This page details statistics, records, and other achievements pertaining to championship golfer Jack Nicklaus.
Major championships
Wins (18)
1Defeated Palmer in 18-hole playoff; Nicklaus (71), Palmer (74). 2Defeated Jacobs (2nd) & Brewer (3rd) in 18-hole playoff; Nicklaus (70), Jacobs (72), Brewer (78). 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes awarded in this playoff. 3Defeated Sanders in 18-hole playoff; Nicklaus (72), Sanders (73).
Records and trivia
In a span of 25 years, from 1962 (age 22) to 1986 (age 46), Nicklaus won 18 professional major championships. This is the most any player has won in his career. Nicklaus held sole possession of the lead after 54 holes of a major championship on eight occasions and won each in regulation. Nicklaus won 10 of 12 major championships when having the lead outright or tied for the lead after 54 holes and won eight times when trailing after 54 holes. In the above-referenced 20 major championships where Nicklaus either won (18) or finished in second place (2), he was a combined 30 strokes under par in final round scoring. In 18 professional major championship victories, Nicklaus shot 56 rounds at even par or below. Nicklaus won two major championships in a season on five occasions (1963, 1966, 1972, 1975, and 1980). Nicklaus won at least one major championship in four consecutive years (1970–1973). Nicklaus is one of five players (along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, and Tiger Woods) to have won all four professional major championships in his career, known as the Career Grand Slam, and the second-youngest to do so in his fifth year as a professional at age 26 (Tiger Woods, fourth year at age 24). At age 33 in 1973, Nicklaus broke Bobby Jones' record of 13 major championships (old configuration) and Walter Hagen's record of 11 professional major championships by winning his third PGA Championship; 14th and 12th win, respectively. One of two players to achieve a "triple career slam" i.e. winning all four major championships three times in a career, the other being Tiger Woods. Nicklaus made 39 consecutive cuts in major championships starting at the 1969 Masters and ending by being cut at the 1978 PGA Championship. In this span he won eight times, was runner-up seven times, and had 33 top-10 finishes. This record of consecutive cuts made in major championships was equaled by Tiger Woods at the 2006 Masters. Nicklaus holds the record for most runner-up finishes in majors with 19. Nicklaus holds the record for most top-five finishes in major championships with 56. One of two players to finish in the top five in all four professional major championships in two different years (1971 and 1973), the other being Tiger Woods (2000 and 2005). Both players finished in the top four in all four majors once (1973 and 2005, respectively). Bobby Jones won the "Grand Slam" under the old configuration in 1930 and Ben Hogan won all three of the majors he was able to play in 1953. Nicklaus holds the record for most top-10 finishes in major championships with 73. This is 25 and 27 more than the next players Sam Snead (48) and Tom Watson (46), respectively. Nicklaus finished in the top-10 in his final three professional major championships as an amateur (second in the 1960 U.S. Open, seventh in the 1961 Masters, and fourth in the 1961 U.S. Open). Nicklaus played 154 consecutive majors for which he was eligible, from the 1957 U.S. Open through the 1998 U.S. Open.