Matters of Life and Death in His Family Seemingly Forced $400M Worth Jack Nicklaus to Take a Major Step in 2004

Published 01/04/2023, 5:00 AM EST

Jack Nicklaus has yet to be much vocal about his personal life. And fans have also only focused on his golfing career rather than the happenings in his personal space. He is the enormous contrast to Tiger Woods, whose personal and professional life has been an open book. However, in 2005, 18 times major championship winner faced a huge personal loss, which left him broken. Nicklaus’ grandson passed away when he was mere 17 months old.

It was not just once, but another incident from 1966 also left a huge mark in his life, which he can never forget. However, Nicklaus lost his loving grandson at such a tender age, and the circumstances were uncontrollable and tragic. The death still haunts Nicklaus. However, the retired pro could pull himself together, and two tragic incidents of his life changed things for the world no one imagined.

Something good came out of the traumas, which did well in the long run. Let’s dig in and find out.

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The tragic incident in the life of Jack Nicklaus

It was one tragic day when Nicklaus’ grandson, Jake Walter Nicklaus, was splashing and giggling in a hot tub with his brother. The nanny supervised the kids, as reported by the Sun-Sentinal. The nanny went to change the clothes of the kids. However, unfortunately, Jake slipped from her sight and found his way back into the hot tub. After looking for him, the nanny found him face down in the hot tub. After failed attempts to revive him, paramedics declared him dead.

‘She Fixed Me Up’: Married for 62 Years, Jack Nicklaus Amusingly Revealed His Love Story With His Wife Barbara Bash in 2018

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Another tragic incident from 1966 left Nicklaus and his wife in tremendous pain. Their firstborn daughter, Nan, unfortunately, developed a breathing issue. There was no likely explanation; therefore, she was rushed to the hospital. The doctors found that she had lodged a crayon in her windpipe, which caused a form of pneumonia. Thankfully, she survived. However, the experience haunted the retired golfer then. Therefore, he and his wife decided to do charitable work toward quality health care for children.

As a result, in 2004, Nan and her parents opened up Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation. However, they had no idea about the impact it would make after the sudden death of his grandson, Jake. The foundation was the perfect example of the golfer’s continued good intentions and commitment to leading by example in golf. As long as Jack Nicklaus is alive, people will always appreciate this quality of him.

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Watch this story- Golf Legend Jack Nicklaus Empathized With Naomi Osaka and Had an Advice for ‘Young People’ After Her French Open Controversy in 2021

We should be thankful to Nicklaus for such a selfless deed.

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Written by:

A Commerce graduate who turned her passion into her profession, Saumya is a Golf writer at Essentially Sports. Having developed the love for the sport at a very young age, she watched Tiger Woods and caught inspiration from his legacy early on. Apart from Woods, she shares great admiration for her country's players like Vishwanathan Anand and Neeraj Chopra.

Edited by:

Rohini Kottu

Matters of Life and Death in His Family Seemingly Forced $400M Worth Jack Nicklaus to Take a Major Step in 2004

The tragic incident in the life of Jack Nicklaus

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