WATCH: Jack Nicklaus in tears as he announces wife Barbara’s induction as a Memorial Tournament honoree
In 2025, The Jack Nicklaus Memorial Tournament will be celebrating its 50th edition. The tournament which was formed in 1976 follows a ritual for honoring a person for their contributions to golf. Over the years, several legends of the game have been honored.
During the latest edition of the 2024 Memorial Tournament, Jack Nicklaus kept up with his tradition of appearing in the broadcast booth. In this appearance, Nicklaus was asked who would be the honoree in next year's tournament. Before giving his answer, Nicklaus was visibly emotional and even started choking up.
The golf legend said:
"I can’t get it out, Jim. It’s Barbara Nicklaus."
Upon hearing Nickalus make this announcement, the crew on camera along with the production crew at the Memorial Tournament applauded Nickalus' decision. Jack Nicklaus further added:
“Barbara has meant so much to this tournament,” Jack said. “Everybody has honored Jack Nicklaus, but Barbara Nicklaus has been right there through everything that’s happened. And the captains felt like that for the 50th running of the Memorial, that it was fitting that Barbara be the honoree. I broke down and cried the other night and I’m crying again now.”
After making this announcement at the Memorial Tournament, Jim Nantz who was present with Nicklaus went on to praise the latter, before he was interrupted. Upon interrupting Nantz, Nicklaus said that Barbara had been honored by so many associations but not at Muirfield. He concluded by saying it was a very emotional choice for him.
Exploring the final leaderboard at the 2024 Memorial Tournament
The 2024 Memorial Tournament witnessed World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler dominate the proceedings. After four rounds of golf, Scheffler won the competition with 8-under. Scheffler was closely followed by Colin Morikawa in second place who finished 7-under.
The third spot in the Memorial Tournament was occupied by Adam Hadwin who scored 4-under. Here is the final leaderboard at the 2024 Memorial Tournament:
- Win: Scottie Scheffler, -8
- 2: Collin Morikawa, -7
- 3: Adam Hadwin, -4
- 4: Christian Bezuidenhout, -3
- T5: Matt Fitzpatrick, -2
- T5: Ludvig Aberg, -2
- T5: Sepp Straka, -2
- T8: Hideki Matsuyama, -1
- T8: Sungjae Im, -1
- T8: Tony Finau, -1
- T8: Xander Schauffele, -1
- T12: Victor Perez, E
- T12: Sahith Theegala, E
- T12: Nick Dunlap, E
- T15: Billy Horschel, +2
- T15: Sam Burns, +2
- T15: Viktor Hovland, +2
- T15: Si Woo Kim, +2
- T15: Rory McIlroy, +2
- T20: Corey Conners, +3
- T20: Tommy Fleetwood, +3
- T22: Alex Noren, +4
- T22: Byeong Hun An, +4
- T22: Akshay Bhatia, +4
- T22: J.T. Poston, +4
- T22: Max Homa, +4
- T27: Emiliano Grillo, +5
- T27: Adam Svensson, +5
- T27: Nick Taylor, +5
- T27: Russel Henley, +5
- T27: Seamus Power, +5
- T33: Taylor Pendrith, +6
- T33: Justin Thomas, +6
- T33: Matt Kuchar, +6
- T33: Peter Malnati, +6
- T33: Brian Harman, +6
- T33: Jason Day, +6
- T39: Denny McCarthy, +7
- T39: Austin Eckroat, +7
- T41: Thomas Detry, +8
- T41: Will Zalatoris, +8
- T43: Tom Kim, +9
- T43: Keegan Bradley, +9
- T45: Tom Hoge, +10
- T45: Lee Hodges, +10
- T45: Andrew Putnam, +10
- T45: Eric Cole, +10
- 49: Shane Lowry, +12
- T50: Cameron Young, +13
- T50: Cam Davis, +13
- 52: Jackson Koivun, +18