Nicklaus Highlights Century of Golf Gala

100-year party lives up to billing.

Jon Rizzi

During a press conference before Saturday night’s Century of Golf Gala at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Jack Nicklaus said the only time he’d bet on golf was the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills. “Before the tournament, my father said I was 35-to-1. He asked me what I thought—win, place or show? I looked at him. ‘Win, of course!’”

Nicklaus, then still an amateur, would come in second to Arnold Palmer in what many consider the greatest U.S. Open ever. The Sunday after the Open, he and his father would drive down Valley Highway (as I-25 was then known) to The Broadmoor—where Jack had won the U.S. Amateur the year before—to compete in the NCAA Championship. Nicklaus would lose to Stanford’s Steve Smith in the quarterfinals, 4 and 3.

That was the last time the Golden Bear had been to The Broadmoor.

Nicklaus with Castle Pines Golf Club GM Keith Schneider at the 18th green on Broadmoor East, site of his winning putt in the 1959 U.S. Amateur.

Fifty-five years later, the Colorado Golf Foundation, which promotes youth development through numerous golf initiatives, bet on Nicklaus to help fill the house at the Century of Gala. Their gamble paid off handsomely. An announced 1,300 people attended the once-in-a-lifetime event, which raised an estimated $380,000.

Nicklaus capped off a memorable evening that honored six Colorado golf People of the Century: Judy Bell (Woman of the Century); Will F. Nicholson Jr. (Man of the Century); Hale Irwin (Male Player of the Century); Barbara McIntire (Female Player of the Century); Charles “Vic” Kline (Golf Professional of the Century); Dennis Lyon (Superintendent of the Century). All but McIntire, who was ill, attended.

From left to right: Kline, Bell, Nicholson, Lyon, Irwin.

Also spotlighted as a beneficiary of the Colorado Golf Foundation was the Solich Caddie and Leadership Academy. After an introduction by George Solich, a former Broadmoor caddie who in 2013 started the Colorado Golf Foundation with a lead gift of $2 million, Joshua Aguilar addressed the audience.

A graduate of the Solich Academy and an Evans Scholar, Aguilar now attends the University of Colorado—something, he said, he never would have been able to accomplish without having participated in the program.

During his fireside chat with Tim Rosaforte of the Golf Channel, Nicklaus said he may not have ever accomplished his record-setting feats if it had not been for the eight-foot putt he made to defeat Charlie Coe on the 18^th hole of the ’59 Amateur at The Broadmoor.

“That putt gave me the confidence to know I could do it under pressure,” he said. “At the time, the U.S. Amateur was still considered a major—I think it was until Tiger came along and won it three times.”

But he also said that losing the 1960 U.S. Open, which he led by one stroke with nine holes left to play, taught him an even more valuable lesson. “I was paired with Ben Hogan, and afterwards he said, ‘Today I played with a kid, who if he knew how to win, could have won the thing by five strokes.’ If I knew how to win…

“I think if I’d have won that event, my head would have been so big and I wouldn’t think I had to work as hard as I did.”

Nicklaus’ first professional victory came two years later at the U.S. Open—the first of his record of 18 majors.

That count would be 20 if you count his two U.S. Amateur titles—the first of which took place at The Broadmoor in 1959—and the Golden Bear certainly does.

You can bet on it.

More photos from the November 14th gala at the Broadmoor:

Joshua Aguilar and George Solich

Left: Hale and Sally Irwin                Right: Will F. Nicholson, Jr.

 
Jack and Barbara Nicklaus

Vic Kline, Colorado Golf Professional of the Century

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