The two golfers who Jack Nicklaus said ‘troubled’ him the most during his playing career

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Jack Nicklaus was the most dominant player of his generation.

Nicklaus still holds the record for the most major championships of all time with 18, and that doesn’t look close to being broken. What’s even more incredible is that Nicklaus also holds the record for the most second-place finishes at majors, with 19. 

Between 1962 and 1986, the “Golden Bear” won everything there is to win in the sport. If you wanted to win something in the ’60s or ’70s, you knew that you would have to go through Nicklaus to do it. 

But even he had opponents that he struggled to overcome. The American played against some of the all-time greats in the sport, from Arnold Palmer in his younger years to Tom Watson in the ‘80s.

He said there were two players in particular that gave him the most trouble in the biggest moments of major championships. 

Jack Nicklaus revealed the two players he struggled to beat down the stretch of tournaments 

While Nicklaus was the dominant force of his generation, other players still managed to rack up plenty of major wins against him. Gary Player and Watson combined for 16 majors in their careers. 

Nicklaus, speaking on the ForePlay podcast in 2020, admitted that there were two players who beat him the most when they competed down the stretch in a tournament. 

He said, “If I saw Palmer, Player, Casper, Watson, Trevino on the leaderboard, I knew I better play.

“Watson and Trevino were probably the two guys who gave me the most trouble down the stretch. They were both terrific competitors.

“Trevino and I came down the stretch several times, and Watson and I came down the stretch, and frankly, they got me probably more than I got them. But truth be known, I probably got them a few times too.”

Lee Trevino took advantage of Nicklaus’ big weakness, his bunker play, at the 1971 US Open, to take a famous victory in an 18-hole playoff match. Meanwhile, Watson was a master of The Open Championship, dominating that competition to win it five times during Nicklaus’ prime. 

Nicklaus was at the top of the mountain against these other greats, but it says a lot about his character that he can tip his cap to those that beat him.

Jack Nicklaus named his favorite player

When speaking about the players that often beat him in big moments, Nicklaus also mentioned who his favorite opponent was.

He continued, “Player had a long career, and a great career. What an athlete. What an interesting guy. He’s my favourite. I love Gary Player. He’s wonderful.”

Behind Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Walter Hagen, Player won the fourth most major championships, with nine. The outspoken South African was the first non-American to win the career grand slam by claiming the 1965 US Open. 

Player and Nicklaus’ primes aligned, but in truth, they didn’t share many big moments down the stretch in tournaments. They did go head-to-head at the 1983 Skins Game, where Player emerged victorious by taking home $170,000. 

And taking the honour of being Nicklaus’ favorite is an honour in itself!