Former professional golf icon Jack Nicklaus won a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Nicklaus Companies, a Florida jury ruled this week.

The 85-year-old filed the lawsuit, claiming that defendant Howard Milstein and other company partners spread false information about a $750 million deal for the golfer to join the LIV Golf League.

The jury found the Nicklaus Companies had damaged the former golfer’s reputation and exposed him to “ridicule, hatred, mistrust, distrust or contempt.”

Milstein and company executive Andrew O’Brien will not be held personally liable for the damages.

“It’s always hard in a defamation case to prove damages to reputation, because, in particular, for a guy like Jack, it’s always such a good one,” Nicklaus’ attorney, Eugene Stearns, said on Monday to ESPN. “But I think what was important was the dispute that arose three and a half years ago when the company told the world that Jack was selling out to the PGA Tour for the Saudi golf, when it was not true. So we’re happy that Jack’s been vindicated.”

Nicklaus is regarded as one of the best golfers of all time. During his career, he’s won multiple events at the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open Championship. In 1974, Nicklaus was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Fifteen-time Major champion Tiger Woods, 45, was involved in a car accident on Tuesday morning, which left the golfer with multiple leg injuries. He was hospitalized following the single-vehicle crash in Los Angeles.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Woods was driving at high speeds when his SUV struck a raised median, crossed over into the opposite lane of traffic, and rolled over several times. The car came to a stop in a grassy area that was several hundred feet from where he had been driving. Chris Thomas, a representative of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, told ESPN’s Mark Schlabach that rescue personnel had to extract Woods from the windshield of the SUV.

Immediately after the crash, Woods was said to be awake and alert when firefighters and police arrived on the scene. After firefighters removed Woods from the vehicle by breaking through the car’s windshields, the golfer was quickly transported to the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. A prybar and ax were used to remove Woods from the windshield.

Another car, which had stopped on the side of the road to assist Woods shortly after the accident, was also struck by another vehicle coming over the hill. Thomas said the latter incident was a minor traffic incident with no injuries.

Woods reportedly suffered serious leg injuries from the accident. Deputy Carlos Gonzalez, who was first to arrive on the scene, said Woods was calm and able to identify himself.

The 45-year-old underwent emergency surgery on his lower right leg and ankle. Dr. Anish Mahajan, the Chief Medical Officer and Interim CEO at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center released a statement describing the injuries.

“Comminuted open fractures affecting both the upper and lower portions of the tibia and fibula bones were stabilized by inserting a rod into the tibia,” Mahajan explained. “Additional injuries to the bones of the foot and ankle were stabilized with a combination of screws and pins. Trauma to the muscle and soft tissue of the leg required the surgical release of the covering of the muscles to relieve pressure due to swelling.”

According to a statement released by Woods, he is “awake, responsive, and recovering in his hospital room.”

The crash and injuries have hampered the 45-year-old’s plans to make a comeback. It is still too early to know whether a full recovery is possible or not. Considering Woods’s age and his lengthy injury history, the road to recovery will be slow and drawn out. The accident reportedly could have been fatal. Woods was lucky to have had his seatbelt on. It very likely saved his life.

This is not the first time that Woods has been plagued by controversy off of the golf course. He has had a messy relationship with illegal substances and alcohol. in May of 2017, Woods was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. He pleaded guilty to charges of reckless driving in October of 2017. Prescription painkillers, a sleep medication, and marijuana were found in his system.

Immediately following this latest crash, many speculated that Woods was under the influence at the time of the accident. However, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the incident was “purely an accident” during a news conference on Wednesday. No criminal charges will be filed, as there were no signs that Woods was impaired.

Later on Wednesday, Villanueva told CNN that, when questioned at the hospital, Woods had “no recollection” of the crash occurring.

According to Golf Digest, Woods was in California for a two-day content shoot with Golf Digest/GOLFTV after serving as a host for the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational over the weekend. He briefly appeared on CBS’s broadcast of the Genesis Invitational, marking his last public appearance before Tuesday’s accident. Woods told CBS’s Jim Nantz that it was unclear when he would return to action after needing his fifth back surgery this past December.

The sports world was severely shaken up by the news of Woods’s accident. Justin Thomas, a close friend of Woods’s on the PGA Tour, addressed the accident on Tuesday saying he was “sick to my stomach.”

