Bobby Nichols

Robert Herman Nichols (born April 14, 1936) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the PGA Championship in 1964.

For other people named Robert Nichols, see Robert Nichols (disambiguation).
Bobby Nichols
Personal information
Full nameRobert Herman Nichols
Born (1936-04-14) April 14, 1936
Louisville, Kentucky
Sporting nationality United States
Career
CollegeTexas A&M University
Turned professional1960
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins15
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour12
PGA Tour Champions1
Other2
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters Tournament2nd: 1967
PGA ChampionshipWon: 1964
U.S. OpenT3: 1962
The Open ChampionshipDNP

Early years

Born in April 1936 and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Nichols attended St. Xavier High School. While in high school, Nichols and several other youths were involved in an automobile accident resulting from a 100 mph (160 km/h) 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 later played on the Aggies golf team at the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas (later renamed Texas A&M University) in the Southwest Conference.

Pro career

Nichols began playing on the PGA Tour in 1960 and recorded 12 victories, one of which, the PGA National Team Championship, was not fully recognized until 2012.[1] He was a member of the Ryder Cup team in 1967, and his best year on 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 Western Open on Friday, June 27, 1975.[2] All three men came back to play professional golf. Nichols has had 12 holes-in-one in his professional career.[3]

The 1964 PGA Championship was played at the Columbus Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. Nichols won with a 271 total, three shots ahead of runners-up Arnold Palmer and defending champion Jack Nicklaus, playing in his hometown.[4][5][6] This was a record low score for the PGA Championship and it stood for 30 years, until broken by Nick Price's 269 in 1994.[7] Nichols was the first wire-to-wire winner since the PGA Championship switched format from match play to stroke play in 1958.[8] He came close to winning a second major at the Masters in 1967, finishing second to his lifelong friend, Gay Brewer.

After turning 50 in 1986, Nichols played on the Senior PGA Tour, now the Champions Tour. He had numerous top-10 finishes but only one victory – the Southwestern Bell Classic in 1989, when he defeated Orville Moody on the third hole of a playoff.

Bobby Nichols Golf Course is a 9-hole municipal course that is part of Waverly Park in Louisville, southwest of downtown. (38.126°N 85.838°W / 38.126; -85.838) The back tees are set at 6,970 yards (6,370 m) with a rating of 72.0 and a slope of 130.[9][10]

Professional wins (15)

PGA Tour wins (12)
Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (11)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Mar 19, 1962 St. Petersburg Open Invitational −16 (71-67-70-64=272) 2 strokes United States Frank Boynton
2 Apr 23, 1962 Houston Classic −2 (68-69-71-70=278) Playoff United States Jack Nicklaus, United States Dan Sikes
3 Sep 15, 1963 Seattle Open Invitational −16 (66-68-68-70=272) 2 strokes United States Raymond Floyd, Canada Stan Leonard
4 Jul 19, 1964 PGA Championship −9 (64-71-69-67=271) 3 strokes United States Jack Nicklaus, United States Arnold Palmer
5 Aug 30, 1964 Carling World Open −2 (72-68-66-72=278) 1 stroke United States Arnold Palmer
6 Apr 18, 1965 Houston Classic (2) −11 (67-69-67-70=273) 1 stroke Australia Bruce Devlin, United States Chi-Chi Rodríguez
7 Jul 17, 1966 Minnesota Golf Classic −14 (67-67-66-70=270) 1 stroke United States John Schlee
8 Sep 22, 1968 PGA National Team Championship
(with United States George Archer)		 −22 (65-66-69-65=265) 2 strokes United States Monty Kaser and United States Rives McBee
9 Aug 30, 1970 Dow Jones Open Invitational −12 (68-70-69-69=276) 1 stroke United States Labron Harris Jr.
10 Aug 5, 1973 Westchester Classic −16 (70-67-70-65=272) Playoff United States Bob Murphy
11 Jan 27, 1974 Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational −13 (69-69-68-69=275) 1 stroke United States Rod Curl, United States Gene Littler
12 Jul 28, 1974 Canadian Open −10 (67-67-68-68=270) 4 strokes United States John Schlee, United States Larry Ziegler

PGA Tour playoff record (2–3)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1961 Ontario Open United States George Bayer, United States Eric Monti Monti won with birdie on second extra hole
2 1962 Houston Classic United States Jack Nicklaus, United States Dan Sikes Won with eagle on first extra hole after 18 hole playoff;
Nichols: +1 (71),
Sikes: +1 (71),
Nicklaus: +6 (76)
3 1973 Westchester Classic United States Bob Murphy Won with birdie on second extra hole
4 1975 Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational United States Raymond Floyd, United States J. C. Snead Snead won with birdie on fourth extra hole
Nichols eliminated by par on first hole
5 1976 Walt Disney World National Team Championship
(with United States Gay Brewer)		 United States Woody Blackburn and United States Billy Kratzert Lost to birdie on third extra hole

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 May 28, 1989 Southwestern Bell Classic −7 (69-69-71=209) Playoff United States Orville Moody

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1988 Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am New Zealand Bob Charles, United States Don Massengale,
United States Orville Moody		 Moody won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1989 Southwestern Bell Classic United States Orville Moody Won with birdie on third extra hole

Other senior wins (2)

Major championships

Wins (1)
YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up
1964PGA Championship1 shot lead−9 (64-71-69-67=271)3 strokesUnited States Jack Nicklaus, United States Arnold Palmer

Results timeline
Tournament 1958 1959
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open T52
PGA Championship
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament T24 T25 T35 T22 2 T30 T29
U.S. Open T3 T14 T14 CUT 7 T23 4 T31
PGA Championship 6 T23 1 T54 CUT T14 T57 T44
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament T31 T24 T7 T4 CUT
U.S. Open T46 T9 T11 T20 T49 CUT CUT 52 T25
PGA Championship T26 T46 T62 T51 T39 T33 CUT T51 T19 CUT
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT T53 CUT CUT
PGA Championship CUT CUT T34 T36 CUT T40

Note: Nichols never played in The Open Championship.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament0102371211
U.S. Open00124102216
The Open Championship00000000
PGA Championship1001252418
Totals11159225845
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 23 (1967 Masters – 1975 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1962 U.S. Open – 1962 PGA)

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

See also

References
  1. "Just in ...". Golf World. Vol. 66, no. 10. September 17, 2012. p. 15. The victory totals for four former PGA Tour players have been increased after the tour determined they were not credited with winning the 1968 and 1972 National Team Championship ... Hiskey and Zarley now have three wins, Archer 13 and Nichols 12.
  2. "Trevino survives lightning". Milwaukee Sentinel. June 28, 1975. p. 1–part 2. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  3. Bio from pgatour.com Archived February 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Wright, Alfred (July 27, 1964). "'You aren't going to believe this, but...'". Sports Illustrated. p. 48.
  5. Gundelfinger, Phil (July 20, 1964). "Nichols PGA Champ with record 271". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 19.
  6. "Nichols holds off Nicklaus in PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. July 20, 1964. p. 3B.
  7. Parascenzo, Marino (August 15, 1994). "Price is a major force". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. B1.
  8. Year by Year History of the PGA Championship
  9. "Course Rating and Slope Database: Bobby Nichols Golf Course". USGA. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  10. "Bobby Nichols Golf Course Scorecard". Louisville - Jefferson County Metro Parks. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
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