Ford to Honor Jack Nicklaus at Ambassadors' Ball; Charity the Winner, Too
2 July 1997
Ford to Honor Jack Nicklaus at Ambassadors' Ball; Charity the Winner, Too
DEARBORN, Mich., July 2 -- Professional golfer Jack Nicklaus
will be presented the "Ford Achievement Award" Saturday night, July 12, at the
fifth annual Ambassadors Charity Ball at The Ritz-Carlton, Dearborn.
Nicklaus is being honored by Ford Motor Company for his outstanding
contributions to professional golf as a player, course designer and ambassador
of the game. This year's Ford SENIOR PLAYERS Championship is the fifth with
the automaker as title sponsor.
His winning performance in professional majors is unmatched. Nicklaus has
won six Masters, five PGA Championships, four U.S. Opens and three British
Opens. Nicklaus won the SENIOR PLAYERS Championship in 1990 at the Dearborn
Country Club with a Senior PGA TOUR record 27-under par performance, one year
before the tournament found its permanent home at the Tournament Players Club
of Michigan, also in Dearborn.
The Ambassadors Charity Ball and the Ford Achievement Award are traditions
that began in 1993 when Deane Beman, then Commissioner of the PGA TOUR, was
honored by Ford for his career contributions to the sport. In 1994, Arnold
Palmer was presented the award on the 40th anniversary of his U.S. Amateur win
at the Detroit Golf Club. Byron Nelson was given the award in 1995, 50 years
after his incredible 11 tournament win streak, and last year, Sam Snead was
honored as the winningest golfer in PGA TOUR history. Nicklaus is second
all-time with 70 TOUR victories, and he won his 100th overall professional
title at The Tradition in 1996.
The Ambassadors Charity Ball is part of a week-long series of events held
in conjunction with the Ford SENIOR PLAYERS Championship. In addition to
Nicklaus, the Ball will salute members of the Ambassadors Club, a select group
of 50 corporations invited by Ford Motor Company from a base of automotive
suppliers, dealers and community leaders, to help the golf event raise even
more funds for southeast Michigan charities. Last year's event raised
$510,000 that was distributed to 48 different non-profit groups. Since Ford's
involvement in the tournament began in 1993, $2.3 million have been given to
local charities.
Nicklaus was born in Columbus, Ohio, and has a residence nearby. He shot
a 51 for nine, holes the first time he ever played golf at age 10. Beginning
two years later, he won five consecutive Ohio State Junior Championships. He
won the U.S. Amateur at ages 19 and 21, and the NCAA Championship at 21.
Nicklaus' first professional title came the following year, 1962, at the U.S.
Open at Oakmont, where he defeated Arnold Palmer in a playoff. Nicklaus and
Palmer co-hold the record for most consecutive years winning at least one PGA
TOUR event -- 17.
Nicklaus dominated golf in the 1960s and '70s -- winning 65 of his 70 PGA
TOUR titles. In the same time span (1962-79) he placed in the top 10 in 243
of 357 events played (68%). He was named Sports Illustrated's "Athlete of the
Decade" for the 1970s. Nicklaus was PGA Player of the Year five times (1967,
'72, '73, '75, '76) and was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup teams in 1969, '71,
'73, '75, '77, '81, before serving as captain in 1983 and '87. He also played
on six World Cup teams, two Walker Cup squads and will captain the U.S. team
in the 1998 Presidents Cup match in Australia.
Perhaps the most emotional victory was his sixth Masters Tournament win in
1986, when he, became the oldest player (46) to win the historic event. He is
a 1974 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee.
The Ohio native joined the Senior PGA TOUR in 1990, and has won 10 times,
including two U.S. Senior Opens and The Tradition four times.
Nicklaus designed the TPC of Michigan, and recently made changes that will
further challenge the Senior TOUR players. Last July, he was honored with the
TPC and Ford Motor Land Development Corporation by Audubon International with
its top environmental award. He was named Golf Course Architect of the Year
in 1993. Nicklaus has designed or co-designed 140 golf courses worldwide. In
1982, he received the Card Walker Award for outstanding contributions to
junior golf.
Nicklaus is married to Barbara; they have five children and eight
grandchildren.
SOURCE Ford Motor Company