Speaking at a press conference, Thomas said that “It hurts to see one of your closest friends gets in an accident.”

“Man, I just hope he’s all right,” he added. “I’m just worried for his kids, I’m sure they’re struggling.”

Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, said in a statement on Tuesday that he was aware of the crash. “We are awaiting further information when he comes out of surgery,” Monahan said. “On behalf of the PGA Tour and our players, Tiger is in our prayers and will have our full support as he recovers.”

The one golfer whom Woods trails in the sport’s Major championship count, Jack Nicklaus, said in a tweet that “We want to offer him our heartfelt support and prayers at this difficult time. Please join us in wishing Tiger a successful surgery and all the best for a full recovery.”

Bryson DeChambeau, who has been a frequent practice partner of Woods, also took to Twitter. “Heartbroken and shocked to hear about Tiger Woods accident today. My thoughts and prayers are with him for a full recovery.”

Others from the golf world, including Rickie Fowler, Ian Poulter and Adam Scott, also voiced their support for Woods.

News of Woods’s crash, though, extended far beyond the golf world as athletes from all across the sports world show their support for Woods in his recovery.

Keep checking back for more updates on the latest Tiger Woods news.

During a CBS telecast on Sunday of the Memorial Golf Tournament, golfing legend Jack Nicklaus, 80, revealed that he and his wife Barbara tested positive for COVID-19 early on in the pandemic–around March. Being that they are in a particularly high-risk age group, this could be a scary situation for the elderly couple, but Nicklaus said his only notable symptom was a sore throat.

“It didn’t last very long, and we were very, very fortunate, very lucky,” Nicklaus said. “Barbara and I are both of the age, both of us 80 years old, that is an at-risk age. Our hearts go out to the people who did lose their lives and their families. We were just a couple of the lucky ones.”

Tiger Woods revealed that had known about Nicklaus’s positive test for some time saying, “The fact that they got through it and they’re safe and here and healthy, it’s all good news for all of us who are a part of golf and who looked up to Jack and [have] been around Barbara all these years,”

During the telecast for the Memorial Tournament that  Nicklaus created, he was wearing a mask at all times when on camera and was visibly keeping his distance. Also, replacing the tradition of shaking hands with the winner of the tournament,  Nicklaus and winner Jon Rahm settled on a fistbump.

“I’ve been dreaming of that handshake many times,” Rahm said. “Well, it was a fist bump because of the situation, but still, how many people can say they got a congratulatory fist bump from Jack Nicklaus?”

Nicklaus reportedly also tested positive for antibodies, but the CDC has been adamant that they are unsure whether or not somebody who has tested positive before can be infected again.

The PGA Championship was supposed to be played this month at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California. That has obviously changed because of COVID-19 and has been since moved to August of this year. Despite there not being a tournament, we can still muse about who is the greatest golfer of all time. 

There are really only two people who can be considered for this title – Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. Both of these two guys are tops at the game of golf and have had remarkable careers, with Woods’ still mid-career. To determine who is the ‘G.O.A.T.’, I am going to use three different categories. The first is success in Major Championships. Second, you have success in non-Majors. The final category will look at each players dominance/prime of their career. So with all of that out of the way, let’s get started.

Category 1: Major Championships: The major championships are the biggest tournaments each year on the PGA Tour. There are four major championships each year, The Masters, The PGA Championship, The US Open and The Open Championship. Both of these guys performed well in majors during their careers but who performed better?

Woods: For his career thus far, Woods has 15 wins in majors, with his first coming in 1997 at The Masters where he became the youngest player to win The Masters at age 21, won by the largest margin in Masters history, winning by 12, and had the lowest score to par in Masters history at -18. His most recent major win also came at The Masters in 2019, completing his ‘return’ if you will from everything he went through in the late 2000s, to early 2010s. This was also his first major win since 2008. Another interesting thing about Woods’ major career is the ‘Tiger Slam.’ Woods is the only player in golf history to hold all four major championships at one time over the course of the 2000 and 2001 seasons. In his career, Woods has played in 84 major championships, won 15 like I said, has made the cut 72 times, and has finished in the top-10 41 times.

