did not win a major tournament. He then won another Open Championship in 1970.