Nobody had done it before, nobody has done it since, and it’s looking likely that nobody ever will.
This great photograph from the June 1986 edition of Golf Monthly shows Jack Nicklaus pretty much on his knees after leaving his final approach putt stone dead at the 50th Masters. The Golden Bear rolled the ball in to win the green jacket, and entered the halls of immortality as the first golfer to win 20 Majors.
At 46, he was the oldest man to win at Augusta and in passing, brought his career earnings to the verge of $5million, a sum which seemed a whole lot bigger for a golfer in 1986 than it does in 2024.
Nicklaus remains perhaps the greatest, certainly the most beloved golfer of the post-war era, but that Masters triumph in 1986 remains perhaps the pinnacle. You can enjoy the pictures and read about just how he did it here.
