The reason why Jack Nicklaus believes Arnold Palmer never won another major after 1964

Jack Nicklaus once claimed that it was Arnold Palmer’s putting that restricted him to just a six-year window when it came to winning majors.

There is a strong argument to be made that Palmer is the most influential golfer of all-time.

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In fact, this month will mark 10 years since his passing. And yet, he remains such an important figure in the game, with both his playing style and his attitude towards the fans captivating so many.

Of course, he more than played his part in one of the game’s most important rivalries, alongside both Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

But where Palmer could not compete with Nicklaus and Player was his longevity at the very highest level.

There were 17 years between Player’s first and last major wins, while Nicklaus’ Masters triumph in 1986 came nearly 24 years after he beat The King in a playoff at the US Open.

Palmer won his first major at the 1958 Masters, while his seventh and last came at Augusta National just six years later.

And speaking to Charlie Rose back in 2013, Nicklaus suggested that Palmer’s aggressive approach on the greens stopped him winning more majors.

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“He grabbed the imagination of the public, television was coming along. Arnold is out there, hitches up his pants, and goes and wins The Masters and the US Open in the 1960 after winning The Masters in ’58. And Arnold played a lot like they did. He had his shirt out, he had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, he drove it off in the trees, and he played a slicer draw out of the trees,” he said.

“I was a big Arnold Palmer fan too. I mean, Arnold was 10 years older than I am, so I watched Arnold play a lot of golf. And I loved watching Arnold playing. You love watching the guy do those things. And then I got a chance to play with him. You know, I was 18 years old the first time I played with Arnold. But he was just great for the game. Arnold’s career as a major championship golfer, that didn’t last a long time.

“It didn’t last a long time. But he was very, very good at that point in time. That’s when Arnold really putted well. And he really putted well. And the type of putter that Arnold was, he was the type of putter that probably wasn’t going to last, because Arnold was a guy who did not fear a four-foot putt coming back. And so he’s ramming that ball at the hole. I’m going to tell you, if you keep putting these all day long, they’re going to get to you.

“Then he stopped getting aggressive going to the first putt, and pretty soon, he had to change the whole way he putted. And that wasn’t Arnold Palmer.”

In fairness to Palmer, he continued to contend at the majors long after his last victory in 1964.

He finished second another six times, while he finished third at the 1972 US Open.

His final top-10 in the majors came in 1977, but he did manage to make the cut at all four majors in 1983.

The last of his 62 PGA Tour victories came at the Bob Hope Desert Classic in 1973, with Nicklaus finishing as one of his runner-ups.

In truth, it says a lot about his importance to the game that so many would probably be surprised to learn that he only won majors over a six-year period.

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