Jack Nicklaus: The ultimate distinction

Among the many distinctive elements that set the Memorial Tournament apart from other PGA Tour events – the challenging elegance of Muirfield Village Golf Club, the buckeye milkshakes in the clubhouse and the annual honoring of one of the game’s greats (Larry Nelson this year) – it’s Jack Nicklaus himself who provides the ultimate distinction.

At age 83, Nicklaus is still relevant beyond his place in the game’s record book. He’s a regular at the Bear’s Club in south Florida, where he has struck up relationships with dozens of tour players, most of them less than half his age and, as host of the Memorial and the soon-to-be-renamed Honda Classic, Nicklaus has remained active in professional golf.

His opinion and his influence still matter.

Nicklaus may not set tour policy, but, when asked, he will offer an opinion. He has been a long-time advocate for harnessing golf equipment to protect courses that can’t expand to accommodate the changing modern game, and he initially was critical of a plan to create a seri...