At the Ohio Kings Island Open, Jack Nicklaus struck gold once again

The Third Round of -62-

Jack Nicklaus casually walked through the last 18 holes of the inaugural Ohio Kings Island Open with ease. He had a reason to be comfortable, the previous day he amazed the Ohio gallery by shooting a 62. That particular round included ten birdies and and one bogey for a nine under par. He birdied six of his first seven holes of the day and turn in a 30 on the front 9. Nicklaus then charged out on the back 9 and birdied 10 & 11. He would birdie two more at 16 & 18 but made a lone bogey on 17. This put the Golden Bear in a great spot entering the final day with a nine stroke cushion. His nearest competitors were John Lister and Lee Trevino who sat nine and ten strokes back.

Nicklaus takes the title, donates the $25,000 winning check to charity

Jack’s final round of the tournament was a 72…ten strokes more than the previous round although it still was enough for the title. Lee Trevino finished with -7 and a aggregate score of 277. The victory was 51st of Nicklaus’ career and his first from his win at the 1973 PGA Championship. This was Nicklaus sixth victory of 1973 and he had no signs of slowing down with age.

Jack Nicklaus gave the entire check away with $20,000 going to start a Ohio State University scholarship in the name of his father, Charles Nicklaus. The other $5,000 went to the Boy Scouts of America who was the benefactor at the Jack Nicklaus Center. This move was common with Gary Player’s incredible gesture in 1965 when he gave $20,000 to the Cancer Fund after winning the U.S. Open.

The Ohio Kings Island Open only lasted three more years before it was taken over as the home of the LPGA Championship.