Nicklaus: Nicklaus for his career has won the most major championships in PGA Tour history with 18. His first major victory came in 1962 at the US Open at the age of 22. His final major win came at the 1986 Masters at the age of 46. Both of those were his first and final wins in his career respectively. Aside from winning the most majors in history, Nicklaus has the most wins in Masters history with six, Iisted for the most wins in PGA Championship history with five, and is tied for the most wins in US Open history with four. Three of the four major championships, Nicklaus has or is tied for the most wins which is extremely impressive. Nicklaus played in 164 majors in his career, winning 18 as mentioned, made the cut 131 times and finished in the top-10 73 times.

In the end, I have to give the advantage to Nicklaus in this category. Eighteen is greater than 15 and the fact that he has the most Masters wins, and is tied for the most wins in the PGA Championship and US Open are major points in his favor.

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Category 2: non-Major Success: Looking at the non-Major championships, both of these guys dominated. These are the tournaments that are played on a week-to-week basis.

Woods: Woods is tied for first in all-time wins on the PGA Tour with 82, 67 of which came in non-Major championships, over the span of his 24 year career. He won his first tournament at the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational. His most recent win was at the 2020 Zozo Championship last fall. When Woods played in a playoff (meaning that there was a tie after four rounds) Woods has a record of 11-1. The most wins Woods ever had in a single season was back in 2000, winning 9 total tournaments. 

Nicklaus: For Nicklaus, he is third all-time on the PGA Tour wins list with 73, 55 of which came in non-Majors over a 24-year stretch from his first win to his last. As I mentioned in the previous category, Nicklaus’ first win of his career came at the 1962 US Open, and his final win came at the 1986 Masters. When events went to a playoff, Nicklaus played in significantly more playoffs than Woods, having a record of 14-10 during his career. The most wins Nicklaus had in a single season was 7, which he did in back to back years in both 1972 and 1973.

This category is going to have to go in the direction of Woods. More wins overall and in non-Majors, a better record in playoffs, and although Nicklaus had 7 or more wins in a season twice, Woods did that four times.

Category 3: Dominance/Prime Of Their Career: Both of these guys are obviously extremely dominant during their respective careers, given that they are in this conversation, but who had the better ‘prime’ of their career, who was better when they were at the peak of their powers. For Woods, I am classifying his prime as from his first win in 1996 up until 2009, before all the injuries and his infidelity scandal. Nicklaus’ prime is simply from his first win to his final win of his career from 1962-1986.

Woods: As I mentioned, Woods’ prime is over the 13-year stretch from 1996 to 2009. During that stretch of his career, Woods won on the PGA Tour 71 times, that includes 14 majors. During that time period, Woods’ largest margin of victory was 15 strokes at the 2000 US Open, one of the greatest performances in the history of golf. Woods won by 11 or more strokes four times in his career. 

Nicklaus: For Nicklaus, his prime is once again that 24-year stretch from 1962 to 1986 where he won 73 times during his career, 18 major championships. Nicklaus’ largest margin of victory of his career was nine strokes, which he did twice in his career, one of those times came at the 1965 Masters Championship, which was the largest margin of victory at The Masters until won by 12 in 1997.

Once again, Woods get the edge here. The fact that Woods had 71 wins during his 13-year prime, while Jack had 73 during his 24-year prime is not only extremely impressive, but extremely dominant. 

Woods ultimately wins this contest 2-1, and I personally believe he could sweep Nicklaus 3-0 if he wins one, maybe two more major championships. Nicklaus is the clear second best golfer in history, but Woods has clearly past Nicklaus. I think if we were to have this debate ten years ago, I think it would be a different conversation because Nicklaus would have had more majors and more career wins. At the end of the day though, Woods is the standard for greatness in golf history, everyone is now chasing him, and since winning the Tour Championship in 2018, he does not show any signs of slowing down since returning from all the injury issues he had  in the past. 

Patrick Cantlay won the Memorial at the Muirfield Village Golf Club on Sunday. Earlier in the week, Cantlay picked Jack Nicklaus’ brain about what it takes to close out a high-stakes golf tournament.

According to the PGA’s website, Nicklaus explained to Cantlay about how he can learn to finish properly. Cantlay saw him again at another lunch going into the weekend. Nicklaus told him to relax and to have fun, and to look at all the fans and the supporters that are out there to appreciate that.

