Bobby Nichols

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 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.

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.^[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. 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.^[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) 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)

PGA Tour playoff record (2–3)

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

Source:^[11]

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)

Results timeline

Note: Nichols never played in The Open Championship.

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

Summary

• 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

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. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013.
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.
11. ^ "Bobby Nichols". PGA Tour. Retrieved 2025-09-08.

External links

• Bobby Nichols Golf Course