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Greatest Rivals - Arnold Palmer vs Jack Nicklaus

Welcome to Greatest Rivals!

Each Wednesday, this page will pitch two great rivals against each other to finally find out who the real winner is! Over the coming weeks, this page will cover many great rivalries, from the glory of el Clasico to the back and forth action of some of Wimbledon's finest performers. 

Wednesday 31st March 2021 - Arnold Palmer vs Jack Nicklaus 

It's 1954, and a 14-year old Jack Nicklaus stands rain-soaked on the 18th green, just finishing up his final round of the day. Despite thinking he is alone, he looks up to see an equally soaked Arnold Palmer on the practice green, 10 years his elder and future winner of 62 PGA Tour events along with 7 majors. Although Jack would go on to top these numbers before his 30th birthday, neither player knew that their futures as rivals were forever entwined and birthed arguably the greatest era of golf the world has ever seen. 

The Palmer-Nicklaus rivalry spanned an entire decade from 1960 onwards, originating at the pairs first U.S Open. Here, Palmer completed a spectacular comeback, charging from 7-shots back on the final back to take his second major, whilst Nicklaus competed for 2nd as an amateur. However, when the pair returned to the U.S Open in 1962, things got a lot more heated. 

By this time, Jack was a confident and threatening 22-year old professional, and Palmer's fan base knew it. "Arnie's Army" made every round unbearable for Nicklaus, heckling and harassing the rookie around all 18 holes. This tactic set Nicklaus back to a three-way tie for fourth for most of the major but rallied on his final day. With a single round to play, Nicklaus caught Palmer on the final day and sent it to an 18-hole playoff. Nicklaus would win 71 to 74.

Devastated by the loss and angered by the actions of his fans, Palmer issued a very clear statement - "Now that the big guy is out of the cage, everybody better run for cover". This was less of a challenge and more of a prophecy as by the end of the '60s, Nicklaus would overtake Palmer in PGA Tour Event wins (30-29) and Major wins (8-7). The pair finished 1st and 2nd in 5 different majors and between 1962-1964, they won 50% of all available majors, finishing runners up in the remaining 6. 

However, due to a 10-year age gap, it was inevitable that Nicklaus accelerated away from Palmer in terms of pure winning ability, finishing his illustrious career with 73 PGA Tour Event wins and 18 Major wins - a record that still stands to this day. Crushed by his rivals confidence and scary talent, Palmer would not win a Major past 1964 but would continue to stay hot on the heels of Nicklaus until his retirement from competitive golf in 2006. 

Jack Nicklaus is arguably the greatest golfer of all time, with Tiger Woods coming in at a close second. But make no mistake, without Arnold Palmer pushing him to the very limit during his early career, Nicklaus would have never reached the heights he did. The two remained close friends throughout their careers and up until Palmer's death in 2016. 

Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer - ASSOCIATED PRESS






 


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