Bobby Nichols
| Bobby Nichols | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Robert Herman Nichols |
| Born | April 14, 1936 Louisville, Kentucky |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Career | |
| College | Texas A&M University |
| Turned professional | 1960 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions Tour |
| Professional wins | 15 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 11 |
| Champions Tour | 1 |
| Other | 3 |
| Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 1) |
|
| Masters Tournament | 2nd: 1967 |
| U.S. Open | T3: 1962 |
| The Open Championship | DNP |
| PGA Championship | Won: 1964 |
Robert Herman Nichols (born April 14, 1936) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the 1964 PGA Championship.
Nichols was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He attended St. Xavier High School in Louisville and later played golf at Texas A&M University were his team won the Southwest Conference Championship. While in high school, Nichols and several other youths were involved in an automobile accident resulting from a 100 mile-per-hour joy ride. He suffered serious injuries including a broken pelvis, concussion, back and internal injuries, and was hospitalized 96 days. His legs were also paralyzed for about two weeks, but he was able to regain full use of his legs after intensive physical therapy.
Nichols began playing on the PGA Tour in 1960 and has recorded 11 PGA Tour victories. He was a member of the 1967 Ryder Cup team. His best year on the Tour was 1974 when he won twice, earned $124,747 and finished 14th on the money list. Nichols, Jerry Heard and Lee Trevino were struck by lightning at the 1975 Western Open; all 3 men fully recovered from this traumatic experience. Nichols has had 12 holes-in-one in his professional career.[1]
The 1964 PGA Championship was played at the Columbus Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. Nichols defeated Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus by 3 shots for a four-day total of 271. This was a record low score for the PGA Championship which stood for 30 years until it was broken by Nick Price in 1994. Nichols was the first wire-to-wire winner since the PGA Championship switched format from match play to stroke play.[2] He came close to winning a second major in 1967 at The Masters finishing second to his life-long friend, Gay Brewer.
After turning 50, he began playing on the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the Champions Tour). He has enjoyed many top-10 finishes but only one victory – the 1989 Southwestern Bell Classic, when he defeated Orville Moody on the third hole of a playoff.
Bobby Nichols Golf Course is a 9-hole course that is part of Waverly Park in Louisville.
Contents |
[edit] Professional wins (15)
[edit] PGA Tour wins (11)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar 18, 1962 | St. Petersburg Open Invitational | -16 (71-67-70-64=272) | 2 strokes | Frank Boynton |
| 2 | Apr 22, 1962 | Houston Classic | -2 (68-69-71-70=278) | Playoff | Jack Nicklaus, Dan Sikes |
| 3 | Sep 15, 1963 | Seattle Open Invitational | -16 (66-68-68-70=272) | 2 strokes | Raymond Floyd,  Stan Leonard |
| 4 | Jul 19, 1964 | PGA Championship | -9 (64-71-69-67=271) | 3 strokes | Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer |
| 5 | Aug 30, 1964 | Carling World Open | -6 (72-68-66-72=278) | 1 stroke | Arnold Palmer |
| 6 | Apr 11, 1965 | Houston Classic | -11 (67-69-67-70=273) | 1 stroke |  Bruce Devlin, Chi Chi Rodriguez |
| 7 | Mar 7, 1966 | Minnesota Golf Classic | -14 (67-67-66-70=270) | 1 stroke | John Schlee |
| 8 | Aug 30, 1970 | Dow Jones Open Invitational | -12 (68-70-69-69=276) | 1 stroke | Labron Harris, Jr. |
| 9 | Aug 5, 1973 | Westchester Classic | -16 (70-67-70-65=272) | Playoff | Bob Murphy |
| 10 | Jan 27, 1974 | Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational | -13 (69-69-68-69=275) | 1 stroke | Rod Curl, Gene Littler |
| 11 | Jul 28, 1974 | Canadian Open | -10 (67-67-68-68=270) | 4 strokes | John Schlee, Larry Ziegler |
[edit] Other wins (1)
- 1968 PGA National Team Championship (with George Archer)
[edit] Senior PGA Tour wins (1)
[edit] Other senior wins (2)
- 1986 Showdown Classic (with Curt Byrum)
- 2007 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Butch Baird)
[edit] Major Championships
[edit] Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | 54 Holes | Winning Score | Margin | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | PGA Championship | 1 shot lead | -9 (64-71-69-67=271) | 3 strokes | Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer |
[edit] Results timeline
| Tournament | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | T52 | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | T24 | T25 | T35 | T22 | 2 | T30 | T29 |
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | T3 | T14 | T14 | CUT | 7 | T23 | 4 | T31 |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | 6 | T23 | 1 | T54 | CUT | T14 | T57 | T44 |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | T31 | T24 | T7 | T4 | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | T46 | T9 | T11 | T20 | T49 | CUT | CUT | DNP | 52 | T25 |
| PGA Championship | T26 | T46 | T62 | T51 | T39 | T33 | CUT | T51 | T19 | CUT |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | CUT | T53 | CUT | CUT | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | T34 | T36 | CUT | T40 |
Note: Nichols never played in The Open Championship.
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Bobby Nichols at the PGA Tour official site
- Bobby Nichols Golf Course
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