Full name Jack William Nicklaus Nickname The Golden Bear Born January 21, 1940 (1940-01-21) (age 71) Columbus, Ohio Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Nationality  United States Residence North Palm Beach, Florida Spouse Barbara Nicklaus Children Jack (1961), Steven (1963), Nancy (1965), Gary (1969), Michael (1973) Career College Ohio State University Turned professional 1961 Current tour(s) PGA Tour Champions Tour Professional wins 115 Number of wins by tour PGA Tour 73 (2nd all time) Champions Tour 10 Other 22 (regular) 11 (other) Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 18) Masters Tournament Won: 1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986 U.S. Open Won: 1962, 1967, 1972, 1980 The Open Championship Won: 1966, 1970, 1978 PGA Championship Won: 1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1980, Achievements and awards World Golf Hall of Fame 1974 (member page) PGA Tour leading money winner 1964, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976 PGA Player of the Year 1967, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976 Bob Jones Award 1975 Payne Stewart Award 2000 PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award 2008 (For a full list of awards, see here) Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), also known as "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. Due mainly to a PGA Tour record of 18 career major championships won over a span of 24 years, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time..