10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Jack Nicklaus asked if he can name his 31 grandchildren, great-grandkids at Masters
In honor of the 89th Masters Tournament, golf legend Jack Nicklaus, who won the prestigious tournament a record six times, opened the event with one of the three ceremonial tee shots.
Shortly after, Nicklaus, 85, joined the commentators to talk about his own memories from the Masters and those who are competing for their own coveted green jacket this week.
'We are pleased and honored to be joined by the six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus,' one of the commentators said as Nicklaus appeared on screen wearing one of his six green jackets.
'Alright, let's get one thing out of the way,' the commentator continued. 'You have two great grandchildren who are pending, right? So you have seven great grandchildren. Currently, you have 24 grandchildren and five children.
'Without (wife) Barbara's help in writing them down, could you name them all?' the commentator asked Nicklaus. 'Off the top of your head.'
'Sure, of course,' Nicklaus told them nonchalantly. 'You got 10 minutes?' he joked.
'That's impressive. That's all pretty impressive.'
Nicklaus and his wife Barbara have been married since he was 20 years old in 1960 after meeting as freshmen at Ohio State University, according to Essentially Sports.
Together, the couple welcomed five children: Jack Nicklaus Jr., Gary Nicklaus, Nancy O'Leary, Michael Nicklaus and Steven Nicklaus.
Gary was the only one of their children who pursued gold professionally.
In 2018, while a guest on The 19th Hole podcast, Barbara admitted she didn't know much about golf when she met her husband.
'Golf wasn't a real popular sport back then, particularly in high school. So, I didn't really know anything about it when I met him, and we dated.'
In his 2007 book, 'Jack Nicklaus: Memories and Mementos from Golf's Golden Bear,' Nicklaus said his wife was the best thing to ever happen to him.
'All these years later, with all the good things that have happened to me, I still believe that Barbara has been the most precious gift in my life. She has been my foundation, my voice of reason, my sounding board, my biggest supporter, my best friend and the love of my life.'
In 2021, their oldest child praised his parents for always making their family a priority. Nicklaus famously made it a rule that he would never be away from his wife and kids for more than two weeks at a time.
'It's amazing to me that with all the commitments that my mom and dad still have at the age of 81, but even throughout their career, when Dad was traveling all over the world, they were always there for us,' Jack Jr. told
'We always felt like we were their number one priority.'