“He said just relax and have fun and look around and see all the people having fun and have a good time with it. That’s why you’re there,” Cantlay said, according to USA Today. “I felt at ease having his words in my head coming down the stretch. Meant a lot.”

For Cantlay, this was his second major PGA Tour title. During a stretch of three years, Cantlay didn’t play after battling a continuous back injury. He played in just nine tournaments while dealing with a back issue before he was finally diagnosed with an L5 stress fracture.

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“I was looking for a little redemption this week,” Cantlay said, according to the PGA’s official website. “And that has to do with me feeling really comfortable on the golf course and liking it a lot. Not to mention I’ve been playing really well, so it feels like a win has been coming. You always have to put yourself in contention. And you start winning a couple, and you figure out how to do it, and hopefully it keeps happening.”

The Legends Tee Off

The 2019 Masters officially began Thursday, with the honorary starters from both sides kicking off the tournament with their opening tee shots. The annual tradition for one of the biggest competitions in the PGA, Augusta National has become a favorite for patrons in attendance on Thursday.

Many fans were happy to be watching legends of the game trot out to the first half in the early morning to offer a couple warmup swings and light jokes.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW 

Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player are the two Honorary Starters for the event. They will no longer joined by Arnold Palmer since his passing back in September 2016. The golf world still mourns this, as it feels like something’s missing from the competition. Palmer’s passing brought pain to many.

The following year’s start in 2017 provided a time and a place for Augusta to take a moment and specifically honor Palmer, and his memory and achievements continue to be celebrated to this day throughout golf. Since Nicklaus and Player are set to be the ones to hit the first tee, they carry on the responsibility of representing legends from the past on the first tee.

Up first was Player, golf’s great and official global ambassador. After wiping away a couple of tears off his face during the introductions, he gracefully approached the ball with good spirits. While promoting his new driver, he delivered with a shot down the fairway and celebrated with a spry and happy leg-kick that thrilled the patrons and other fans in attendance.

Nicklaus was up next, introduced by chairman Fred Ridley, who got the crowd going by mentioning Nicklaus’ unprecedented major and Masters success. With 18 majors already won and six green jackets, Nicklaus is the benchmark for any of the active golfers chasing greatness. After making a joke for the patrons, Nicklaus took a swing that was met with applause from others.

Age ain’t nothing but a number

Player was even able to convert a hole-in-one, a vey impressive feat for a man who’s in his 80s.

Rory McIlroy birdied five of his last six holes to secure a victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Golf Club in Orlando, Florida on Sunday to card a flawless, last-round 64.

Rory McIlroy Arnold Palmer Invitational Win News

This marked the 28-year-old Northern Irishman’s first title since clinching the 2016 Tour Championship — on Sept. 25, the day Palmer died at the age of 87.

“I wish he would have been at the top of the hill to shake my hand when I came off the 18th green there,” McIlroy said of the golf legend. “But hopefully, he’s proud of me, with the way I played that back nine. I tried to be as aggressive as I could and tried to take on shots when I needed to, just like he would have.”

Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus were among the top golfers to congratulate McIlroy on social media for his big victory.

Gary Player urged McIlroy to stick with the strict fitness regime which the South African pioneered in the sport.

Woods tied for fifth with Ryan Moore (71) and now heads to the Masters with great momentum.

McIlroy had an injury-plagued 2017. Just a week ago, he missed a cut in the Valspar Championship.

LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND – JULY 06: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits his second shot on the 13th hole during day one of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Portstewart Golf Club on July 6, 2017 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

Justin Thomas was named PGA Tour Player of the Year for the 2016-2017 season on Wednesday after claiming five trophies, a major championship and the FedEx Cup.

Justin Thomas Award News

The 24-year-old Kentucky native beat top golfers like Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama to earn the honors. Thomas also won the Arnold Palmer Award as the top money winner.

“It’s a huge honor. Any time you can win an award with someone like Jack Nicklaus’s name on the award, it definitely means a lot, and it’s something that I’ll cherish for a while for sure,” said Thomas. “It’s kind of crazy, especially for someone with the expectations I’ve always had for myself. It never really entered my mind winning it.”

“Any time you can win an award with someone like Jack Nicklaus‘ name on the award, it definitely means a lot,” added Thomas.

