What happened in the first ever Skins Game when Jack Nicklaus took on Gary Player as new version announced

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The Skins Game is back from a 15-year hiatus, as four of golf’s biggest names fight it out for millions of dollars.

Tour Championship winner Tommy Fleetwood, Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, and Team USA teammates Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele will do battle at Panther National in November, a course designed by Thomas with the advice of the great Jack Nicklaus. 

Each hole at the Skins Game will have a dollar value. Each player starts with $1 million, and that amount increases or decreases depending on whether the player wins or loses the hole. 

These four players join a long list of legends to have competed in the event since its inception in 1983, when Nicklaus took on Gary Player, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson head-to-head for a cash prize. 

The player who beat Jack Nicklaus in the first-ever Skins Game 

The first-ever Skins Game was played at Desert Highlands Golf Club in Arizona between four of the best golfers on the planet. “The Big Three”, Nicklaus, Palmer and Player, were joined by Watson, who was an eight-time major winner. 

At this event, each hole was worth a certain dollar amount, known as a “skin.” To win a skin, a player had to have the lowest score on that hole, and the skin was carried over to the next hole if two or more players tied.

The players fought over a total pot of $360,000. On the 12th hole, Palmer sank a long putt to win $100,000. The most money Palmer had ever won in a tournament before that putt was $55,000. 

The match wasn’t without controversy. On the 16th hole, Watson accused Player of cheating by removing a leaf that was resting against his ball, claiming it was not a loose impediment. Player denied it, and the match continued.

The 16th hole was tied, meaning the 17th was now worth $150,000. The Masters winner that year, for context, claimed $90,000. Player sank a five-foot putt to claim the prize. 

“I’m choking more than when I won the US Open,” said Player after winning the hole. Player won the day, taking home $170,000. The big loser was Watson, who won just $10,000.

Lack of star power was the end of Skins Game

In the years that followed, some of the biggest stars in the sport took part in the Skins Game, hoping to take home a big cash prize. 

Tiger Woods played six times, never winning, and Phil Mickelson took part after being inspired by the original event in 1983. 

The beginning of the end for the event was the PGA Tour, which began to dictate who could and couldn’t play. For example, the Tour made it so the winner of the Players Championship would earn one of the four spots. 

Plus, with the increased revenue of the PGA Tour, the prize money wasn’t so eye-popping. $1 million was around the most a player could earn at the event, while the Masters winner took home $1,350,000 in 2008. 

In 2025, each player starts with a total of $1 million with the hope of earning more throughout the tournament. That’s a massive cash prize for these four players, which is sure to catch the attention of some of the game’s biggest stars once again.