On His 84th Birthday, Revisiting Some of Jack Nicklaus's Greatness

In the '70s, the Golden Bear played an entire decade of majors with a remarkable run of excellence.

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Jack Nicklaus celebrated a birthday on Sunday, and the golf icon remains a source of tremendous insight as it relates to what currently is happening in the game and his perspective gleaned from a Hall-of-Fame career.

His recent comments on Tiger Woods playing on PGA Tour Champions and LIV Golf’s impact on the game were widely reported.

It has now been nearly 38 years since the last of his 18 major championships and 73 PGA Tour victories when he won the 1986 Masters.

His 18 majors remain the gold standard in the sport, and there are a slew of records and accomplishments that could fill multiple pages.

Jack Nicklaus was Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in 1978 / Sports Illustrated

But a couple of favorites stand out in reviewing his amazing record.

After a couple of lean years—by his standards—Nicklaus, then 30, got motivated following the death of his father. In 1970, he lost weight—shedding the “Fat Jack’’ nickname—and went on an amazing run, especially in the majors.

In the 40 majors of the 1970s, Nicklaus won eight of them, was in the top 10 in 35 and missed just a single cut.

Nicklaus also had an amazing stretch in the British Open. It is the major he won the least but one he probably should have won the most, given how many chances he gave himself. He won the tournament three times. (Nicklaus won the Masters six times, the PGA five and the U.S. Open four).

Starting at the 1963 Open through 1980, Nicklaus finished outside of the top five just once in 18 starts. That came in 1965 when he tied for 12th. He also had seven runner-up finishes in the tournament, including the epic "Duel in the Sun" where he lost by a shot to Tom Watson in 1977.

Nicklaus is expected to be visible in the coming months. His foundation is involved with the Cognizant Classic (formerly Honda Classic), he will hit the ceremonial first tee shot at the Masters with Watson and Gary Player and he will preside over his Memorial Tournament, which he founded in 1976.