The narrative that Jack Nicklaus would help LIV Golf find its footing in the golf world for $750M didn’t sit right with him. He has helped build the modern PGA Tour. Among such comments were claims that Nicklaus suffered from dementia and “needed to have his car keys taken away.” So, when this information started circulating, Nicklaus filed a defamation suit.

On the receiving end of this suit were Howard Milstein, Andrew O’Brien, and Nicklaus Cos. Nicklaus accused them of planting and amplifying false narratives, sidelining him, and solidifying their control over a brand built on his name. One of Nicklaus’s attorneys, Eugene Stearns, pointed fingers at the rumors.

“What Howard Milstein did, and what the company did, was take one of the most revered iconic figures in this world and try to destroy his reputation,” he told reporters. His argument was based on the fact that Nicklaus’s exit from Milstein’s shared venture “embarrassed” the latter, and he purportedly decided to “slander him [Nicklaus] on the way out the door.”

However, the rival remained firm in their stance.

“The company did not issue any press release announcing it, and the company did not reach out to anybody in the news media to write an article about it,” Malone said in February. “If the company were actually interested in negative publicity, it would have been very easy to just send out a press release.”

“There’s no evidence that Mr. O’Brien or anybody else at the company ever said that Mr. Nicklaus had dementia,” said attorney Gary Malone during a hearing in February. “That was simply made up.”

Now, the latest update in this saga is that the trial officially started on September 29. Attempts were made to get the case dismissed, but it didn’t happen. The trial is expected to last three weeks. Jurors will now decide whether Milstein, O’Brien, and Nicklaus Cos. defamed Nicklaus or defended their business interests from him.

Now, although the entire feud has been ongoing, this particular case reignited in 2022. The saga of $750M, in the span of two days, was picked up by more than 70 news outlets. Several called out the man who had a big hand in founding the PGA Tour as a potential turncoat. Behind the scenes, Nicklaus’ former business associates from Milstein’s camp allegedly celebrated the chaos. “This is remarkable,” wrote O’Brien in an internal message.

For Nicklaus, these allegations are only the latest twist in a partnership gone sour. Tracing its roots to 2007, the golfer inarguably dug his own grave when he agreed to merge his Golden Bear International with the newly formed Nicklaus Companies. Howard Milstein was the messiah who entered the scene ready to finance the $145 million deal through his Emigrant Bank, New York’s oldest. Who knew this was a move Jack Nicklaus would come to regret all his life?

When the dynamics changed between Jack Nicklaus and Howard

The partnership quickly became lopsided. Initially, a 51 to 49 percent share (the golfer taking the larger one), things took a turn when Andrew O’Brien was installed as the president by Milstein. Publicly, the duo called themselves Nicklaus’s partners, even crediting Milstein for saving and doubling the company’s value. The dynamics of the business changed, as the legendary golfer with 18 major wins to his name found his role being reduced to what he once called a “disrespected employee.”

With several blows to his reputation, Nicklaus finally left the company in 2017. Milstein and co. could not bear such an ouster, and they triggered a five-year noncompete clause that barred Nicklaus from designing golf courses or endorsing the products outside the company. What was worse was that they held all the rights to Nicklaus’s name, image, and likeness.

As Nicklaus eventually sought the legal clarity to retain his name in 2022, Nicklaus Companies, the same year, sued the golfer in New York, alleging that he breached his agreements and pursued a leadership role with LIV Golf—a claim that was later dropped.

As per reports, Nicklaus had indeed met with representatives from Golf Saudi. But that was mainly for discussing potential golf course designs, rather than him assuming any leadership role. Initially, there were also reports, which Nicklaus admitted himself, that he was offered $100 million for a “job probably similar to the one Greg [Norman] is doing.” But he rejected the offer twice without hesitation.

“I turned it down. Once verbally, once in writing…I said, ‘Guys, I have to stay with the PGA Tour. I helped start the PGA Tour.'”

Still, the ripple effect of the accusation was major. Nicklaus’ lawyers claimed it caused the golfer “global reputational damage.” Meanwhile, Milstein’s team denied all these allegations, arguing the lawsuit was “one of the deadest times in terms of trying to get publicity.” “The company really was trying to get through a messy situation without engendering much publicity,” Gary Malone said.

As the trial unfolds, several long-buried truths are set to come to light. At an age when most people enjoy peace and retirement, one decision Jack Nicklaus made decades ago has become a hurdle in his later life.