Bobby Nichols


Robert Herman Nichols is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the PGA Championship in 1964.

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 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 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. 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. All three men came back to play professional golf. Nichols has had 12 holes-in-one in his professional career.
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. 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. Nichols was the first wire-to-wire winner since the PGA Championship switched format from match play to stroke play in 1958. 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. The back tees are set at with a rating of 72.0 and a slope of 130.

Professional wins (15)

PGA Tour wins (12)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Mar 19, 1962St. Petersburg Open Invitational−16 2 strokes Frank Boynton
2Apr 23, 1962Houston Classic−2 Playoff Jack Nicklaus, Dan Sikes
3Sep 15, 1963Seattle Open Invitational−16 2 strokes Raymond Floyd, Stan Leonard
4Jul 19, 1964PGA Championship−9 3 strokes Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer
5Aug 30, 1964Carling World Open−2 1 stroke Arnold Palmer
6Apr 18, 1965Houston Classic −11 1 stroke Bruce Devlin, Chi-Chi Rodríguez
7Jul 17, 1966Minnesota Golf Classic−14 1 stroke John Schlee
8Sep 22, 1968PGA National Team Championship
−22 2 strokes Monty Kaser and Rives McBee
9Aug 30, 1970Dow Jones Open Invitational−12 1 stroke Labron Harris Jr.
10Aug 5, 1973Westchester Classic−16 Playoff Bob Murphy
11Jan 27, 1974Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational−13 1 stroke Rod Curl, Gene Littler
12Jul 28, 1974Canadian Open−10 4 strokes John Schlee, Larry Ziegler

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11961Ontario Open George Bayer, Eric MontiMonti won with birdie on second extra hole
21962Houston Classic Jack Nicklaus, Dan SikesWon with eagle on first extra hole after 18 hole playoff;
Nichols: +1,
Sikes: +1,
Nicklaus: +6
31973Westchester Classic Bob MurphyWon with birdie on second extra hole
41975Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational Raymond Floyd, J. C. SneadSnead won with birdie on fourth extra hole
Nichols eliminated with par on first hole

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

Senior PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11988Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am Bob Charles, Don Massengale,
Orville Moody		Moody won with birdie on first extra hole
21989Southwestern Bell Classic Orville MoodyWon with birdie on third extra hole

Other senior wins (2)

Wins (1)

Results timeline

Note: Nichols never played in The Open Championship.
CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

Professional