The major championship which Jack Nicklaus admitted he threw away after ignoring advice from his caddy on the second to last hole

Add as preferred source on Google

Jack Nicklaus might be the record holder for most majors ever won in golf but even the great man himself has thrown certain tournaments away.

Nicklaus’ 18 major wins has never been caught and doesn’t look like it ever will be either, with the level of golf now better than ever across the board and Tiger Woods almost stuck on 15.

For Nicklaus, his 18 wins all meant something different to him and he came up against some of the greats of the game to win them, such as Arnold Palmer.

• READ MORE: How Jordan Spieth performed at The Bear Trap compared to winner Joe Highsmith at the Cognizant Classic

However, speaking of Palmer, Nicklaus has admitted that he’d have had even more majors in the bag had he not ignored his caddy and let Palmer sneak in for the win.

When Jack Nicklaus gifted Arnold Palmer a major championship

Speaking to Sir Nick Faldo in a previous interview, Jack Nicklaus admitted that he could have won more majors had he not ignored caddy advice and blown his chances.

“The first one that I finished second in a major was at Cherry Hills. I was an amateur. 20 years old and I had a lead going into the last nine holes, I had a lead with seven holes to play but I finished the last six holes in three over and Arnold won the tournament. He beat me by a couple of shots,” Nicklaus said.

I always told Palmer, if I hadn’t shot 39 in the last few holes nobody would ever heard of you! And he would say if I hadn’t three putted nine times at Oakmont, nobody would ever have heard of you.
That nine holes I shot 39, I did so many dumb things in that nine holes. That when I was done Dan Jacobs was saying to Hogan, who I played with, he says I played with a young kid yesterday that if he had known how to won would have won by several shots. Meaning I didn’t know how to win.

“The best thing that ever happened to me was not to win that tournament. Then I got a bit better with some things but did the same thing again at Latham in 1963. I had a two shot lead with two holes to play. I drove it up three wood on 17, had 212 to the hole. Little wind in my face.

“So I had a two iron and Jimmy Dickinson, who was caddy for me, said Jack you don’t need a two iron. I said I need a two iron to get it back there. He said you don’t need a two iron, but I didn’t listen. All I needed to do was put it on the green somewhere. I ran it over the green, made bogey. Then drove it into a bunker on 18 and made bogey and both Charles and Roger both birdied 16 and parred 17 and 18. So I lost by a shot. I gave that away.

“I looked at it and said why in the world would you do what you did at 17, short of the hole is perfect, then why in the world would you take driver at 18! You learn from those silly mistakes and try not to repeat them.”

• READ MORE: The American youngster on the PGA Tour who Keegan Bradley is being tipped to have ‘his eyes out for’ ahead of the Ryder Cup in 2025

How many times has Jack Nicklaus finished second in majors?

While there’s always so much focus on those who win the majors, it’s often overlooked just how many times the best players in the world end up finishing second.

Indeed, that goes just as much for Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as well.

Despite having 33 major titles between them, they’ve also got a bunch of second place finishes to their names as well.

Remarkably, Nicklaus sits top of the pops in that stat, with 19 near-misses. Tiger Woods, meanwhile, has come second six times, meaning we could potentially have seen the pair rack up an astonishing 25 extra major wins between them.