Laureation address: Dr Jack Nicklaus Hon LLD

Honorary Citizenship by The Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council
Laureation by John Devlin, past captain, trustee and life member, and president of St Andrews Golf Club

Tuesday 12 July 2022

St Andrews, the most famous golf destination in the world, where golf has been played for over 500 years. No Architect, no earth moving machines, just natural. Where all the greats of the game have played. This week will mark another chapter in the history of golf being played over the Old Course.  This small town on the East coast of Scotland has previously played host to 29 Open Championships and are proudly playing host to this, the 150th Open Championship.

From the first Open winner in St Andrews in 1873, Tom Kidd, to the last winner in 2015, Zak Johnstone, every golfer has endeavoured  to lift the Claret Jug at the home of golf, and, on five occasions, more than once:

  • Bob Martin – Scotland
  • J H Taylor – England
  • James Braid – Scotland
  • Jack Nicklaus – USA
  • Tiger Woods – USA

Today, St Andrews Community Council and the people of the town will award one of golf’s greatest ever players the Honorary Citizen of the Royal Burgh of St Andrews.

Jack  Nicklaus will be the third American  person to be awarded the Freedom of the City of St Andrews. The others are Benjamin Franklin in 1759  and Bobby Jones in this very hall in 1958,  an Open Championship winner on the Old Course in 1927.

Jack was born in Columbus, Ohio, on 21 January 1940 (I’ll let you do the maths) into a life blessed with the gift of playing golf at the highest level. Winner of the 1959 and the 1961 US amateur titles, he also played in the 1959 and 1961 Walker Cup, where the best players from each country compete against each other. He turned Professional at the end of 1961 and went on to win his first major in the 1962 Open at Oakmount, USA, holding both Amateur and Professional titles at the same time.

Success continued the following year with first wins in both the Masters and PGA. In total, he is the winner of 18 major championships:

  • 4 USA Open Championships
  • 5 PGA Championships
  • 6 Masters
  • 3 Open Championships – Muirfield 1966, St Andrews 1970 and 1978

Jack  has played in 164 Majors, runner up 18 times and 73 top tens: a remarkable achievement in golf or any sport. He was PGA Player of the Year five times and received a PGA Lifetime award.

And he is one of only two golfers achieving three career  Grand Slams, the other being Tiger Woods.

He had 73 PGA tour wins, a number exceeded only by Sam Snead and Tiger Woods.

In total 117 Pro wins in his career.

Played in six Ryder Cups and was Captain of the US Team in 1983 and 1987.

A professional career  that lasted 45 years with remarkable success.

Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush in 2005, which is the nation’s highest civil award.

Awarded Congressional Gold Medal in 2015 in recognition of his service to the nation in promoting excellence and good sportsmanship: the highest civilian award the United States Congress can bestow.

Honorary Member of both the St Andrews Golf Club and the Royal & Ancient.

Retired from tournament golf here in St Andrews in 2005, when he waved farewell on the Swilken Bridge and, in true style, birdied the 18th.

Nicklaus Design: apart from playing golf, Jack  has been involved in the design and construction of over 400 Golf Courses in over 45 countries and still continues to be involved today.

One of the more familiar courses is in Muirfeild Village in Ohio, USA, which played host to the memorial tournament in early June each year.

Some of you may not be aware that Jack and his wife Barbara founded the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation in 2004, raising millions of dollars through Nicklaus partners who have contributed to the foundation. The foundation is supporting innovative programmes focused on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of childhood illness.

I cannot possibly mention all the wins and awards as the tournament starts this Thursday, but I would like to repeat a quote I read after the 1986 Masters, when Jack shot 65 on the Sunday, by Author Ken Bowden:

“There have been better ball strikers than Jack Nicklaus, there have been better short game exponents than Jack Nicklaus. Other golfers have putted as well as Jack Nicklaus. There may have been golfers as dedicated and fiercely competitive.

“But no individual has been able to develop, combine and sustain all of the complex physical skills and the immense mental and emotional resources the game demands at its highest level as well as Jack Nicklaus has for as long as he has.”

To Barbara,  Jack Jnr, Steve, Nancy, Gary, Michael and the rest of your family, we thank you, we thank you for getting Jack to come to St Andrews this week to attend this presentation.

Jack’s wins in 1970 and 1978 here in St Andrews won the hearts of the people of the town. A golfer held in the highest regard by his fellow players both past and present, as we witness today, for his professionalism, sportsmanship and dedication to this wonderful but most frustrating game.

The history of golf in St Andrews will continue to be written with the 150th Open Championship playing this week. A golfer’s life will change forever on Sunday afternoon (hopefully) when they are named Champion Golfer of the year.

But the most important event this week is happening today.

There is no more fitting a person to follow after Bobby Jones in 1958.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Mr Jack Nicklaus.