Bobby Nichols

United States · born April 14, 1936, Louisville, Kentucky

1major championship

Masters1 2nd
PGA Championship1 win
Ryder Cup1 Cup

Summary

First major 1964 PGA Championship
Ryder Cup 1 Cups · 4-0-1 · 4.5 points (90.0%)
Runner-up in majors 1 time

Wins

1964 PGA Championship Columbus Country Club · 271 (-9) · by 3 strokes from Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer

Near misses

1967 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Gay Brewer · 281

Ryder Cup

1 Cups, 5 matches: 4 won, 0 lost, 1 halved, 4.5 points. Foursomes 2-0-0, four-ball 1-0-0, singles 1-0-1.

1967 Champions Golf Club USA · USA won 23.5–8.5 · 4-0-1, 4.5 points · automatic

Rivals

Beat him

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Gay Brewer's rivals →

Moments

1964 PGA Championship Bobby Nichols opened with 64, the first 64 in PGA Championship history, and led wire-to-wire to a 271 that stood as the tournament record for 30 years.
1964 PGA Championship Arnold Palmer became the first golfer to shoot all four rounds in the 60s at a major (68-68-69-69) and still finished three behind, tied with Nicklaus, who closed with 64.

Records and firsts

1964 PGA Championship Wire-to-wire PGA champion: outright (Part 1: led by 1 after 54)

Results by championship

Best day

1964 PGA Championship

Columbus Country Club, Columbus, Ohio · 271 (-9) · by 3 strokes from Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer

Bobby Nichols opened with 64, the first 64 in PGA Championship history, and led wire-to-wire to a 271 that stood as the tournament record for 30 years.

Arnold Palmer became the first golfer to shoot all four rounds in the 60s at a major (68-68-69-69) and still finished three behind, tied with Nicklaus, who closed with 64.

Record: outright (Part 1: led by 1 after 54)

Chosen by rule: the major win our record tables single out. Year page: 1964.

Career line, 1964–1967

Masters

1967 Masters: runner-up to Gay Brewer

PGA Championship

1964 PGA Championship: won

Ryder Cup

1967 Ryder Cup (USA): 4-0-1

196419661968

3 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

Major win
Runner-up
Ryder Cup, USA

Bobby Nichols was born on April 14, 1936, in Louisville, Kentucky. Nichols won one major championship: the 1964 PGA Championship. Nichols played in 1 Ryder Cup for USA (1967), winning 4, losing 0 and halving 1 of 5 matches for 4.5 points.

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The record

Wins in the majors (1)

1964 PGA Championship Columbus Country Club, Columbus, Ohio · 271 (-9) · by 3 strokes from Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer

Near misses

1967 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Gay Brewer · 281

Ryder Cup

Nichols played 1 Ryder Cups for USA: 5 matches, 4 won, 0 lost, 1 halved, 4.5 points (90.0% of those available). By format: foursomes 2-0-0, four-ball 1-0-0, singles 1-0-1 (won-lost-halved).

1967 Champions Golf Club USA · USA won 23.5–8.5 · 4-0-1, 4.5 points · automatic

Partners, with matches played together: Johnny Pott (3).

Records and firsts

Rows from our record tables that name this player, worded as the tables word them.

1964 PGA Championship Wire-to-wire PGA champion: outright (Part 1: led by 1 after 54)

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.