In his last full season on the PGA Tour (2002) Gary Nicklaus, son of 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus, competed in 26 events. He made the cut just six times, and his best finish was T52 at the Reno-Tahoe Open.
Not exactly inspiring play from the man who Sports Illustrated once splayed across its cover under the headline of "The Next Nicklaus." Seven years later, there was Gary at the first stage of the PGA Tour's qualifying school still chasing his dream, although most probably view it as a man chasing his father's considerable shadow.
Needing a par-par finish to advance to the second stage of Q-School at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Nicklaus faultered, recording a bogey and double bogey. He would finish two shots outside of the cut line.
"This is not gonna make or break my life," Nicklaus told a columnist for the Palm Beach Post prior to the start of play at the first stage of Q-School.
Less than a day later, Gary was officially named as the new vice chairman of The Nicklaus Companies, the golf empire created by his father that conducts global business in various facets of the golf industry including golf course design, the development of golf and real estate communities and the marketing and licensing of golf products and services.
According to the press release by The Nicklaus Companies:
"Gary Nicklaus has been involved with the Nicklaus Companies since last competing on the PGA Tour in 2002, first focusing on investment opportunities for the family and the company. Last year, Gary began to get involved in the day-to-day operations of the company, working closely with Jack Nicklaus II, President of Nicklaus Design. Gary will also sit on the Investment Committee of the NicklausMilstein Fund."
As we read about and hear the various catostrophic tales coming out of PGA Tour Q-School in the days and weeks to come, the stories of men who were within one shot of advancing one step closer to the privlieged life of Lexus courtesy cars on the PGA Tour, remember the story of Gary Nicklaus. Even with a lucrative job as an executive with the company that bears his father's named in his back pocket, Nicklaus wilted under the immense pressure of perhaps the most stressful process in professional sports.