‘The Most Important Putt I Ever Made in My Life’: Jack Nicklaus, Who Has Won a Record 18-Major Championships in Golf, Once Reflected on His Career-Changing Moment in 1959

Jack Nicklaus is one of the greatest golfers of all time. The golden bear competed in the era when there were golfers like Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros, and others. Despite that, Nicklaus won the most major championships (18) in his career, which shows his dominance in this sport.

Meanwhile, even though he has 18 majors and 73 PGA Tour wins, Jack believes the most crucial putt in his life was not in any of these victories. Moreover, it was not from any tournaments that he played after turning pro. Nicklaus says his winning putt in the 1959 U.S. Amateur was his biggest career-changing moment. But why does the golden bear think so?

Why does Jack Nicklaus believe his U.S. Amateur win was the biggest career-changing moment?

Even though Jack Nicklaus has the most major trophies, he believes his winning birdie putt in the 1959 U.S. Amateur was the biggest of his career. And he recently revealed the reason for the same.

The 1959 U.S. Amateur Golf Championship was played at Broadmoor, which is at an altitude. Moreover, it was Jack’s first time playing at an elevation, which has its challenges. “I remember the first putt I hit there looked to me like it was going to go this way, and it broke three feet the other way,” revealed Jack.

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Therefore, he spent plenty of time on the greens practicing before the tournament. “That’s one of the courses it taught me to prepare. If you prepare properly, you’re ahead of the game with the guys you’re playing with.”

Furthermore, Nicklaus recalled his situation on the final hole for the victory. He flushed his 9-iron and got the ball within eight feet of the pin. Meanwhile, his competitor, Charlie, almost chipped the ball into the hole. But sadly, the ball stopped on the lip of the cup. However, Jack holed the eight-foot birdie putt and won the tournament.

“It’s probably the biggest putt, the most important putt I ever made in my life,” recalls Nicklaus. “And it just proved to me that I could do that. And it put my head that when I got under pressure and, I got down near the end, I could do it. I’ve done it once. I can do it again,” concluded Jack.

Hence, this putt gave him confidence that later helped him seal 18 majors and 73 PGA Tour victories. Therefore, he believes this was the most crucial putt and a career-changing moment. 

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