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

Early life In 1936, Nichols was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He 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 (later renamed Texas A&M University) in the Southwest Conference.

Professional career In 1960, Nichols began playing on the PGA Tour 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. Unfortunately Nichols – who was 39 at the time and still playing consistently well – as the PGA Tour's Media Guide noted several years later "has not played with the same effectiveness since" [meaning after the strike]. His results on tour after mid-1975 until he joined what was then called the Senior Tour in 1986 bear that out. While Trevino won many more times on the PGA Tour after being hit by lightning (including a major championship) and Heard also won again on tour in 1978, Nichols never did. The closest he came to another PGA Tour win was a team event played in 1976 with Gay Brewer, the 1976 Walt Disney World National Team Championship. The team of Nichols and Brewer lost in a playoff to the team of Woody Blackburn and Billy Kratzert.

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) LegendMajor championships (1)Other PGA Tour (11) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Mar 19, 1962St. Petersburg Open Invitational−16 (71-67-70-64=272)2 strokes Frank Boynton2Apr 23, 1962Houston Classic−2 (68-69-71-70=278)Playoff Jack Nicklaus, Dan Sikes3Sep 15, 1963Seattle Open Invitational−16 (66-68-68-70=272)2 strokes Raymond Floyd, Stan Leonard4Jul 19, 1964PGA Championship−9 (64-71-69-67=271)3 strokes Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer5Aug 30, 1964Carling World Open−2 (72-68-66-72=278)1 stroke Arnold Palmer6Apr 18, 1965Houston Classic (2)−11 (67-69-67-70=273)1 stroke Bruce Devlin, Chi-Chi Rodríguez7Jul 17, 1966Minnesota Golf Classic−14 (67-67-66-70=270)1 stroke John Schlee8Sep 22, 1968 PGA National Team Championship(with George Archer)−22 (65-66-69-65=265)2 strokes Monty Kaser and Rives McBee9Aug 30, 1970Dow Jones Open Invitational−12 (68-70-69-69=276)1 stroke Labron Harris Jr.10Aug 5, 1973Westchester Classic−16 (70-67-70-65=272)Playoff Bob Murphy11Jan 27, 1974Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational−13 (69-69-68-69=275)1 stroke Rod Curl, Gene Littler12Jul 28, 1974Canadian Open−10 (67-67-68-68=270)4 strokes John Schlee, Larry Ziegler

PGA Tour playoff record (2–3) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11961Ontario Open George Bayer, Eric MontiMonti won with birdie on second extra hole21962Houston Classic Jack Nicklaus, Dan SikesWon with eagle on first extra hole after 18 hole playoff;Nichols: +1 (71),Sikes: +1 (71),Nicklaus: +6 (76)31973Westchester Classic Bob MurphyWon with birdie on second extra hole41975Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational Raymond Floyd, J. C. SneadSnead won with birdie on fourth extra holeNichols eliminated by par on first hole51976Walt Disney World National Team Championship(with Gay Brewer) Woody Blackburn and Billy KratzertLost to birdie on third extra hole

Senior PGA Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1May 28, 1989Southwestern Bell Classic −7 (69-69-71=209)Playoff Orville Moody

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–1) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11988Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am Bob Charles, Don Massengale, Orville MoodyMoody won with birdie on first extra hole21989Southwestern Bell Classic Orville MoodyWon with birdie on third extra hole

Source:

Other senior wins (2) 1986 Showdown Classic (with Curt Byrum) 2007 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Butch Baird)

Major championships

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

Results timeline Tournament19581959Masters TournamentU.S. OpenT52PGA Championship

Tournament1960196119621963196419651966196719681969Masters TournamentT24T25T35T222T30T29U.S. OpenT3T14T14CUT7T234T31PGA Championship6T231T54CUTT14T57T44

Tournament1970197119721973197419751976197719781979Masters TournamentT31T24T7T4CUTU.S. OpenT46T9T11T20T49CUTCUT52T25PGA ChampionshipT26T46T62T51T39T33CUTT51T19CUT

Tournament198019811982198319841985Masters TournamentU.S. OpenCUTT53CUTCUTPGA ChampionshipCUTCUTT34T36CUTT40 Note: Nichols never played in The Open Championship.

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

Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 1 0 2 3 7 12 11U.S. Open 0 0 1 2 4 10 22 16The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0PGA Championship 1 0 0 1 2 5 24 18Totals 1 1 1 5 9 22 58 45 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 Ryder Cup: 1967 (winners)

See also List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins List of men's major championships winning golfers

References

External links

Bobby Nichols Golf Course