Jack Nicklaus recounts the $1,400 he made in his first major win at Oakmont
Jack Nicklaus defeated Arnold Palmer in a playoff at the 1962 U.S. Open, and the way it went down was pretty sweet
By
Kyle Porter
•
1 min read
The Legend and The Kid battling it out for the U.S. Open at Oakmont. Tiger Woods returns to take on Rory McIlroy next week? Nope. It was Arnold Palmer against Jack Nicklaus for the 1962 national championship near Palmer's hometown of Latrobe, Pennessee.
"I had no idea that this was Arnold Palmer territory, nor had I ever been in a position of having been in contention, really competing against him," Nicklaus told SiriuxXM's PGA Tour Radio recently. "... It was the first time I had ever competed head-to-head with him."
Nicklaus, who was 22 at the time, was down two to Palmer and Bobby Nichols going into the final round before firing a final round 69 to get into a playoff. Palmer and Nicklaus engaged in 18 holes on Monday at Oakmont and Nicklaus took home his first major with an even-par 70 to Palmer's 73.
Nicklaus specifically discussed the playoff recently with SiriusXM. The part I found most fascinating actually is how the money was distributed for the extra Monday round.
"On the practice tee before the playoff Arnold came over to me and there's a picture of him leaning over, talking with me," Nicklaus told SiriusXM. "People say, 'What was he telling you?' ... Normally in a playoff, it was tradition in the U.S. Open that the gate went to the winning player. ... Arnold asked me, 'Do you want to split the gate regardless of what happens in the match?' ... I said, 'Let it go to the winner.' I figure he deserved it. ... We got that huge gate, in addition to the prize money, it was $1,400!"
Haha, $1,400 and his first of 18 majors. That was a pretty historic day in the heart of Pennsylvania.