PGA Tour members vote for the recipient of the award.

This past season, Thomas captured the PGA Championship, the Dell Technologies Championship during the FedEx Cup playoffs and then the FedEx Cup title at the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

Thomas also played in his first Presidents Cup last week, where the U.S. beat the International team 19-11.

By shooting a nine-under-par 63 at the U.S. Open in Erin Hills, Thomas set the championship record for scoring in relation to par. He finished the season ranked fourth in the World behind Johnson, Spieth and Matsuyama.

Thomas — an Alabama alum — won the CIMB Classic in Malaysia last fall — a title he will defend next week.

“I’ll just continue to do what I have,” he also said. “I don’t know who I heard it from back in college or whenever it was, but you just have to break it up. You have to have two to four goals that are very achievable, two to four goals that are in grasp but will be tough, and two to four goals that are maybe a little bit out of the realm and are going to be very difficult to do, but are somewhat achievable if you have a great year like I did this year.”

Thomas also reportedly won a $10 million bonus after claiming the Dell Technologies trophy.

CHARLOTTE, NC – AUGUST 12: Justin Thomas of the United States plays his shot from the 16th tee during the third round of the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club on August 12, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Despite not having won a major since 2008, Tiger Woods still believes he can top Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles.

Tiger Woods Says He Can Still Beat Jack Nicklaus’ Major Record

The 40-year-old golfer and 14-time major champion stated he is “progressing nicely” after a third back operation in October, but also added that he has no idea exactly when he will return to play competitively. Woods said he won’t resume his career until he can practice, play and recover with no ill effects. Woods said he doesn’t know whether his return would come “next week or a year from now.”

Nicklaus, who is nicknamed the “Golden Bear,” won his last three majors past the age of 40, including his famous 1986 Masters title as a 46-year-old.

“I think his major championship record is certainly still attainable,” Woods told reporters at a media day for the PGA Tour’s Quicken Loans National tournament that he hosts at Congressional Country Club in Maryland.

Woods is also seeking to beat Sam Snead’s record of 82 PGA Tour victories– he currently sits at second on the list with 79 titles, the last of which came in August 2013.

“It would be nice to end up at No. 1 on both lists,” he said. “That’s a long way away and it’s going to take time to get to that point but hopefully I can get back out here and play to that level.”

Although he hasn’t played since last August, Woods sparked rumors of a return with a series of public demonstrations at various engagements over the past month.

His rustiness showed when he hit all three of his wedge shots into the water during a mini par-three competition.

Retired 76-year-old professional golfer Jack Nicklaus became one of the sport’s greatest legends after he won the 1986 Masters, but he recently admitted he is missing one significant piece of memorabilia from that milestone tournament victory: the putter he used.

Jack Nicklaus Missing 1986 Masters Putter

In an interview on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Wednesday, Nicklaus stated that the only sentimental golf club he hasn’t kept in his life is the putter he used to win the 1986 Masters when he was 46. The reason: one of his five children gave it away.

“I’ve obviously got the memories and I’ve got the trophy that comes with it,” the 14-time major champion said. “One thing that I don’t have — and it’s the only golf club that I don’t have of all the major championships and tournaments I’ve won — is the putter. I think one of my kids, it was in the golf room, and one of the kids said, ‘Oh, dad doesn’t use this anymore, you can have this.’”

Nicklaus added that his son Steve did the same thing with another putter, although he eventually got that one back. The famous 1986 putter, nevertheless, remains missing.

Nicklaus sank an amazing hole-in-one at the 2015 Masters. He and Gary Player both teed off at the 2016 Masters at Augusta National on Thursday morning to kick off the tournament, which Arnold Palmer attended.

Legend Jack Nicklaus decided to come down for the Masters festivities — the tournament begins today at 3 pm EST. And one of things he decided to do was compete in the par-three competition.

So what did the Golden Bear do that is getting so much Internet attention? Well, he just nonchalantly hit a hole-in-one, which he called beforehand while talking to ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt.

Many consider Nicklaus the greatest to ever play the game and this amazing feat is just icing on the cake. Over his career, he won 18 major championships — six at the Masters — and had 73 PGA Tour wins — he leads in the former and is third on the all-time list of the latter.

h/t: The Big Lead